The document discusses 5 disruptions caused by hybrid church models during the pandemic. It begins with the pastor's journey of adjusting to online ministry during COVID. A survey of his congregation found strong support for a hybrid model that provides an equal experience for both in-person and online participants. The 5 disruptions discussed are: 1) Recentering around both physical and digital spaces. 2) Reimagining practices rather than just replicating old ones. 3) Inviting remote participants into leadership. 4) Engaging the whole community, whether together or apart. 5) Investing in technology to enhance connections for all. Embracing disruption is seen as an opportunity for positive change.

1. RE-CENTERED
5 DISRUPTIONS OF HYBRID CHURCH
Grace Presbytery
May 12, 2021 | Noon CDT

2. BRC INTRO
● Pastor for the past 25 years:
planter, interim, called, and
Moderator of 218th GA.
● Consultant: planting, tech,
leadership, organizations...
● Coach: Convergence/Gallup
● Leading online ministries for
the past decade: FB, TW, etc.
● Pastor at First Presbyterian
Church of Palo Alto: 80%

3. ALL THE LINKS
Today’s Slides:
www.slideshare.net/breyeschow
Resources, Groups, Gatherings:
http://bit.ly/BRCHybridLinks
on the Socials:
@breyeschow on all the things
eMail:
bruce@reyes-chow.com

4. AGENDA
I / My Pandemic Journey:
Languishing & Lingering
II / Our Pandemic Journey:
How we ended up with Hybrid.
III / Pandemic Disruptions:
Five Hybrid Disruptions.
IV / Question & Response Time
Please use use the chat!

5. Exodus 36:1-7

6. “Let Bezalel, Oholiab, and every
other skilled worker whom God has
given skill, ability, and knowledge for
the work of building the sanctuary do
all that God has commanded.”
Exodus 36:1-7

7. Moses then called together Bezalel,
Oholiab, and every skilled person
whom God had given skill and who
was eager to come and do the work.
Exodus 36:1-7

8. Moses gave them all the gift
offerings that the Israelites had
contributed to the work on the
sanctuary. They kept bringing Moses
spontaneous gifts, morning after
morning.
Exodus 36:1-7

9. Finally, all the skilled workers
building the sanctuary left their work
that they were doing one by one to
come and say to Moses, “The people
are contributing way too much
material for doing the work that God
has commanded us to do.”
Exodus 36:1-7

10. So Moses issued a command that
was proclaimed throughout the
camp: “Every person should stop
making gift offerings for the
sanctuary project.”
Exodus 36:1-7

11. So the people stopped bringing
anything more because what they
had already brought was more than
enough to do all the work.
Exodus 36:1-7

12. Exodus 36:1-7
Sanctuary, moveable and holy
Workers, skilled and present.
Offerings, more than enough.
Hybrid Church

13. “Once online worship is no longer
forced upon us as the only option us
congregation, will we have the
willingness, energy, and capacity to
birth, curate, nurture, and sustain a
long-term digital space?”
Put more succinctly, “What now?”

14. MY PANDEMIC
JOURNEY
Disruptions: Hybrid Worship, Hybrid Church
Grace Presbytery
May 12, 2021 | Noon CDT

15. Languishing
&
Lingering.

16. I GOT THIS!
Immediate action!
Deep care and concern for the
people we serve.
Trying any and all things
whether or not folks asked for
them or not.
Grace, patience, and
understanding abound.

17. DEAR GOD
We overfunction.
Get overextended.
Feel overwhelm.
Try not to panic.
We Crash.
We commit to self-care.
REPEAT

18. DREAMING
Deeply embrace this time as a
real new normal.
Reflection on how you have
modeled adaptive leadership
and practices.
Begin to reimagine and dream
about the future.

19. CHAT
How have you been?
How are you doing now?
How is your community doing?

20. OUR PANDEMIC
JOURNEY
Disruptions: Hybrid Worship, Hybrid Church
Grace Presbytery
May 12, 2021 | Noon CDT

21. @FPCPaloAlto
Older.
White.
Educated.
Wealthy.
Traditional, not fancy.
Social Justice Focused.
Open to technology, just enough
to be dangerous :-)

22. Pandemic
Adjusted pretty well thanks to
Tech Deacons and flexibility.
Convergence of a congregation
openness, and my tech capacity.
Most have attended throughout.
Attendance up: 70ish to 100ish.
Zoom only and committed to
tech not being a distraction.

23. Survey (80+)
● Demographics: Longevity,
Attendance, Vaccinations
● Remote Implications: What
if we didn’t have it anymore.
● Gathering Comfort Levels
● Vaccination Status
● Option Descriptions
● Ranking Options
● Impact of Options
● Most Faithful Option

24. LONGEVITY

25. ATTENDANCE

26. VACCINATIONS

27. REMOTE IMPACT

28. OPTION
DESCRIPTIONS
● In-Person Only
● Zoom Only
● Two services
● Streaming
● Hybrid

29. A hybrid service is one in which
in-person and remote participants
have essentially the same worship
experience.
WHAT IS HYBRID?

30. FAITH FORMATION

31. INWARD CONNECTIONS

32. OUTWARD ENGAGEMENT

33. FINAL AND FAITHFUL

34. We landed on
HYBRID.
PROVIDING ONE HYBRID
WORSHIP EXPERIENCE was
the overwhelming choice
— even though folks have no
idea what that might look like.

35. I do not believe people have a lack of
imagination, only that too many of us
in power done everything possible to
discourage them from trusting and
acting on it.
SO NOW WHAT?

36. 5 ASSUMPTIONS
Disruptions: Hybrid Worship, Hybrid Church
Grace Presbytery
May 12, 2021 | Noon CDT

37. ASSUMPTIONS
Do not underestimate the desire
for worship to return to “what it
was before” is strong: worship,
meetings, all of it. We know what
we know and folks are tired of
the unknown.
“Church” is more than worship,
but worship still holds most
social capital and influence in
most congregations.

38. ASSUMPTIONS
Technology breeds competition.
Numbers are a measurement,
but engagement is most
important and must be evaluated
differently in every space.
There is a spectrum of options,
context matters, and leadership
must assess and translate for
their particular spaces.

39. HYBRID
“Hybrid” or blended anything
requires much more energy,
resources, and commitment to
do well than many congregations
have the capacity to do, so there
may be more effective options or
a spectrum of hybrid experiences
offered.

40. Hold in tension two things,
“Don't make major decisions during a
pandemic” and “The pandemic has
magnified what may or may not be
important in life/ministry, which may
require major decisions to be made.
What has pandemic stirred up?

41. FIVE DISRUPTIONS
Disruptions: Hybrid Worship, Hybrid Church
Grace Presbytery
May 12, 2021 | Noon CDT

42. DISRUPTION 1:
RE-CENTERED PLACE
Who is centered?
Question?
How do you talk about
the “space” in which
you gather? Do you
infer that digital space
is not as “real” as the
physical one or simply
another place where
you happen to gather
in community?

43. RE-CENTERED
How will you create a “space”
that does does overly center
in-person or remote?
Is that something that you want
to create, continue, nurture?

44. Will you be bounded by physical
location or centered by experience?

45. RE-CENTERED
● Resisted desire and inertia to
center on physical location.
● Recontructured physical
location to bring in remote.
● Reconstructed “pulpit” space
and experiences.
● Commitment to language
and imagery that does not
center physical location:
local flavor, global reach.

46. DISRUPTION 2:
REIMAGINE RATHER
THAN REPLICATE.
How will “What we did.” and
“What we are doing.” move
towards “What we do next?
Question?
If you changed
sanctuary seating from
pews to chairs what
would change?
How does your space
impact how you
worship in person or
online?

47. REIMAGINED
● Pruned and Planted rituals
and patterns for gatherings.
● Simplified bulletin/paper.
● Increased ability to engage
different learning styles.
● Increased connections to
outside relationships use for
in-person gatherings
● Reconfigured physical space.
● Reimagined leadership
presence as DJ or curator.

48. DISRUPTION 3:
LEADERSHIP
Who must we now invite
more fully into the life of the
church and community?
Question?
Are we creating a “you
can attend and give,
but not serve” culture?
What talents, gifts,
passions are being left
off the table of service
and leadership?

49. INVITED
● Remote participants are
taken seriously: not just
attenders and givers, but
participants it the full life of
the community.
● A broader experience of the
community and world is
valued and engaged.
● Expanded Teams: Tech
Deacons, Onsite ushers, etc.

50. DISRUPTION #4
ENGAGEMENT
How can we fight the “one
congregation” myth?
Question
Can you create
enough community
connection points
where having
someone solely
in-person will cause
pause because some
may be left out.

51. ENGAGED
● Created, nurtured, and
named a hybrid and lived
community so that when the
desire to “go back” gains
strength, people have no
choice but to remember
those who have not been and
will never be physically
present.

52. ENGAGE
● Committed to options:
In-person, Remote, Hybrid
● Curated and created organic
spaces for intimate
interactions to develop.
● Meetings run well, time
honored, expectations clear.
● Design, social media and
electronic interactions must
be valued; no more a
begrudging afterthought.

53. DISRUPTION #4
TECHNOLOGICAL
What is realistic?
Question?
More than zoom, do
you have the staffing
or lay capacity to
handle streaming,
video, Customer
Relations Management
(CRM), and other tech
needs?

54. INVEST
Technology is only a means of
interaction, but the ways we
treat it indicate its value and
acceptance.
● Equipment
● Staff
● Training
● Practice
Technology should not distract,
but should enhance for all.

55. SOUND
Much is forgiven with good
sound quality
● Most soundboards are
enough for good sound.
● You need to have someone
who understands signal flow.
● Someone will have to
monitor sound board.
There may not be a great deal of
investment here.

56. VIDEO
This is where you will have the
most equipment and cultural
challenges:
● Screens/projection that
provide mutually positive
experiences for everyone.
● Cameras that get close to
remote experience.
There may be more investment
when it comes to video upgrades.

57. DISRUPTION #5
DISRUPTION AS
OPPORTUNITY
How do we embrace this
time as a time to embrace
Question?
Is this an opportunity
to do something bold
when folks are not
stretched out in their
experience?
What were once taboo
topics for change?

58. DISRUPTION
Time to take on the taboo:
● Time
● Style
● Order
A chance to remind folks of their
capacity for adapting.
See this as expanding what you
do, not as completely new.
Hybrid is in the air.

59. ALL THE LINKS
Today’s Slides:
www.slideshare.net/breyeschow
Resources, Groups, Gatherings:
http://bit.ly/BRCHybridLinks
on the Socials:
@breyeschow on all the things
eMail:
bruce@reyes-chow.com

60. QUESTION &
RESPONSE