“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
My Sunday routine involves gathering with friends and family at my local church to engage in worship. That routine changed last week with the outbreak of COVID-19.
The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) changed the way that thousands of people worship overnight. The spread of the virus has caused businesses and churches to limit in-person events, with some cities and states mandating a “shelter-in-place” to keep residents from infecting others.
Churches across the United States were forced to cancel their in-person worship gatherings within a matter of hours. Thankfully technology, especially smartphones and social medias, have made it possible for churches to host online worship services. Church leaders are spending countless hours ensuring the people are able to connect with Jesus and with Jesus followers during this season of social distancing.
But if you are like me, I rarely worship with online gatherings on Sunday mornings. I am accustomed to gathering at a local church building to worship with other people. Sure, I’ve streamed my fair share of worship gatherings when I was out of town, sick, or unable to attend my church. But worshiping online each week is new territory for me and my family.
While an online church gathering isn’t a perfect scenario or replacement for being connected to a local congregation, worshiping online with your church is better than not being able to worship.
Below are a few helpful tips to make the most out of your living room worship experience each Sunday morning. Only God knows how long the global church will have to meet online. Until we are able to meet together as local congregations, we can lift our voices and prayers as the global church that is scattered among the nations during this world-wide pandemic.
How to Engage in Worship Online
- Limit Your Distractions.
Being home opens up a whole box of distractions when it comes to worshiping online. Laundry, phone calls, sleeping in, making snacks, your kids’ desire to play with their toys, etc., can distract your focus from worshiping Jesus. Keep your worship time sacred. Turn off your phones, engage in worship with your TV or computer if you are able to do so, and worship without distractions.
- Sing.
I’m not a great singer, and singing with fewer people only highlights my musical imperfections. You might feel awkward about singing at your kitchen table with your friends or family, but God isn’t cringing when He hears your voice. Celebrate God. Worship God. Sing praises to the King of Kings. Worship along with your church during their digital worship gathering. Alternatively, you can play a few worship songs on your device if your church is unable to provide worship in their recording.
“Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.” Psalm 98:4
- Bring Your Bible & Take Notes.
Come prepared with your Bible to take notes during the online worship gathering. You can pause or go back to different points in the sermon to write down quotes, scriptures, and concepts. Use this time as a Bible study and dig deep into the Bible.
- Engage Others.
How can you engage with others based off of Sunday’s online worship gathering? You can share the feed to your social media accounts and tag a friend who needs to hear the message. You could text your small group during the sermon to ask each other questions and to pray for one another. You can write down words or theological concepts that your children may not yet understand and talk about those during lunch that afternoon. Look for creative ways to engage with others as you worship online.
- Take a Next Step.
What is your next step of faith to live out the truth that was proclaimed during the service? Do you need to join a small group, serve, start a Bible reading plan, or give your life to Jesus? Reach out to the pastors at the church, follow the “Next Steps” link, or click the response button or however the church has set up their online worship gathering, and connect with Jesus and His people.
Now What?
All worship is for God, not for a demographic of the church. Everyone needs to be reminded about this truth. Adults need to remember that Sunday morning worship is not about their preferences. Worship is bigger than our personal preferences – it is about glorifying God.
For now, we must worship online, scattered around the nation to protect our neighbors from the Coronavirus. God is still deserving of our praise and He sees our worship and obedience regardless of where we are in the world.
What other tips would you add to this list?
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Writer, Pastor
Chase Snyder is an author and pastor in Metro Atlanta. Chase’s aim is to help people apply the Bible to their life by take their next step of faith in Jesus. He is the founder of Ministry Bubble – a content creation company that helps people turn their ideas into ministry to serve the local church. Chase writes, speaks, blogs, and hosts the Spiritual Conversations Podcast. He and his wife have two children.
