The Top Ten Disruptions for Ministry by 2030 #2: Digital and Hybrid Church Models (according to ChatGPT)

I’ve asked ChatGPT to suggest the Top Ten Disruptive Trends for Ministry by 2030, and some strategies to address them. This is an experiment in seeing how we might use ChatGPT in ministry (See more here). Everything in this post is generated by me, 100%, apart from the Chat GPT response which I’ve highlighted in blue.

I asked: I want you to be my research assistant. I am the pastor of an evangelical church in London. From the vantage point of 2030, what will be the ten most disruptive trends for churches and pastors? Bear in mind that the UK, and London in particular, is very different from North America. For each one, give me some actionable strategies.

Here’s answer #2:

2. Digital and Hybrid Church Models

• Trend: Digital platforms will not just supplement in-person worship—they may become primary spaces for discipleship, worship, and community building. Technologies like AI, VR, and AR will redefine ‘gathering.’
• Disruption: Churches resistant to embracing digital formats may struggle to connect with younger, tech-native generations. Pastors will need to learn to shepherd digital communities.

My response – is online church here to stay?

I think ChatGPT has correctly identified an issue that we need to process with some urgency.  

For many of us, this will seem to be a question that is no longer relevant.  It was a lockdown question, and a certain amount of ‘I don’t know the answer but it’s the best we can do’ was allowed.  When churches were ordered to be locked (in my denomination), it became a live issue about how, where and when we gathered.

Now, with no restrictions, it’s only a live issue for the proportion of churches which still choose to livestream.  Our church still does, by the way.

If we are going to deal with the issue, let’s pause to see whether ChatGPT has posed the question helpfully for us.  In this instance, I think it has, in part. 

Take for instance this sentence: Digital platforms will not just supplement in-person worship—they may become primary spaces for discipleship, worship, and community building. 

Digital platforms will continue to supplement in-person worship. You don’t have to like or agree with that practice, to agree with the analysis of the trend.  Post-lockdown, many churches have moved in this direction in a manner that suggests they are not hitting reverse any time soon.

Even churches which resist that for formal ‘church’, might still be happy to move in that direction for, say, small group bible study, one-to-one discipleship, training videos etc.

What I don’t know is what proportion of churches are still live-streaming, and whether that trend is moving in any direction.  That would be worth some research. I do, however, know that ChatGPT would confidently give false evidence if we asked it.  One major weakness of this tool is its staggering ability to make things up that look plausible.

One major weakness of this tool is its staggering ability to make things up that look plausible.

I don’t think ChatGPT is correct in suggesting that digital platforms will become the primary spaces for our worship and discipleship. Or at least, there might be an outlier or two here in the UK, but there’s a long way from a digital option being a supplement to being primary. That’s not just a matter of numbers, but of theological rationale.  We still have to answer the question about whether there is a spiritual value in being in the same room together, such that gathering requires it, at least at the core.  But even if we think there is no particular spiritual value, there is still the matter of human choice and preference.  It’s just more pleasant to be together than to be apart, watching a screen.

So to this sentence: Churches resistant to embracing digital formats may struggle to connect with younger, tech-native generations. What do we think?  Personally, I think it’s too strong.  Probably.

It’s too strong if it means digital formats as an alternative to in-person options.  My experience with the younger, tech-native generations is that they know the difference between being at a rock concert or a football match, and watching one on iPlayer.  They know the value of presence and experience and emotion, and that screens do not replace physicality.  

However, if we lean into the earlier word supplement, the question is much sharper. There, my experience with the younger, tech-native generations is that they assume a digital presence is entirely natural.  The case for using these platforms doesn’t need to be made; it would be the case against which would have to be heard. Is online church here to stay? For the foreseeable future, but not for everyone.

The case for using these platforms doesn’t need to be made; it would be the case against which would have to be heard.

So our young evangelists love the idea of producing films and videos, long and short, and getting stuff out there on social media as a means of communicating.  It’s the equivalent of giving out a tract, except that it’s their own, with their voices and faces, and our streets in the shot. 

If I tapped on the brake, I would be the weird one.

More – with every year, the natural nature of having digital tools will only become more obvious, and the refusal ever more weird.  Again, I’m not making the case that we either should or should not, but that there’s a risk either way.  Those of us in favour are at risk of mere pragmatism and not making a guarded theological case; those of us against, are at risk of turning our back on a technology that the gospel can use.

Now, this has made me think about how we get those young guns to process the old idea that ‘the medium is the message’.  What are we doing to the gospel by putting it onto a screen?  But they might reply, what did you do to the gospel by putting it into a book with pages? Fair question.

What do you think? Are you leaning forwards or braking?

But notice this: ChatGPT has got us thinking about something really worthwhile.  Four years ago we’d have got there on our own, but maybe its taken this platform for some of us to consider it again.

What do you think? Are you leaning forwards into ChatGPT, or braking?

Here, by the way, are ChatGPT’s action steps for both London and Manchester: notice that they are all in favour of the digital option.

Challenge: Balancing digital innovation with in-person relationships in ministry.

1. Invest in Digital Discipleship:
   • Develop robust online small groups, discipleship courses, and pastoral care networks.
   • Use social media not just for announcements but for meaningful engagement.
2. Embrace Hybrid Worship Models:

1. Offer seamless experiences for both in-person and online worshippers.
2. Equip volunteers and staff to manage digital tools effectively.
3. Train Digital Shepherds:

1. Appoint or train leaders specifically for online pastoral care and digital spaces.
2. Recognize the legitimacy of online spiritual communities.

Manchester Context: Digital transformation is slower in some economically deprived areas, with less access to reliable technology for some communities.

Revised Strategies:

1. Bridge the Digital Divide: Ensure access to devices or spaces where people can connect online.
2. Prioritize In-Person Gatherings Where Possible: Digital ministry should supplement, not replace, strong face-to-face connections.
3. Train Tech Ambassadors: Equip volunteers to support congregants struggling with digital tools.

To read:

During lockdown I wrote a book called @church – is online off-limits?

It’s for sale on Kindle in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and wherever the river in the sky washes your shores. Can we do church online? Should we do church online? Here’s my thinking.

It’s available to purchase on a Kindle near you.

If you want a fuller theology of church, I also wrote The Message of the Church in The Bible Speaks Today series for IVP. It’s a biblical theology of church, but in the BST’s hallmark expository preaching style.