Asbury United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Canyon Lake United Methodist Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, are separated by 325 miles but are connected to digital discipleship.

In January of 2021, the Dakotas and Minnesota Conferences launched the Digital Campus Initiative. Many congregations are responding to the current COVID-19 reality with the online church and hybrid delivery. In the post-pandemic reality of “both-and” church models—church online and in-person is expected. The Digital Campus Initiative is creating a network of churches learning from experts, each other, and coaches to dive into making disciples digitally.

 “Coming out of COVID, we had to shift and focus on reaching people in meaningful ways online. There are so many people who were not connected with us before,” said Pastor Brett Roes, who serves as the coordinator for Canyon Lake Online.

Rev. Matt Morrison, who is spearheading Asbury Online Community, shares a similar sentiment. “The idea of online ministry we have seen coming for a while. The pandemic helped us hit the fast-forward button. We recognize that it is not a short-term effort. It is part of who we are and want to be as a church."

Both Asbury Online and Canyon Lake Online communities launched this spring using Facebook Groups and the concepts from “Social Media to Social Ministry” by Nona Jones. The spent six seeks in January-February learning with teams from other communities.

“Throughout and after the training, we have been building our team,” said Pastor Brett. “We have key members, each with evolving roles.” For the Canyon Lake Online Community, someone focuses on getting the content on Facebook and interacting with people. Another person is building small groups and online care community. One person is responsible for identifying the curriculum, content and keeping things organized. 

“We are creating it and living things out as we go,” said Pastor Matt. “As a team, we kind have overarching roles.”  

Asbury Online Community uses the Asbury UMC Facebook Page to invite people to the online community. Once people go to the group page, they answer a few questions before they enter the group. As a member of the group, you can experience online worship on Wednesday and Sunday. You can also participate in a discussion each week called “Ask the Pastor” or post a prayer request.

 “Prayer requests have been really encouraging. We are seeing a community being built. People are more likely to share, ask for prayers, support each other in a private group,” said Pastor Matt. 

Canyon lake Online Community has a similar entry process. You are invited to answer a few questions and join the Facebook group. There is also a weekly “Ask the Pastor” session. Every day something is happening, scripture messages, fun interactive questions, and sessions where people can share their joys and concerns.

“We are learning what it is like to be in community online. We are stretching to create a culture of invitation. This is a place for people to be in community. It is not just about coming to a worship service. We want people to grow in spiritual depth,” said Pastor Brett. “It is about engaging in a completely different way.”

Roes stated that he is excited about the opportunity to mentor and unleash the gifts of team member Hayden Bentz. “Hayden is an untapped resource. He brings so much to the team. It is great to see him growing in leadership and unleashing his gifts.”

The online communities are connecting with 125-150 people regularly each week. Morrison and Roes are grateful for the ongoing coaching they are receiving from Josh Meyers from the Minnesota Conference.

“What happens during the week is how we are going to make disciples and reach people,” said Roes when asked what is one thing that is driving the digital discipleship.

 A focused effort to take people to the next level of discipleships is what it’s all about for Morrison. “For me, it is a meaningful connecting point. We tend to develop our systems and get set in how we do things. We lose focus on discipleship. Sometimes out of fear. Sometimes out of habit.”