This document outlines a presentation about options for hybrid worship given to the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks. The presentation discusses the journey of pastoral leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, from initial crisis response to embracing new opportunities. It then examines post-pandemic options for communal life, including in-person only, remote only, streaming, separate in-person and remote services, and fully hybrid worship. The presenter discusses important questions around congregational desires, opportunities, challenges, and capacity. Finally, the presentation explores principles for reimagining worship rather than just replicating previous models, including decentering physical place, inviting new leaders, engaging the entire community, and ensuring sufficient technology.

1. AN EXPANDED AND
GENEROUS TABLE:
Is Hybrid Worship in Your Future?
Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
March 23, 2021 | 1:00-2:30 MDT

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+
● Pastor at First Presbyterian
Church of Palo Alto

3. SO MUCH
INFORMATION
Todays Slides
www.slideshare.net/breyeschow
Hybrid Process and Survey
bit.ly/BRCHybridWorshipProcess
BRC Contact
@breyeschow on all the things
breyeschow@gmail.com

4. AGENDA
I / From Enduring to Embracing:
This COVID19 Pastoral
Leadership Journey
II / Post-Pandemic Discernment:
Discerning options for our
communal life together.
III / From “Here” to “Hybrid”:
Possible practices and planned
disruptions.
Question and Response Time

5. FROM ENDURING TO
EMBRACING:
This COVID19 Pastoral
Leadership Journey
Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
March 22, 2021 | 1:00pm MDT

7. 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.

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

9. 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.

10. CHATROOM
How have you been?
How are you doing now?
How is your community doing?

11. POST-PANDEMIC
DISCERNMENT:
Discerning options for our
communal life together.
Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
March 22, 2021 | 1:00pm MDT

12. “Once online worship is no longer the
only option for you and your
congregation, will you all have the
willingness, energy, and capacity to
birth, curate, nurture, and sustain a
long-term digital space?”
or more succinctly put, “What now?”

13. ASSUMPTIONS
How congregations meet for
committee meetings and other
small gatherings will be forever
changed, but the desire for
worship to return to “what it was
before” is strong.
“Church” is more than worship,
but worship is still central to
most congregations.

14. ASSUMPTIONS
Worship is not a competition,
numbers are only a
measurement, and engagement
will be evaluated differently in
every space.
There is a spectrum of options,
context matters, and leadership
must assess and translate for
their particular spaces.

15. ASSUMPTIONS
“Hybrid Worship” requires much
more energy and resources than
many congregations have, so
there may be more effective
options than hybrid worship for
these congregations.

16. FIVE OPTIONS
● In-Person Only
● Zoom/Remote Only
● Streaming
● In-Person and Zoom
● Hybrid

17. IN-PERSON ONLY
What most churches
did before the
pandemic, only
meeting in person at a
geographic location.
Why Yes?
“We get to see one
another
face-to-face again!”
Why Not?
“Because I do not
live in the area, I
won’t be able to
worship with you
anymore.”

18. REMOTE ONLY
Worship on Zoom,
Meet, etc.: a remote,
interactive, and
in-the-moment online
worship experience.
Why Yes?
“Yes, my kids, my
mother, and I can
still worship
together.”
Why Not?
“It’s been hard not
to see people every
Sunday and I will
miss that.”

19. TWO SERVICES
Two completely
separate services,
each able to focus
on and leverage its
own unique setting.
Why Yes?
“We already do
both services really
well, so this will give
us a chance to
reach more people.”
Why Not?
“But I want to be
able to get to know
everyone.”

20. STREAMING
Sanctuary centered
where remote
participants watch
others worship. Some
online interaction.
Why Yes?
“Wow, so many
more people are
watching.” and “I get
to watch worship
whenever I want to.”
Why Not?
“I miss being able to
interact with
everyone else at
worship.”

21. HYBRID
In-person or remote,
a service where
people have
essentially the same
worship experience.
Why Yes?
“We are all still
around the same
table!”
Why Not?
“Whoa, this is a ton
of work.” “How will
we create a space
where everyone has
essentially the
same experience?

22. FIVE OPTIONS
● In-Person Only
● Zoom/Remote Only
● Streaming
● In-Person and Zoom
● Hybrid

23. CHATROOM
What do you desire?
What do you think your
congregation desires?
What might be the most faithful
path forward?

24. IMPORTANT
QUESTIONS
Congregational desire?
Opportunities and Gains?
Obstacles and Losses?
Congregational/Staff capacity?
Technological/Resource needs?
Most faithful decision for the
future of the community.

29. BACKGROUND
& SURVEY
https://bit.ly/BRCHybridWorshi
pProcess

30. BREAKOUTS
FIVE OPTIONS
● Your initial reactions?
● Your congregations desire?
● Congregational capacity?
● Where is the Spirit leading?

32. FROM “HERE” TO
“HYBRID:
Possible practices and
planned disruptions.
Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
March 22, 2021 | 1:00pm MDT

33. REIMAGINING OVER
REPLICATION
Take advantage of
the platform to
enhance worship.
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?

34. REIMAGINED
● What is central and what is
not: communion, offering...
● Simplified bulletin.
● Increased use of visual and
video content.
● Increased screen use (BIG)
● Reconfigure physical space.
● Think DJ station and curator.

35. DECENTERING OF
GEOGRAPHIC PLACE
Place is defined by
theological, cultural
expression and
belief.
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?

36. DECENTERED
● Resist desire and inertia to
center on physical location.
● Worship leadership should
come from various locations.
● Language: “space,” land
acknowledgement, local
flavor, global reach.

37. INVITATION TO
LEADERSHIP
Leadership pool
opens up when
boundaries are let
go.
Question?
Are there recent grads
or relocated seniors
who would be asked
to be part of
leadership if they were
still geographically
connected?

38. INVITED
● Value voices of remote and
new voices.
● Engage what it means to be a
“member” if remote.
● Not just attenders and
givers, but participants it the
full life of the community.
● Expand teams: Tech
Deacons, onsite, etc.

39. ENGAGEMENT OF
THE COMMUNITY
Connect by
theology and/or
geography creating
community.
Question
Can you create
enough community
connection points
where having
someone solely
in-person will cause
pause because some
may be left out.

40. ENGAGED
● Create and support such a
lived community so that
when you do gather
in-person, people have no
choice but to remember
those who are gathering
online.

41. ENGAGE
● Honor affinities: lifestages,
curiosities, and locations
● Curate shared spaces.
● Create intimate interactions.
● Create opportunities of for
casual interactions.
● www.altarlive.com

42. TECHNOLOGICAL
CAPACITY
Determine realistic
ability to handle the
technological load.
Question?
More than zoom, do
you have the staffing
or lay capacity to
handle streaming,
video, Customer
Relations Management
(CRM), and other tech
needs?

43. INVESTED
● Equipment
● Staff
● Training
● Practice

44. EXHALE
Slides
www.slideshare.net/breyeschow
Hybrid Process and Survey
bit.ly/BRCHybridWorshipProcess
BRC Contact
@breyeschow on all the things
breyeschow@gmail.com

45. QUESTION &
RESPONSE