BROADBAND: HELPING YOU SERVE
‘Together although apart’
Churches turning to internet as tool for ministries Story By JOHN CLAYTON
E
ven before the pandemic struck hard this past spring, churches across the country were attempting to find their way in the 21st-century world. Denominations sought to maintain tradition while using technology to open the doors to broader audiences and sometimes to welcome back old friends. Churches like the Lebanon Church of Christ in Sedalia, St. Charles Catholic Church in Bardwell and Puryear Baptist in Puryear were making those changes incrementally before COVID-19 struck. The pandemic forced distance among those accustomed to gathering for worship, and churches had to adapt and use technology to reach their congregations. “We really don’t change what we’re doing,” says Chris King, minister of the Lebanon Church of Christ. “We’ve just kind of changed how we’re doing it.” Livestreamed sermons and video productions have become the norm for churches entering 2021, even if they resisted using social media sites like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook prior to the pandemic. For King, it has become a mix of new technology and old-school service that has kept his congregation members in touch with one another, physically and spiritually.
8 | November/December 2020
WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative
