Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today’s Church

Edited by John Roberto

When March, 2020 rolled around, I had been in my current position (director of educational ministries for a small congregation) for five months. We had gone from an average of 1.2 kids to a steady attendance of 12. Then the world shut down. I clamored for ways to remain connected with the kids and families, looking for ease of technology to assist us in maintaining and adding to our community. I fumbled through Facebook Live, free Zoom rooms, texts, and unanswered emails. Add all that to the daily grind of parenting 6 kids while very pregnant with kid #7 during a pandemic, and I was frazzled. After a LOT of trial and error and frantic pleas with my teens to ‘please help the mama make this work’, we found a system that was more than merely a bandage. Now that we’re two and a half years into it, it is clear that our digital campus is not going away. In fact, if it did, we would have a shell of what we do have now. Now we’re ready to build new digital infrastructure that will equip us to go even deeper, but need a road map to guide us. Thankfully, Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today’s Church, edited by John Roberto, landed in my inbox from the publisher and I could not be more grateful. 

Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today’s Church is a collection of chapters that guide the reader through the hows and whys of proficiency in digital ministry. It opens with a chapter on the digital transformation of church; very meaty and excellent at describing where we have been and where we are going. (The paragraph discussing how Paul pioneered hybrid ministry is foundational. Don’t skim this at all.) More chapters follow, digging more deeply into the available tools and methods for digital faith formation, how to build community and relationships in virtual spaces, how to re-imagine what faith formation looks like in the digital age, a carefully curated compendium of digital media specifically for ministry and faith formation, and what effective and innovative leadership looks like in digital ministry. A resource guide is included at the end, and it is the most up-to-date and thoughtfully curated guide I have seen. Each chapter stands alone and could be used with various task forces/committees/work areas in congregations as they examine and re-vision their ministries. This book is the guide we need to thoughtfully and proficiently establish our digital ministries.

There are several ways I am planning on using this resource in ministry. I have a small team of people in the small congregation where I serve that are helping with our very basic digital ministries. I’ve already purchased a few copies for them to help us as we organize and re-vision. (Worth noting: this team includes two teens and three adults. This resource is accessible to all ages and technological skill levels.) This book is being added to a reading list for a cohort that I will be running in the next year- it is perfect for practitioners in faith formation as they unpack the lessons they have learned and work towards effective ministries for our current time. But what I am most excited about is poring over the resource guide at the end and highlighting which options are best for my current congregation. It is obvious that remaining current and fluent in digital capabilities is essential to effective ministry. If you want to stay current with the latest methods and offerings for ministry, you will want to snag up a copy of this book as soon as possible.