Ginghamsburg UMC has a rich history of experimenting with technology. They launched their website in the mid-90s and quickly added worship messages. By 1997, they were creating multisensory, multimedia-based worship experiences. Now, they are exploring the possibilities of the metaverse.
After attending TMF’s Digital Discipleship cohort, Ginghamsburg Senior Pastor Rachel Billups asked her team what excited them about digital discipleship possibilities. Following that conversation, her team applied for TMF funding to purchase seven virtual reality headsets and their application was selected. With income from three TMF funds—the Dr. Leighton K. Farrell Young Clergy Leadership Endowment; the Dr. Gil Rendle Learning and Leadership Endowment, and the John Thornburg Innovation Fund—TMF engaged young clergy leaders throughout the South Central Jurisdiction to form the inaugural Digital Discipleship learning cohort.
“When I was at the Digital Discipleship event, I realized we, the leaders around the room, were going to have to do church differently. We were all in the same boat, coming to the table to listen to the movement of the Holy Spirit,” Rachel shared. “We were committed to using new tools to reach people. There was vulnerability and honesty in the room that was focused on helping each other and creating a culture of exploration.”
Since unleashing creativity in pursuit of God’s next is a core value for Ginghamsburg UMC, exploration is an intrinsic part of their DNA. With their new virtual reality headsets, they will experiment with ways to create meaningful ministry experiences in virtual spaces. Their prayer ministry, for instance, is already integrated with online elements, and the online prayer groups are more active than face-to-face options. This integration has been transformational and encouraging, so the next logical step seems to include exploring how their prayer ministry could find space in the metaverse.
Beyond this, their team has ideas about discipleship experiences and online community. They have the beginning conceptualization of a virtual reality library to expand access to the metaverse for their neighbors. Their team is also pondering what virtual reality church would look like and how it could be created.
“We are in an era of church history, where what worked yesterday is not going to work tomorrow. It is both exhausting and exciting,” Rachel said, pausing. “I love that TMF is willing to explore this unknown with us. It is very exciting that TMF is investing real dollars into something that is not concrete. I think it will move us further, faster. Plus, TMF has the funds to make these investments, so if not them, then who? If we could work together to infuse every church across the globe with a spirit of curiosity, then there would be no limits for the Kingdom.”