9 Ways to Engage Your Church Online (with just your iPhone!)

What are you doing right now to keep your church engaged? The inability to meet in person has many leaders struggling to know what to do. Don’t worry though! We’re here to help you engage your church! In the words of author Jon Acuff, “It’s time to pivot, not panic.”

Many of us are already doing our Sunday morning services online. We can go ahead and check that box so to speak. The struggle I’ve seen most is what to do in place of a mid-week events, like a Wednesday service or small group meetings.

Today, I thought I’d share a handful of ideas I’m seeing worship leaders doing to lead their congregations while not being able to meet in person. The idea here is to create opportunities to worship and/or opportunities to connect. 

Idea #1 Host an Online Worship Night
This is such a fun idea and can be really simple to pull off. If you have a smart phone, you can make it happen. Choose a night and go live on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube and lead worship. It’s okay that it’s just you and a guitar. Remember, it’s about creating opportunities to worship! My church is having different worship leaders do this periodically. It’s really laid back. A worship leader will lead a song, then maybe read and respond to a couple comments, then go into another song. They go for 20 or 30 minutes and then call it a night. 

Idea #2 Create Playlists
This is a great way to help your church in their personal worship. Create a playlist on Spotify or YouTube or wherever else and pack it full of songs that your church sings, songs you’d like to introduce, and maybe songs that you’ve shelved that need to be reintroduced. Then all you have to do is encourage your church to spend time with the Lord. (Pro-tip: share the list periodically. Maybe once or twice a week. Otherwise it will be forgotten!)

Idea #3 Post Clips from Sunday
Is there a lyric from last week’s set you’re intentionally singing over your church? Repost a clip of your team leading that song and talk about why it’s important! Encourage your church to worship with the song. Don’t be afraid to re-use content! Not everyone sees it the first time. 

Idea #4 Interview Someone
I know that’s probably not part of your regular job, but it might be kind of fun! What if you recorded a conversation between you and your pastor, you and another worship leader or even just you and somebody in your church? With platforms like Zoom and Skype that’s possible without having to be in the same room. You could discuss your role in the church, something worship-related, Sunday’s sermon, or just about anything else! An interview could be a neat way to change things up! Just don’t forget to hit the record button so you can share it later!

Idea #5 Record Covers
A few worship leaders I know have done some simple videos of their favorite worship songs. Many of them just use an iPhone, find an empty room and pick up their guitar! Is the sound quality perfect? No. Does every worship leader who’s done this wish the sound quality was better? Yep. But it doesn’t matter. These leaders realize it’s about creating opportunities!

Idea #6 Instagram Live Conversations
 Is there something you’ve always wanted to talk about with your church, but have never had enough time between songs to do it? Here’s your opportunity. Maybe you’ve wanted to do an in-depth teaching on worship. Try it! Maybe you want to hear people’s song suggestions (trust me they have suggestions.) Give it a shot! This is a great way to hang out with your church while not able to hang out with your church. 

Idea #7 Host an Online Small Group
What if you used Zoom or Skype to host an online small group? Think along the lines of the Instagram or Facebook live conversations, but this would allow it to be a little more private. Whether a one-time thing or on-going, this is a great way to connect! Invite people into community!

Idea #8 Book and Music Suggestions
Read a good book lately? Find a new worship album you can’t get enough of? Tell people about it! If you enjoyed it, someone else will too! (If you’ve read my book, you could tell them about that! If you haven’t, you can order it HERE!)

Idea #9 Share
This is a foreign concept to us sometimes, but share what other churches are doing! Maybe you’re unable to host an online worship night, but you know a worship leader at another church who is able to, share it! Let your people know what’s happening! Remember, it’s about creating opportunities! We’re on the same team.

There’s lots you can do to engage your church right now. You just have get started! Before I go, though, let me say this – don’t feel like you have to do everything. Don’t get overwhelmed. Pick one or two ideas to try out. Don’t stress about which idea it is. The content isn’t nearly as important as the connection. Create opportunities for your church to connect with God and with each other. 

Have other ideas for engaging your church? Leave a comment! I’ll share them on Facebook and Instagram!