Nashville’s Crievewood United Methodist Church received a $5,000 grant to help purchase equipment needed to improve online and in-person worship services. The grant was from the Golden Cross Foundation, now known as ENCORE Ministry.

Pre-pandemic, Crievewood did not have an online worship service. When COVID shut down in-person gatherings in early 2020, church members scrambled to find a solution.

“Using a staff member’s cell phone, we began broadcasting a modified worship service on Facebook,” said the Rev. John Hill, Crievewood’s pastor. “As you can imagine, there were severe limitations to this setup.”

For people watching from home during the shutdown, the sound quality was poor, and the video was a single, static shot that did not capture the entire chancel area. Even after in-person worship resumed, an online option was still needed. In-person worshipers and staff had to navigate around a camera and tripod placed in the middle of the aisle near the front of the sanctuary. Adding to the challenge was spotty Wi-Fi service that caused interruptions to the service for those watching online.

“It was a less than ideal experience for everyone involved,” Hill said. “However older adults were particularly affected. Many of them did not have an easy time coming to worship in person pre-pandemic and we anticipate many will continue worshiping online post-pandemic.”

Committed to providing a quality worship experience both in person and online, church leaders and staff researched and selected a three-camera system that can be remotely operated by one person. They also upgraded the church’s internet capabilities, hardwired the cameras, and purchased new microphones and a digital sound mixer.

Through the pandemic, online viewership has fluctuated from 200 views per week when the church was closed for in-person worship to about 100 views per week now. Older adults hesitant to be in public or who have limited mobility can view the service from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

“Upgrading and improving the online worship experience has resulted in other benefits,” Hill said. “People who live out of town can connect to worship and the congregation. In addition, watching online is an option for people who are looking for a new church home. It can be a much easier first step than walking into an unfamiliar place and not knowing what to expect.

“I get emails from or have conversations with people about a worship service they watched online. Probably the neatest thing has been families who have first connected with us online and then reached out wanting to get connected to the congregation in person.”

The Pearcy family is one such example. They began watching online services on Easter Sunday in 2021.

“During the pandemic, we started streaming Crievewood’s worship service and quickly became hooked,” said Lauren Pearcy. “We wrote Rev. John after the first sermon we ever watched because we were so impressed. After watching weekly for months, we started attending services in person once everything felt safe. This is a big deal for our family, because we spent years trying church after church and never finding a fit. Looking back, finding Crievewood through online streaming was a major silver lining of the pandemic for our family.”

The updated technology also enables Crievewood members to get involved in new ways and helps keep people connected. Consider these examples:

• “For me, it has meant following through with my spiritual gifts,” said member and volunteer video operator Ron DiCianni. “Hearing the call for volunteers, I knew immediately I would be a part of the video team. How could I not? I have been in the production field for 38 years but was at a changing point in careers. Being involved with the church video team has brought the fun back into this work and I enjoy the creative outlet my turn in the ‘director’s chair’ brings. Knowing that we are reaching others and making an impact as a church and as Christians make the gig especially worthwhile.”

• “Operating the video equipment has given me a new way to serve my church family,” said volunteer coordinator Tom Freck. “The online option has been a blessing for viewing funeral and memorial services. One example is a family who lost a young father. His memorial service has been viewed over 700 times.”

• “My husband and I have had serious illnesses causing immune issues that kept us from being around people,” said member Martha Justice. “Having the ability to watch streamed worship services enabled us to feel a part of the body of the church and nourished our need for spiritual encouragement.”

Post pandemic, church members plan to continue livestreaming and posting worship services, allowing people who are unable to attend in person — for whatever reason — to worship and stay connected with the congregation.

“I think online worship services will be the new standard and expectation for most churches going forward,” Hill said. “While I worry about the impact online worship will have on the sense of community for the congregation and the connection that people feel, my hope is that we’ll be able to bridge that possible disconnect and find ways to help people engage deeply even if their primary worship experience is online.”