top questions about internet campuses

Thanks again for all who joined us on the Internet campus webinar this Wednesday. I wanted to take a moment to debrief with you. Of the 139 participants, 57 responded to the opening poll question: "Which of these best describe your interest in internet campuses?" Here's the results:

I've grouped the questions submitted into these categories:

• technicals, e.g. what equipment / software / servers does it take
• personnel, e.g. how many staff/volunteers are needed
• costs, e.g. what are startup costs and on-going budget
• giving, e.g. how does online giving compare to brick-and-mortar
• community, e.g. how to grow community and relationships
• ministry/ ordinances, e.g. how to do small groups, discipleship, baptism, communion
• measurement, e.g. how do you measure traffic and success
• a mix of other types of questions were also submitted - you may view them online

We'll be inviting internet campus pastors to answer these questions in the coming weeks right here. There's certainly a whole range of answers to these questions, and from what I can tell in looking at the 19 internet campuses I've found so far, every one is unique.

One partial solution for online community was posted by Tony Steward a while ago. His basic strategy outlines how churches can connect with those attending through Facebook. Tony calls it an internet campus "starter kit." The name of this kit can be confusing or misleading, since it doesn't give instructions for launching an internet campus from the ground up. [by the way, the webinar was recorded and may be viewed / downloaded here]

While the webinar covered mostly practical issues of "how to", I've heard many ask whether an internet campus is really church. See the Digital post, "rethinking internet campuses", which also links to a blog series by Andrew Conard on theological questions about an internet campus.

And, this is the most extensive conversation I've found: Can You Do Church Online? Pete Wilson (Pastor of CrossPoint Church) started this several weeks ago, and there's 80 comments already.

One more thing. An added bonus for reading this entire post: download this free audio version of TRIBES (unabridged) from audible.com. Audio book is even read Seth Godin, with a soothing voice. TRIBES was mentioned as a must-read by Brandon Donaldson on the webinar. [registration required; ht: Steve Knight]

-- DJ CHUANG, Director at Leadership Network

Comments

[Mary Beth]

Thanks for this! All the Qs we've been asking and a free gift too. :- ) Really appreciate how you gather relevant resources!