Jay Kranda is Saddleback Church’s first full-time Online Campus Pastor, a position he’s held formally since 2012. Jay graduated from Biola University with a B.A. in Christian Education and M.A. in Theology. Before leading the Saddleback Church Online campus, Jay served in a handful of roles at that church, including a position on the Communications Team. While on this team, Jay started to dabble in establishing Saddleback’s online community. Jay strongly believes Church Online is “a new frontier with limitless opportunities.” Jay and his wife Jody have three kids and live in California.
Key Questions for Jay Kranda
– What are the pros and cons of hosting church online or doing something like a livestream of your services?
– How do things like fellowship and community building happen in Saddleback Church Online?
– How can church online help bring people into local churches?
– What would you say makes an online church healthy?
Key Quotes from Jay Kranda
“You’re able [with church online] to reach unchurched people.”
“[Church online] capitalizes on decentralized church strategy.”
“[Church online] allows you to decentralize your training.”
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, [church online] can dilute your strategy.”
“This wasn’t something I went to seminary for.”
“[Church online] is out of most pastors’ comfort zones.”
“For thousands of years, we’ve been trained to bring people in the room and tell them, and so the whole paradigm [of ministry] is around in-person connections.”
“The internet makes you have to be sharper in what you do. You’re no longer competing with the people in your town; you’re now competing with everybody.”
“A lot of the criticism around [whether online church] is theologically sound really comes down to people feeling like there needs to be a building and it needs to be a certain size.”
“Churches of any size can turn homes into meeting spaces [using church online] and thereby expand the footprint of your church.”
“I get somebody every month who reaches out to us who is no longer welcome at their local church because of mental illness. I get people who are elderly who were going to a local small church, but that small church doesn’t know how to support them from their home as they’re dying. Our church can now offer this robust experience.”
“I wish the people who are older who have the wisdom would shepherd the younger who see the platform opportunities [of church online].”
“The local experience is not going anywhere.”
“Most people don’t go to church because of the pastor; they go there because of the community, the family, the thing that church is. If you’re very speaking dependent, I think that can be replaced online, but you can’t replace the community element.”
“A healthy church online needs a pastoral presence and clear calls to action.”
Mentioned in the Show:
Free course on setting up an online church
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