"During the past three years of the pandemic, Chinese churches have gone through a 30-year journey with foreign churches," said a church worker who serves in the church's convergence media ministry.
Due to COVID-19, in-person services had to be stopped, so online pastoral care became a must in the church. Many churches have set up WeChat groups, official WeChat accounts, and live broadcast services. However, some churches didn’t carry out pastoral ministry as well as online ministry during the epidemic.
The Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services, which went into effect on March 1, 2022, claims that online ministry has to be carried out with authorization.
The way a church's virtual ministry grows depends on how the relevant departments, chief pastors, and church staff feel about it. They need to think about follow-up costs, website maintenance, and content updates. Some pastors think that even if there is no online ministry, the ministries of the church can still be carried out. And when the epidemic is over, live broadcasts are no longer needed.
However, a male believer who works in this field raised the question, "Will our church disappear on the Internet, or should it play some role in this era?"
Churches can function without online ministry. Living in a digital age, believers can find all kinds of sermons and devotional resources on the Internet. If the church does not take a place in this field, it will leave the door open for heretical cults to lure its members.
A male Christian who provides online ministry services to 200 to 300 churches said, “The church is very short of relevant talents. If you turn to other companies to do online ministry, they will charge a high price, or you can’t find someone to check with these technology companies.”
At present, the church’s online ministry is mainly carried out through official WeChat accounts, WeChat mini programs, websites, and independent apps.
A small number of churches have made web mini-programs that do things like live Sunday services, daily devotionals, Bible studies, and discipleship. Most individual churches do online ministry through official accounts and websites. During Lent, many churches send online materials to help Christians meditate on Jesus' death on the cross.
Unlike the platforms mentioned above, independent apps like "Hangzhou Church" and "Beijing Church" serve Christian councils at the city, county, and district levels instead of individual churches.
Having all the churches in a region use the same network platform not only makes the work of the departments in charge of monitoring easier, but it also makes it easier for churches to work together and help each other. It also integrates church resources to better resist heresy and extremism.
The Hangzhou Church App is the first independent church app that came up in March last year and was officially launched in September.
The Internet world has evolved from Web 1.0 to AI-based Web 3.0. The Hangzhou church app is the first web 1.0 version, and its features, like online pastors and live broadcasts that you can interact with, are getting better over time.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
“疫情三年让中国的教会走了国外教会三十年的路，”在教会融媒体岗位上侍奉的一位教会同工如此说。
疫情期间，“双暂停”的现实让线上牧养成了教会刚需。很多教会建立微信群，开设公众号，开展礼拜直播。但也有一部分教会，疫情期间几乎没有常规性牧养，网络事工难有进展。
2021年12月3日出台，2022年3月1日开始实施的《互联网宗教信息服务管理办法》（简称“《办法》”）从政策上明确了教会开展网络事工的相关规定。
一间教会网络事工发展取决于相关部门，教会牧长，侍奉同工的反应。因为做网络事工，教会需要考虑后续花费，内容生产，平台维护。
有的牧者认为网络事工就算没有，教会的各样事工也可以开展。而且疫情结束，连直播都不是刚需了。
不过，一位从事教会网络工作的弟兄提出一个问题，“我们的教会要不要在互联网上消失，要不要在这个时代发挥一些作用？”
没有网络事工，教会也可以正常运转。但信徒生活在一个互联网时代，从网络上接收各种证道信息、灵修资源。如果教会不进入网络领域，就给异端邪教留下可乘之机。
一位做教会内网络侍奉、服务了大约两三百家教会的弟兄说：“教会非常缺乏人才。开展网络事工，如果找外面的公司做，一方面报价很高，另一方面，教会可能连和技术公司对接的人都没有”。
目前，教会网络事工的呈现方式主要有：公众号、小程序、网站和独立app。
单个教会主要通过微信公众号和网站开展网络事工，少数教会做了小程序，涵盖主日直播、每日灵修、查经、门训等功能。四旬期期间，不少教会通过线上发送灵修材料，引导信徒默想耶稣的十字架。
与上述平台不同，”杭州教会”“北京教会”等独立上线的app以市县区级别的基督教协会为服务对象，而非单个教堂。
区域内教会使用同一网络平台，既减轻了相关监管部门的工作压力，也便利了教会之间的联合和帮扶。还整合了教会资源，能更好地抵制异端邪说和极端思想。
杭州教会app是首个上线的独立教会app，于去年3月开始筹划，9月正式上线。
我们生活的互联网世界已经从基于互联的“web1.0”时代，演变为“web2.0”社交时代，朝着基于人工智能的“web3.0”时代演进。杭州教会app目前只是它的1.0版本，牧者在线、互动直播等功能也在陆续完善。
互联网时代教会网络事工的探索
"During the past three years of the pandemic, Chinese churches have gone through a 30-year journey with foreign churches," said a church worker who serves in the church's convergence media ministry.
Due to COVID-19, in-person services had to be stopped, so online pastoral care became a must in the church. Many churches have set up WeChat groups, official WeChat accounts, and live broadcast services. However, some churches didn’t carry out pastoral ministry as well as online ministry during the epidemic.
The Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services, which went into effect on March 1, 2022, claims that online ministry has to be carried out with authorization.
The way a church's virtual ministry grows depends on how the relevant departments, chief pastors, and church staff feel about it. They need to think about follow-up costs, website maintenance, and content updates. Some pastors think that even if there is no online ministry, the ministries of the church can still be carried out. And when the epidemic is over, live broadcasts are no longer needed.
However, a male believer who works in this field raised the question, "Will our church disappear on the Internet, or should it play some role in this era?"
Churches can function without online ministry. Living in a digital age, believers can find all kinds of sermons and devotional resources on the Internet. If the church does not take a place in this field, it will leave the door open for heretical cults to lure its members.
A male Christian who provides online ministry services to 200 to 300 churches said, “The church is very short of relevant talents. If you turn to other companies to do online ministry, they will charge a high price, or you can’t find someone to check with these technology companies.”
At present, the church’s online ministry is mainly carried out through official WeChat accounts, WeChat mini programs, websites, and independent apps.
A small number of churches have made web mini-programs that do things like live Sunday services, daily devotionals, Bible studies, and discipleship. Most individual churches do online ministry through official accounts and websites. During Lent, many churches send online materials to help Christians meditate on Jesus' death on the cross.
Unlike the platforms mentioned above, independent apps like "Hangzhou Church" and "Beijing Church" serve Christian councils at the city, county, and district levels instead of individual churches.
Having all the churches in a region use the same network platform not only makes the work of the departments in charge of monitoring easier, but it also makes it easier for churches to work together and help each other. It also integrates church resources to better resist heresy and extremism.
The Hangzhou Church App is the first independent church app that came up in March last year and was officially launched in September.
The Internet world has evolved from Web 1.0 to AI-based Web 3.0. The Hangzhou church app is the first web 1.0 version, and its features, like online pastors and live broadcasts that you can interact with, are getting better over time.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Exploration of Virtual Ministry in the Internet Era
