Embracing Technology:

Some see emerging technology, changing social norms, or cultural shifts as a threat.

Not Craig Groeschel, and the not the megachurch that he founded nearly 30 years ago in a two-car garage in Oklahoma. They have always seen technology and shifting cultural habits as opportunities, to be jumped on as soon as humanly possible.

In other words, they’re something of the ecclesiastical equivalent of “first to market.”

Life.Church (yes, you read that right – Life dot Church) is the largest megachurch in the country, with 44 satellite campuses in 12 states, totaling somewhere around 85,000 in attendance each weekend. How did they grow so large, and in a relatively short span of time?

Mergers, strategic partnerships, and leveraging technology early and often, whenever the opportunity arises.

The Multi-Site Innovation

Life.Church never struggled for attendance. After only 5 years of existence, Life.Church (then called LifeChurch.tv) had already reached a steady weekly attendance of 5,500 between their two locations (having merged with another church early in the year). One Saturday evening, after church, head pastor Craig Groeschel had to run off to the hospital to watch his wife give birth, and so instead of preaching in person Sunday, a recording of his sermon was shown at both campuses.

And a lightbulb went off over Groeschel’s head.

Getting the technology and tactics right took a couple of years, but by 2003, Life.Church was simulcasting their services across four different campuses, so that each congregation was watching the same sermon, at the same time, in different locations.

And a lightbulb went off over a number of other megachurch pastors’ heads.

Today, approximately 91% of churches livestream their worship services, and the “online congregation” is a common topic of discussion in church offices across America.

It is unclear if Life.Church was actually the first church to simulcast across multiple campuses – but if they were not, they were very early in the game, and certainly the most influential.

Groeschel did not want to be limited by geography, the size of a building, or the number of parking spaces. His vision was to be able to send live video feed of his speaking anywhere in the world, and the team at Life.Church made that dream a reality.

Many others followed suit…

The Dow Jones Industrial Average halted its earlier rally, backing off slightly after once again flirting with 40,000. The Nasdaq has remained relatively flat over the past couple of weeks, and the S&P 500 remains well-entrenched above 5,000. BTC continues to rise and fall daily, oscillating between around $62,000 and $73,000, which is nevertheless up over 50% YTD. Oil continues to climb slowly upward, to $84.15 for a West Texas barrel and $87.68 for Brent crude…

CNBC declares, for good reason, that ESPN’s business model is “eroding.” Cable TV has lost millions of subscribers per year for the last several years, a trend that is expected to continue as technology and consumption habits shift – creating a problem for ESPN, which has built a company off of high-dollar carriage fees. In response, ESPN will launch its own streaming service in 2025, which will include a personalized user experience and integration with ESPN Bet – an online sports gambling book that ESPN has licensed its name and network to…

Christians have been at odds this past week over a few, unrelated events in the popular culture, sparking debate and conversation as to the best way to express our faith in the public square. First, political commentator Candace Owens parted ways with conservative outlet The Daily Wire amid accusations of antisemitism. She has made the words “Christ is King” her catchphrase, sometimes attaching the phrase as a clapback in debates with Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro and others, and once her firing became public, the phrase trended heavily on X, often paired with vile, blatantly anti-semitic images and rhetoric…

Your weekly chance to test your Bible knowledge! The answer to today’s question may surprise you:

Q: What are the three kinds of salvation identified by protestant theology?

Answer at the bottom

TIPS & TRICKS

Is SEO Going Away? What’s Next for Marketing Products and Services Online?

For two decades, Google has been far and away the go-to source for finding products, services, and information on the web, largely due to their “traffic directing” that finds relevant links to websites that can help the user. As such, their SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) guidelines are closely watched by digital marketers, all for the purpose of ranking highly on page 1 when a potential customer types something in the search bar.

But the times, they are a changin’.

Arguably, the first really significant change came in 2000, when Google started selling the top few slots as “paid search results.” This did two things: 1) It made it easier for marketers to get their website to the top of the listings now. 2) It made it so that Page 1 of the search results had 3 fewer slots for organic results.

No big deal. We adapted. But with Google’s imminent inclusion of their AI model “Bard,” the search page is about to change drastically once again.

Changes to the Internet Search Results Page

Google is shifting from a purely link-based result and moving towards a more conversational approach that feels less like “Ask Jeeves” and more like “Chat GPT.” This has a lot of implications for digital marketers, but the first is immediately apparent:

There will now be even less real estate on a search results page for links.

The AI-powered answers that Google is moving towards pull from multiple sources online and present the user with information in an attempt to directly answer their query. This large block of text is prioritized at the top of the results, and does not necessarily drive users to your site the way the old system does.

This means a few things for ecommerce:..

• A shocking 95% of Americans report plans to look for a new job in 2024, according to a new survey.

• Amidst an ongoing legal battle, Google is on the hook to delete illegally acquired user data.

• Planet Fitness is the latest brand to have a Bud Light “hold my beer” moment and is ripe for backlash after canceling a Christian woman’s membership over its trans policy.

• UK Grocer Iceland is feeling the heat after removing the “cross” from its hot crossed buns.

• The Supreme Court heard arguments last week concerning the legality of abortion pills.