Outreach in My Community - Germany

Lorenz Holland-Moritz (Dresden, Germany)

Archived discussion

About the presenter

Lorenz Holland-Moritz wurde 1993 geboren und arbeitet in einer kleinen Firma für Haushaltstechnik in Dresden, wo er derzeit seine Ausbildung als Informationselektroniker abschließt. Neben der Arbeit wirkt er an verschiedenen Projekten der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Freikirche in Deutschland mit. -- Lorenz Holland-Moritz was born in 1993 and works in a small company for household technology in Dresden, where he is currently completing his education as an information electronics specialist. In addition to the work, he is involved in various projects of the Evangelical Lutheran Freechurch in Germany.

[ Click here to go directly to English translation below. ]

Einleitung

Ein großer Teil unserer sozialen Kontakte in Europa spielt sich heute in den digitalen Medien ab. Nicht nur junge Leute schicken sich auf WhatsApp, Facebook oder anderen Onlineplattformen Text – und Sprachnachrichten oder drücken ihre Gedanken in treffenden Bildern und Videoclips aus. Die Mobilfunknetze sind längst so weit ausgebaut, dass schnelles Internet überall verfügbar ist und der Kontakt zu Freunden aus aller Welt zum Alltag gehört. Während es zu diskutieren bleibt, wie gesund die ständige Verfügbarkeit und Nutzung der sozialen Medien ist, möchte ich darauf aufmerksam machen, wie wir als Kirche diese Medien sinnvoll nutzen können, indem wir darüber das Evangelium weitersagen.

So, wie Martin Luther im 16. Jahrhundert den Buchdruck nutzte, um rasch seine geistlichen Schriften und darin Gottes Wort zu verbreiten, so können wir die Kommuniaktionskanäle unserer Zeit gebrauchen, um das Wort der Gnade auszustreuen und mit den Menschen in Kontakt zu kommen, die es hören. Luther wusste, die populären Medien seiner Zeit für das Gute zu nutzen, wir können das genauso tun. Dabei müssen wir das Rad nicht erst neu erfinden. Es ist einfacher als je zuvor, die sozialen Medien mit der frohen Botschaft zu füttern, die wir Sonntag für Sonntag hören. Wer kann den riesigen Informationspool des Internets mit herrlicheren Worten bereichern, als wir, die wir die Wahrheit kennen? Ich mag Luther's Aussage "man muss dem Volk auf's Maul schauen." Vor allem unter jungen Menschen hat sich eine vielseitige und neuartige multimediale Sprache entwickelt, Sie ermöglicht auf ihre Weise eine hervorragende zwischenmenschliche Kommunikation. Mein Ziel ist es, diese Sprache immer besser zu verstehen und mit ihrer Hilfe das Evangelium weiterzusagen. In dieser Präsentation möchte ich einige Ansätze vorstellen, die dazu in der Evangelisch Lutherischen Freikirche und besonders in meiner Gemeinde in Dresden geschehen.

Gemeindearbeit über WhatsApp

Mission beginnt nicht unvermittelt irgendwo. Mission beginnt unter Glaubensgeschwistern in der Gemeinde. Nachdem ich ein Jahr lang intensiven Kontakt zu einzelnen Freunden halten durfte, die im Ausland leben oder nicht regelmäßig zum Gottesdienst kommen können, folgen nun Unterhaltungen mit vielen anderen Bekannten und Verwandten, die ich auf anderem Wege nicht kurzfristig erreichen kann. Einige von ihnen gehören nicht zur Kirche, sind jung im Glauben oder stehen in Anfechtung oder Zweifel an unserer Lehre. Natürlich ersetzt WhatsApp kein Gespräch von Angesicht zu Angesicht, aber es bietet eine Art Mischung aus Briefeschreiben und Telefonieren. Man erreicht sein Gegenüber kurzfristig, aber die geschriebenen oder gesprochenen Nachrichten bleiben lange erhalten. Das gibt einem Bibelwort die Chance, noch einmal gelesen oder gehört zu werden, eine Ermahnung erhält besonderen Nachdruck, Vergebung besonderen Trost. Wichtig ist, in jedem Fall voll für den Anderen da zu sein und sich Zeit und Geduld für das Gespräch zu nehmen, als säße man im selben Raum. Besonders einsame Menschen, oder solche, die sich in ihrem Umfeld nicht ernst genommen fühlen, schätzen ein offenes Ohr oder ein schlichtes Trostwort sehr. Ich bekomme immer wieder unerwarteten Dank von Leuten, die ich kaum kenne, und das nur für eine Einladung zum Gottesdienst oder einen kurzen Gruß.

Eigentlich fällt es mir schwer, selbst ins Gespräch mit anderen Menschen zu kommen. Deshalb schätze ich die vielfältigen Kommunikationswege der sozialen Medien. Zum einen ist es möglich, unverbindlich Informationen zu verbreiten, etwa durch einen Statuspost auf WhatsApp oder allgemeine Werbung für eine Veranstaltung als Nachricht an alle Kontakte. Ich kann nachvollziehen, wer diese Informationen sieht, aber niemand ist zu einer Antwort gezwungen. Dennoch erhalte ich regelmäßig Reaktionen auf Gottesdiensteinladungen, oft auch von Leuten, zu denen ich sehr lange keinen Kontakt hatte oder mit denen ich nie über den Glauben an Christus gesprochen hatte. Es fällt leichter, auf die Reaktion eines Kontaktes zu antworten und daraufhin ins Gespräch zu kommen, als völlig unvermittelt eine Unterhaltung zu beginnen. Auch wenn eine Einladung das Ziel hat, wahrgenommen zu werden oder der Hinweis auf eine Veranstaltung im Internet dazu gedacht ist, dass Leute tatsächlich zuhören - oftmals hat die Werbung für eine Veranstaltung ganz unverhoffte, langanhaltende Gespräche zur Folge. Natürlich wünsche ich mir, dass möglichst Viele den Gottesdienst Livestream aus Dresden besuchen, oder sogar zu uns in die Gemeinde kommen. Aber manchmal führt meine Einladung einfach dazu, dass Menschen aufmerksam auf die Arbeit der Gemeinde werden und hin und wieder antworten. Ich verstehe den Begriff "Medien" zunehmend wörtlich, nämlich als "Mittel" - Mittel zum Zweck. Egal, ob unsere Arbeit in den sozialen Medien tatsächlich verstanden und gewürdigt wird, wichtig ist, dass die zentrale Botschaft transportiert wird, "es gibt einen, dem du nicht egal bist, das ist der Herr Christus, er ist immer für dich da, er will dein Heiland sein".

Vor allem unter Jugendlichen ist es üblich, täglich Bilder und persönliche Nachrichten als Status zu veröffentlichen. Man muss gar nicht fragen, "wie geht es dir?" oder "was machst du gerade?" - bereitwillig zeigen viele ihr Privatleben, nicht nur ihren Freunden, sondern oft der ganzen Welt. Das macht es besonders einfach, auf sie einzugehen und zum Nachdenken anzuregen, vor allem aber echtes Interesse zu zeigen und das Wort weiterzusagen.

Um viele Leute gleichzeitig zu erreichen, nutzen wir die Gruppenfunktion auf WhatsApp. Neben reinen Organisationsgemeinschaften innerhalb der Kirche (z.B. für das KinderCamp der ELFK) haben sich verschiedene soziale WhatsApp Gruppen gebildet. Freunde und Bekannte aus der Gemeinde schreiben sich regelmäßig, schicken sich in der Gruppe "Kraft für den Tag" Bibelverse, Segenswünsche oder seit neuestem Rätselbilder zu biblischen Sprichworten. Wir stärken einander im Glauben, so wie es Christen tun. Und jeder, der es hört, Christ oder Nichtchrist, ist eingeladen, dazuzukommen. Immer wieder öffnen sich Türen zu neuen Bekanntschaften und es ist wichtig und segensreich, den direkten persönlichen Kontakt zu suchen und zu fördern.

Gottesdienst Livestreaming

Eines der Medien, die auf WhatsApp und anderen Plattformen geteilt und beworben warden sind die Livestreams unserer Gemeindeveranstaltungen. Seit etlichen Jahren betreibt unsere Schwestergemeinde in Süddeutschland1 einen YouTube Kanal und veröffentlicht von verschiedenen Predigtorten aus ihre Gottesdienste. Wir Dresdner durften Vieles von ihnen lernen und haben seit 2013 einen eigenen Kanal, auf dem wir wöchentlich unsere Gottesdienste und andere Veranstaltungen der ELFK live übertragen. Gemeindeglieder, die nicht selbst zum Gottesdienst kommen können und einige Gäste von außerhalb nehmen so jeden Sonntag übers Internet am Gottesdienst teil. Gesamtkirchliche Veranstaltungen werden auf mehreren Gemeindewebseiten veröffentlicht und über die sozialen Medien mit vielen Interessenten geteilt. Drei Dinge, die auch für den "realen" Gottesdienst gelten sind mir bei jedem Livestream besonders wichtig:

  • Im Zentrum des Gottesdienstes steht Gottes Wort von der Gnade.
  • Der Gottesdienst ist öffentlich, jedem stehen unsere Türen offen.
  • Die Botschaft ist persönlich. So wie Jesus die Herzen aller Menschen erreichen will, so wollen wir auf vielerlei Weise die Möglichkeit bieten, ins Gespräch zu kommen.

Besonders schön ist es, dass immer wieder Gäste aus anderen Ländern die später als Video vorhandenen Livestreams sehen und kommentieren. Auch wenn es bisher nur ein paar Dutzend Aufrufe pro Gottesdienst gibt, das Internet ermöglicht eine einfache Verbreitung unserer Veranstaltungen und bietet ein großes Potenzial, Menschen mit dem Evangelium zu erreichen.

Im vergangenen Sommer haben wir eine Reihe von Livestreams mit mobiler Technik begonnen. Ein Set, bestehend aus Computer, Mikrofonen und vier Netzwerkkameras kann mit wenig Aufwand transportiert und an einem beliebigen Ort aufgestellt werden. Gestreamt wird die Veranstaltung per Smartphone übers Mobilfunknetz. Nach dem großen Abschlussgottesdienst der 9. KELK Vollversammlung in Grimma wurden etliche Gottesdienste aus verschiedenen ELFK Gemeinden übertragen und über ihre jeweiligen Webseiten und WhatsApp geteilt. Im kommenden Jahr soll dieses Projekt wiederholt und ausgebaut werden, um noch mehr unserer kleinen Gemeinden im Internet bekannt zu machen. Teil des Projekts ist es, interessierten Gemeinden einen Einblick in die praktische Arbeit des Livestreamings zu geben, um ihnen den Aufbau eigener Systeme zu erleichtern. Drei weitere Gemeinden unserer Kirche planen, über eigene YouTube Kanäle ihre Gottesdienste ins Internet zu stellen, um sie Gästen und verhinderten Gemeindegliedern verfügbar zu machen. Noch sind diese Projekte sehr jung und wir können nicht behaupten, große Missionserfolge mit unserer Arbeit im Internet zu erzielen.

Trotzdem glaube ich, dass es richtig und sinnvoll ist, die Arbeit der Gemeinden im Internet bekannt zu machen und immer wieder nach passenden Medien und Darbietungsformen zu suchen, um Gottes Wort in den sozialen Netzwerken auszubreiten. Ein wachsendes Team aus Pastoren, Mediengestaltern, Programmierern und Technikern unserer Kirche arbeitet gemeinsam daran, Projekte zu realisieren, die ein öffentliches Publikum im Internet erreichen können. Zur Mission gehört meiner Meinung nach auch, Christen dazu zu ermuntern, ihre Gaben für die Arbeit der Kirche zu nutzen. Doch alles muss mit dem Gespräch beginnen, worum es uns eigentlich geht. Wenn wir anderen von unserem Glauben erzählen wollen, müssen wir uns auch selbst im Klaren sein, was diesen Glauben ausmacht. Das führt uns zu der näheren Beschäftigung mit den Inhalten des Gottesdienstes und der Bibel selbst. Immer wieder dürfen wir erkennen, dass nicht unsere Kraft und Anstrengung zum Erfolg führt, sondern die Gnade Gottes, die alles Gute wirkt.

Ich freue mich darauf, noch viel von anderen Gemeinden und deren Missionsarbeit zu lernen und im eigenen Bekenntnis zu wachsen, Vielen zum Segen und Gott zur Ehre.


Introduction

A large part of our social contacts in Europe are now taking place in the digital media. Not only young people send text and voice messages on WhatsApp, Facebook or other online platforms, or express their thoughts in pictures and video clips. The mobile phone networks have long been developed to such an extent that fast Internet is available everywhere and the contact with friends from all over the world belongs to everyday life. While it remains to discuss how healthy the constant availability and use of social media is, I would like to draw attention to the ways in which we as the Church can make a meaningful use of these media by evoking the gospel.

Just as Martin Luther used the printing press in the sixteenth century to spread his spiritual writings and the Word of God, we can use the communication channels of our time to spread the word of grace and to come into contact with the people who hear it. Luther knew how to use the popular media of his time for the good; we can do the same. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. It's easier than ever to feed the social media with the good news we hear every Sunday. Who can enrich the giant information pool of the Internet with more glorious words than we who know the truth? Virtually everyone now has a smartphone with internet connection. I like Luther's statement, "You need to look into people's mouth." Especially among young people has developed a versatile and novel multimedia language through the use of media. This makes excellent interpersonal communication possible. My aim is to understand this language better and to pass on the gospel with its help. In this presentation, I would like to introduce some approaches that are going on in the Evangelical Lutheran Freechurch and particularly in my church in Dresden.

Community work on WhatsApp

Mission does not start nowhere. The mission begins with the faithful in the church. After a year of intensive contact with individual friends who live abroad or do not come regularly to worship, I now follow the conversation with many other acquaintances and relatives whom I can not reach by other means. Some of them do not belong to the church, are young in faith, or are in temptation or doubt about our doctrine. Of course, WhatsApp does not replace face-to-face conversations, but it offers a kind of mix of letters and phone calls. It can be reached in the short term, but the written or spoken messages are preserved for a long time. This gives a biblical word the chance to be read or heard again, an exhortation receives special emphasis, forgiveness special consolation. It is important to be fully there for the other person and to take the time and patience for the conversation as if you were sitting in the same room. Especially lonely people, or those who do not feel taken seriously in their surroundings, appreciate an open ear or a simple consolation. I always get unexpected thanks from people I hardly know, and only for an invitation to worship or a quick greeting.

Actually, it is hard for me to get into conversation with other people. That is why I appreciate the diverse communication channels of the social media. On the one hand, it is possible to disseminate impersonal information, for example through a status post on WhatsApp or general advertising for an event as a message to all contacts. I can understand who sees this information, but no one is forced to answer. However, I regularly receive responses to church services, often by people I have not had any contact with or have never talked about believing in Christ before. It is easier to reply to the reaction of a contact and then to enter into conversation, than to begin a conversation suddenly without any preparation. Even if an invitation has the goal to be perceived or the reference to an event on the Internet is intended for people to actually listen - often the advertising for an event ends up in long-lasting conversations I initially didn't plan at all. Of course, I wish that as many as possible would visit the livestream of our Sunday services from Dresden, or even come to the church. But sometimes my invitation simply leads people to pay attention to the work of the church and to respond from time to time. I understand the term "media" increasingly literally, as a "means" to an end. Whether or not our work in the social media is actually understood and appreciated, it is important that the central message is conveyed, "someone is there for you, carrying the sin of the world, that is the Lord Christ, he wants to be your Savior."

Especially among young people it is usual to publish daily pictures and personal messages as status updates. You do not have to ask "how are you?" Or "what are you doing now?" - many willingly show their private life, not only to their friends, but often to the whole world. This makes it particularly easy to approach them and to give them food for thought in showing genuine interest and telling God's word.

To reach many people at the same time, we use the group function on WhatsApp. In addition to purely organizational groups within the Church (for example for the Children's Camp of the ELFK), various social WhatsApp groups have formed. Friends and acquaintances from the community write regularly. Within the group "Power for the Day" we send each other Bible verses, blessings, or, more recently, "puzzle pictures" on biblical topics. We strengthen one another in faith, as Christians do. And everyone who hears it, Christian or non-Christian, is invited to come and join us. Again and again, doors open to new acquaintances and it is important and blessed to seek and promote direct personal contact.

Worship Livestreaming

On one of the media, which is shared and advertised on WhatsApp and other platforms, are the livestreams of our community events. For a number of years, our sister community in Southern Germany has been running a YouTube channel and has been broadcasting services from various preaching places. We Dresdeners have been able to learn a lot from them. Since 2013 we run our own channel, where we broadcast our church services and other ELFK events every week. Members who can not come to church themselves and some guests from outside take part in the worship service every Sunday. Big church events are published on several community websites and shared on social media with many interested parties.

Three things which also apply to "real" worship are important to me at every Livestream:

  • At the center of worship is God's Word of grace.
  • The service is open to the public.
  • The message is personal. Just as Jesus wants to reach the hearts of all people, we want to offer the possibility to get into conversation in many ways and to show people personal interest and spiritual support.

It is especially nice that guests from other countries always see and comment on the Livestreams recorded and available to view later. Although there are only a few dozen calls per video, the internet allows for easy dissemination of our events and offers great potential to reach people with the gospel.

Last summer we started a series of Livestreams with mobile technology. A set consisting of computers, microphones and four network cameras can be transported with little effort and placed at any location. The event is streamed via smartphone over the mobile phone network. After the grand closing ceremony of the 9th CELC Annual General Meeting in Grimma, several church services were transferred from different ELFK communities and shared via their respective websites and WhatsApp. This project is to be repeated and expanded in the coming year in order to make more of our small communities known on the internet. Part of the project is to provide interested communities with an insight into the practical work with the technology in order to facilitate the development of their own systems. Three other congregations in our church plan to put their worship services on the internet via their own YouTube channels, to make them available to guests and other community members who cannot attend. Still, these projects are very young and we cannot claim to achieve great mission success with our work on the Internet.

Nevertheless, I believe that it is right and proper to publicize the work of communities on the Internet, and to search for appropriate media and forms of expression to spread God's Word in the social networks. A growing team of pastors, media writers, programmers and technicians of our church is working together to realize projects that a public audience can reach on the Internet. The mission is, in my opinion, also encouraging Christians to participate with their talents. It all has to start with discussing what our work is actually about. If we want to tell others about our faith, we must also be aware of what constitutes this belief. This leads us to a closer look at the content of worship and the Bible itself. Again and again, we can see that it is not our strength and effort that leads to success, but the grace of God, which works all good.

I am looking forward to learning a lot from other churches about their missionary work, as they grow in their own confession, for the blessing of many and the glory of God.


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Discussion

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Judy Kuster 2017-10-22 8:33:19pm
I enjoyed meeting you in Grimma, was really excited by your paper and so happy that you share so clearly what the next generation beyond me (actually two already!!) has developed using media in reaching others with the Gospel. I knew from the beginning the power of mediated communication in opening doors to people reluctant to share feelings face to face in a counseling relationship, and the benefit of being able to respond when given time to think about what one wants to communicate - both values of Internet communication that is difficult, and sometimes not even possible, in face-to-face communication. Asynchronous communication the Internet provides often works better for me (except when I miss typos or the word program decides to change words for me). You understand that, too, as well as using the real time opportunities the Internet creates. Thanks for sharing your ideas and activities. Excellent paper and very nicely done!
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-10-25 4:05:18pm
Oh, I have to thank you so much for all your support and encouragement with this project! I wasn't even able to come up with the English presentation and you helped me out. Many ideas actually came up after Grimma where we met so many brothers and sisters in Christ and I could see the great work that is done in our churches worldwide. I'm thankful for receiving more tips and seing other examples during this conference!
I do see the limits of mediated communication, such as misunderstandings or people (sometimes including myself) not responding. A face-to-face conversation in many aspects is still the best way, but it's not always possible and it has it's limits too, as you pointed out. There must be a reason that people started writing letters as soon as paper and pencil were invented...
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-10-25 4:30:32pm
By the way, talking with the youth group people in Dresden I just learned the other week that WhatsApp isn't very common in the US and other places of the world. Is that true? I don't want to carry coals to Newcastle explaining WhatsApp - it's a messenger app for smartphones, including broadcast and group functions, status messages and support for data transfer of all kinds.
What do you use for mobile communication?

Another topic we could discuss is livestream technologie. Our current system is more like a modified surveillance kit, which is a little bit difficult to handle but really cheap and adequate in quality. I don't know, if anyone is interested in details, please let me know!
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Tom Kuster (Christ in Media Institute) 2017-10-27 11:34:13am
WhatsApp is THE messaging method in Latin America, and is heavily used by the WELS outreach program there centered around Academia Cristo. See the presentation "Using Social Media to Become Known Throughout Latin America" in the spring 2016 GOWM conference at https://2016.gowm.org/sessions/latinamerica/
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Judy Kuster 2017-10-27 4:30:56pm
I just use texting on my iPhone which is free and the message option on Facebook. I did find information that may be relevant to your questions "There is no chat app that has managed to reach the same heights that WeChat and LINE have reached in their respective markets as far as the U.S. market is concerned. However, it’s not that Americans are against this technology hence the slow update of messaging apps, but it is because for a long time Americans have been sending text messages free. This is something that is just coming to many countries from all over the world yet the top three carriers in the U.S. have offered free voice calling and SMS services from 2010."
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Mark Rieke 2017-10-30 8:36:33am
Thanks for your presentation. Enjoyed getting to know you in Grimma. May the Lord bless you and the ELFK.
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-10-31 8:52:52am
Thank's for all your responses! I try to awnser as soon as possible.
Todays breaking news is our Reformation Festival Service in Zwickau-Planitz, Germany. It can be seen on: https://youtu.be/Qk0krcFKKL0
3pm - UTC+01:00
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-10-31 9:24:28am
It's also on our websites, for instance www.elfk.de/planitz.
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Andrew Krueger (Martin Luther College-Student) 2017-11-02 1:19:43am
Lorenz Holland-Moritz,

Hello from the United States! I find that it is an amazing gift to use digital media to spread the gospel. Similar to your printing press example, I’ve heard media being used like the Roman roads which the very first apostles of Jesus probably used to get from one city to another. If they can use these new advances, why can’t we? For some of the Chinese missions we support, I know their whole communication is based on media messaging, specifically email or WeChat. Whenever they have new prospects, it’s always “Let me get your WeChat ID so we can talk later!”. I actually got to go to China this past summer and sat in on a college class. Right after the class, every student went over and asked to get my WeChat. It was crazy! I’m glad the missionaries there are utilizing this powerful tool to spread the good news.

It’s weird to hear when other countries usually have only a few messaging apps, such as WhatsApp or WeChat though since in the States we use a large variety of contact media. Although a few stick out, such as Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, and Snapchat, it’s a lot more work in most cases if you’re trying to make it more convenient for more people. In this case, we might have multiple churches in an area producing an enormous amount of media output, attempting to hit all their audiences.

You had said that three congregations are putting their Livestream services on youtube. I know many churches in the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod are doing so as well. My question is this then: Is there such thing as too much output? A more specific example question would be: do you think it is necessary for there to be multiple livestreams, when (hopefully) the same gospel message is being conveyed in each of them? This has always been my worry with digital media, as I am certain that there already is enough Christian content on the internet to completely fill multiple sports stadiums with books if they were put into print. My thought on it is that people are interested in what is new, not what is already out there, so it is useful to put more out, but I am interested in what your thoughts are!

Thank you so much for your contribution to the conference!
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-05 8:13:20am
Thanks for your thoughts, Andrew!

Really good input and things I haven't considered writing about. To be honest, WhatsApp is just what I went into looking for contact to some closer friends. I did't plan any outreach program or researched the most popular messenger app. So far, WhatsApp seems to be the most used messenger in Germany, maby in Europe, so I keep sharing most of the church activities there. Some use different apps like Telegramm, SnapChat or Threema in addition.
On the one hand it's beneficial to have one common communication path, "the Roman roads" so to speak, where everyone shows up. That makes it easy to handle wide spread news and find common discussion groups. On the other hand exactly that is also a risk, because you can easily miss people among the hundreds of contacts that do not use this particular messenger. For instance, we write messages within a WhatsApp group for the youth people of the Dresden community. Only few of them do not have WhatsApp and occasionally miss whats going on. So you have to be careful in many cases where you want to reach a particular group of people.

The other thing you pointed out is very true too. There is no need for a multitude of public livestreams from the same country. However, there are several congregations that want to provide a viewable Sunday Service to their own members in case they cannot come. I just talked to some members of the LBK in Sweden and we found that livestreaming can also be an opportunity for communities spread over the country. Not every family is able to travel the long distance to their home church and not every pastor has enough time to take care of every farther individual every Sunday.
We have to keep in mind that we don't want to compete with our work between the communities but serve at our places and for the whole church body together helping each other out where we can. Sometimes we need to lower our own ambitions to give another livestream or project the chance to be seen, or even to promote it instread of our own work. Another concept which I think has some potential is a small tech crew travelling around and supplying livestreams from different congregations so the viewers have some variety. Maby there are experiences about that within the ELS and WELS.

I have to stop here, we're leaving Sweden right now. Thank's again for your response, really appreciate your interest!

Live worship from Ljungby, Sweden: https://youtu.be/Ug4DUj2xVhc
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Ella Loersch (Martin Luther College) 2017-11-02 10:56:06am
Hello Lorenz Holland-Moritz, thank you for sharing such an interesting aspect of ministry! I really appreciate your views regarding how Christians and the church can use the internet--I feel like some people in the church view the internet as bad, almost sinful, and therefore ministry and outreach via the web is not a viable option. However, you emphasize that the media and internet are a way of communication, which can be used in a sinful way.
The work you do with the WhatsApp, even though you say it can be general, to me sounds like and actually very personal form of ministry! It's awesome how the media is able to take away some of the barriers of spreading the Word, which is definitely what you and your church have effectively done in using the WhatsApp and livestreaming. In America we don't use the WhatsApp too much, so I'm not sure about the culture that surrounds it in Germany, so I have a few questions-- can you find users from the app or do you have to ask them a user name in person(similar to a phone number)? In either situation, how do you decide who to message? Do you set up groups that have common ties? Most importantly, how do you start having conversations with people that you haven't communicated with on WhatsApp before? Maybe your methods are not particularly profound or complicated, but that would be a struggle I would have if I were doing this type of ministry, worrying if I'm overstepping my position.
Thank you so much for sharing! It is so important to have a conversation and have access to this kind of knowledge from around the world!
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-06 9:56:35am
Hello Ella Loersch,
thank's also for your input! I'll try to give you some facts. To some extend WhatsApp works like Facebook (which are actually related and somewhat connected with each other and therefore have not the best reputation considering privacy protection, still most people use it..). If you get someones phone number and have internet access, your smartphone will check, if this number belongs to a WhatsApp account. If it does, his or her profile will appear in your WhatsApp contact list. You can start a conversation from there, but the other end has to confirm, that the incoming message is not spam. So it is possible to refuse a conversation.
We use a variety of groups. Some people have a group for each real live social group like family, friends, church, school class, neighbors aso. Anyone can start a WhatsApp group, invite people to it an share the 'admin' right with individual members of the group, so they can manage its members too. In your conversation list, each group will appear just as any other contact only that you contact everyone.
You can't find somebody by searching his name, you need his phone number. It's also possible to 'import' contacts via the groups you are in because you see every group member. By asking them or guessing who it is, you can expand your contact list. I found that beeing an accepted method to get in touch with people, some won't like that and do not respond but most are okay with it.
As soon as you have saved a contact as a 'friend', you'll get his status posts. Everyone can upload and share photos or short video clips through his status. I have given you an example up in the essay, the first picture is a very common kind of status post among teens, telling some personal thoughts or feelings to the public (in this case to your WhatsApp contacts). The picture tells "I'm more the kind of person who says 'It's allright', and cries for himself." - usually no one would respond to this statement, there are simply too many of them. But it gives a good chance of showing genuine interest, if you hit respond and simply ask 'Why have you posted this? Is there something going on you wand to talk about?'. Not in every case there is a serious background. But the door of communication and comfort through Gods word is open.
Just as you said, my methods aren't particularly profound or complicated. I wouldn't even call them methods, I just see what's going on ('WhatsApp' so to speak, which is a little German pun) and try to the give personal recognition and interest, which I get from my friends too.
Hope that was somewhat helpful.. Thank's again for your comment! Please ask, if there are more questions, or I missed a point.
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-06 9:59:04am
sorry for my many typos - that is the smartphone generation ..
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Patrick Ernst (Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary) 2017-11-02 12:13:43pm
Vielen Dank für den Aufsatz. Viele reiche Optionen für Gemeinden und Synoden, besonders kleine Gemeinden, stehen bereit zu unserer Nutzung - wir müssen die nur völlig verwenden.

Ich möchte Sie fragen - werden Änderungen bei den mechanischen Elementen der Gottesdienstführung nötig, wenn ein Gottesdienst übertragt und im Internet geteilt wird? Ich glaubte, man müsste sich auf Lichtung, Hörbarkeit, verschiedene Aufnahmewinkel, Bildabschnitt usw. achten. Was genau wird wichtig, um ein ästhetisches Video des Gottesdienstes zu machen? Und vielleicht die wichtigere Frage ist: kann man ein Video des Gottesdienstes machen, die die Zuschauer richtig als eine reiche Erfahrung, die so echt wie im Internet möglich ist, genießen, während die Erfahrung der Teilnehmer in der Kirche und der Gottesdienst noch ehrfürchtig bleiben? Und wenn solche Balance möglich ist, wie erreicht man das?

Vielen Dank für Ihre Arbeit und Kommentare.
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-06 5:41:05pm
Danke Patrick Ernst für die vielen guten Gedanken und Fragen!
Ich erlaube mir erstmal, auf deutsch zu antworten, damit es nicht zu lange dauert. Da Sie gut deutsch schreiben, hoffe ich, dass Sie mich verstehen.

Es gibt viel zu Ihren Fragen zu sagen, ich könnte den konkreten Aufbau unserer Technik in Dresden erläutern, genauso wie die Verwendung von mobiler Technik, die nur für einen Gottesdienst aufgebaut und dann wieder weggeräumt wird (so mache ich es, wenn wir auf Reisen sind zu anderen Gemeinden).
Zu allererst eins: Wir haben nicht genügend Geld um mit professioneller Technik zu arbeiten. Die komplette technische Ausrüstung mit Computer, Kameras, Mikrofonen, Peripherie und Kabeln ist ungefähr $2000 wert, das ist weniger als eine einzelne professionelle Kamera. Unsere großen Schwesterkirchen ELS und WELS können sicher viel bessere Informationen zur Arbeit mit Videotechnik geben als ich, aber ich will versuchen, die Punkte anhand unserer Erfahrungen zu beantworten, die Sie angesprochen haben.

Licht:
Für ein sauberes Videobild ist eine gute Ausleuchtung der Kirche nötig. Vor allem Altarraum und Kanzel sollten beleuchtet werden. In der Praxis ist das meistens nicht möglich, wir verwenden das natürliche Raumlicht bzw. die vorhandenen Lampen. Das Ergebnis ist ein zu dunkles oder rauschendes Bild. In Dresden haben wir ein Problem mit dem Gegenlicht, dass du die Fenster hinter dem Altar fällt. Ich plane deshalb die Installation kleiner Studioleuchten, die jedoch nicht störend im Raum stehen sollen, sondern im Winkel von der Decke hängen.
Bei der Installation ist nur darauf zu achten, dass eine Stromversorgung vorhanden ist. Dafür kann zum Beispiel die Raumbeleuchtung mitgenutzt werden oder eine nahgelegene Verteilerdose. So ist kein großer Eingriff in die Rauminstallation nötig.

Ton:
Tom Kuster hat in seinem Beitrag https://2017.gowm.org/sessions/kustert unter 'Program Quality' eine wichtige Sache erwähnt. Es kommt vor allem darauf an, dass der Inhalt des Gottesdienstes - das ist Gottes seligmachendes Wort - auch online gut zu verstehen ist. Viele Livestreams legen darauf leider zu wenig wert. Die oberste Priorität sollte darauf liegen, dass sowohl der Pastor als auch die Gemeinde und die Musik gut zu hören sind. Wir verwenden deshalb in Dresden drei Mikrofone, zwei als Raummikrofone über der Gemeinde, eins am Lesepult für die Predigt. Manche Gemeinden nutzen mittlerweile ein Headset für den Pastor, was eine sehr gute Verständlichkeit gewährleistet, jedoch mehr Serviceaufwand bedeutet (Batterien wechseln, Ton ein- und ausschalten). Wenn es möglich ist, sollte überall dort ein Mikrofon in wenigen Metern Abstand stehen/hängen, wo gesprochen oder gesungen wird. Das kann in großen Kirchen eine Herausforderung sein, weshalb sich dort die Variante mit dem Headset eher empfiehlt. Sinnvoll ist es, auf die Standards der Tontechnik zurückzugreifen, d.h. Kondensatormikrofone, irgendeine Art Mischpult und symmetrische Mikrofonkabel zu verwenden. Amateurmikrofone oder das eingebaute Mikro der Kamera führen fast immer zu einem halligen, schlecht zu verstehenden Ton.
Es ist auch zu beachten, dass im Gottesdienst eine große Lautstärkedynamik vorherrscht. Während die einzelne Stimme des Pastors meistens recht leise ist, singt die volle Gemeinde mit Orgelbegleitung sehr laut. Der Pegel der Mikrofone muss angepasst werden, dafür gibt es in Livestreamingprogrammen die Funktion Autogain, welche die Lautstärke automatisch regelt. Die Tonqualität ist auch deshalb besonders wichtig, da die Wiedergabe des Livestreams meist auf kleinen PC Lausprechern oder Smartphones erfolgt und daher verlustbehaftet ist. Je höher die Qualität der eingehenden Tonaufnahme, desto besser das Endergebnis.

Bild:
Wie oben beschrieben arbeiten wir mit kleinem Budget. Daher hat sich die Verwendung von Überwachungskameras als besonders günstig erwiesen:
- niedriger Preis (s. Link unten)
- gute Bildqualität durch 1/3 Zoll CMOS Sensor
- einfache Verkabelung über LAN und Stromversorgung durch PoE (nur ein Kabel pro Kamera)
Die Nutzung von LAN Kameras hat außerdem zum Vorteil, dass ein oder mehrere PCs einfach angebunden werden können und die bestehende Netzwerkverkabelung im Gebäude genutzt werden kann.
Natürlich kann man dem Zuschauer mit vielen verschiedenen Perspektiven einen besseren Einblick in den Gottesdienst geben. Bei besonderen Veranstaltungen der ELFK benutze ich derzeit bis zu 5 Kameras, um nicht nur den Altar und die Kanzel, sondern z.B. auch Gemeinde, Orgel und Chor zu zeigen. Das bedeutet aber einen sehr großen Aufbau- und Regieaufwand. Wie Sie angedeutet haben, fühlt sich die Gemeinde durch viel technischen Aufwand bedrängt. Das möchte ich, so gut es geht, vermeiden. Im wöchentlichen Gottesdienst in Dresden wird daher nur eine einzelne Kamera an der Raumdecke verwendet, die den kompletten Altarraum zeigt. Man muss immer einen Kompromiss zwischen möglichst schönem Ergebnis und Aufwand bzw. Störeinfluss ziehen. Ideal für den Livestream wäre ein komplett eingerichtetes Filmstudio. Ein andächtiger Gottesdienst wird dort jedoch nicht mehr möglich sein. Deshalb muss immer wieder abgewägt werden, was der Gemeinde am besten dient - sowohl vor Ort als auch im Internet.

Um Ihre erste Frage kurz zu beantworten: Ja, es muss Umbauten in der Kirche geben, um einen Gottesdienst in angemessener Qualität zu übertragen. Am wichtigsten ist es, Mikrofone in der Nähe des Pastors und der Gemeinde anzubringen. Dazu müssen Kabel an die entsprechenden Stellen verlegt werden. Zusätzliches Licht kann oder muss je nach Situation installiert werden. Ein oder mehrere Kameras können unter Umständen gut versteckt angebracht werden. Je größer das Kirchgebäude ist, desto höher wird der Aufwand - Kameras müssen z.B. an verschiedenen sichtbaren Stellen installiert und verkabelt werden oder es bedarf besonders großer Teleobjektive, um von einem zentralen Ort im hinteren Kirchenbereich aufzunehmen.

Ich hoffe, ich konnte Ihre Fragen beantworten! In der näheren Zukunft plane ich, kurze Anleitungsvideos für andere Gemeinden, die live übertragen wollen, zu erstellen. Falls Sie interessiert sind, werden Sie davon auf unserem YouTube Kanel erfahren.

Nochmals danke für die Fragen und herzliche Grüße!

Beispiel einer günstigen Netzwerkkamera mit PoE:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Reolink-HD-IP-Camera-4MP-uberwachungskamera-Nachtsicht-wetterfest-Kamera-RLC-410/132314289966?hash=item1ece8bd72e:g:-E4AAOSw46BZqRs4
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Tom Kuster (Christ in Media Institute) 2017-11-08 10:48:29pm
For the sake of many conference visitors, I am supplying a translation into English of the above comment and Lorenz's reply. Worth reading!

Thank you for the essay. Many rich options for churches and synods, especially small communities, are ready for our use - we just have to use them completely.

I would like to ask you - are changes in the mechanical elements of worship necessary when a service is transmitted and shared on the Internet? I believed that you had to pay attention to the clearing, audibility, different angles, image section, etc. What exactly becomes important to make an aesthetic video of the service? And perhaps the more important question is: can one make a video of the worship that the audience rightly enjoys as a rich experience as real as possible on the Internet, while the experience of church participants and the worship still remain awesome? And if such balance is possible, how do you do that?

Thank you for your work and comments.
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Tom Kuster (Christ in Media Institute) 2017-11-08 10:53:20pm
This is Lorenz's reply to Patrick:

Thank you Patrick Ernst for the many good thoughts and questions!
I allow myself first to answer in German, so it does not take too long. Since you write well German, I hope you understand me.

There is a lot to say about your questions, I could explain the concrete structure of our technology in Dresden, as well as the use of mobile technology, which is built only for a service and then put away again (so I do it when we travel to other communities).
First of all, we do not have enough money to work with professional technology. The complete technical equipment with computers, cameras, microphones, peripherals and cables is worth about $ 2,000, less than a single professional camera. Our big sister churches ELS and WELS can certainly give much better information on working with video technology than me, but I will try to answer the points based on our experiences that you have addressed.

Light:
For a clean video image, a good illumination of the church is necessary. Above all, the sanctuary and the pulpit should be illuminated. In practice, this is usually not possible, we use the natural room light or the existing lamps. The result is a too dark or noisy picture. In Dresden we have a problem with the backlight that you drop the windows behind the altar. That's why I plan to install small studio lights, which should not be distracting in the room, but hang at an angle from the ceiling.
During installation, only make sure that a power supply is available. For example, the room lighting can be shared or a nearby junction box. So no major intervention in the room installation is necessary.

Volume:
Tom Kuster mentioned one important thing in his article https://2017.gowm.org/sessions/kustert under 'Program Quality'. Above all, it is important that the content of the service - that is God's saving word - is also well understood online. Unfortunately, many livestreams do not value that much. The top priority should be that both the pastor and the community and the music are heard well. That's why we use three microphones in Dresden, two as room microphones over the church, one on the lectern for the sermon. Some communities now use a headset for the pastor, which ensures a very good understanding, but means more service (change batteries, sound on and off). If it is possible, there should be a microphone in every few meters, where people talk or sing. This can be a challenge in large churches, which is why the variant with the headset is more appropriate. It makes sense to resort to the standards of sound engineering, i. Use condenser microphones, any type of mixer and balanced microphone cables. Amateur microphones or the built-in microphone of the camera almost always lead to a reverberant, poorly understood sound.
It should also be noted that in the worship a large volume dynamics prevails. While the single voice of the pastor is usually quite quiet, the full congregation with organ accompaniment sings very loudly. The level of the microphones must be adjusted, but there are in Livestreamingprogrammen the function Autogain, which regulates the volume automatically. The sound quality is also particularly important because the playback of the livestream is usually done on small PC speakers or smartphones and is therefore lossy. The higher the quality of the incoming audio recording, the better the final result.

Image:
As described above, we work on a small budget. Therefore, the use of surveillance cameras has proven to be particularly favorable:
- low price (see link below)
- good picture quality by 1/3 inch CMOS sensor
- easy cabling via LAN and power supply through PoE (only one cable per camera)
The use of LAN cameras also has the advantage that one or more PCs can be easily connected and the existing network cabling in the building can be used.
Of course you can give the viewer with many different perspectives a better insight into the service. At special events of the ELFK, I currently use up to 5 cameras in order not only to use the altar and the pulpit, but also e.g. also to show community, organ and choir. But that means a huge amount of construction and direction. As you indicated, the community feels under pressure from a lot of technical effort. I want to avoid that as much as possible. In the weekly church service in Dresden, therefore, only a single camera is used on the ceiling, which shows the entire sanctuary. You always have to make a compromise between the best possible result and effort or interference. Ideal for the livestream would be a fully furnished film studio. A devout worship will not be possible there. That's why it's time to weigh up what's best for the community - both locally and on the Internet.

To answer your first question briefly: Yes, there must be renovations in the church in order to give a worship of reasonable quality. The most important thing is to mount microphones near the pastor and the church. For this purpose, cables must be routed to the appropriate places. Additional light can or must be installed depending on the situation. One or more cameras may be well hidden. The larger the church building, the higher the effort - cameras must, for example. can be installed and wired in various visible locations, or requires extra-large telephoto lenses to pick up from a central location in the back of the church.

I hope I could answer your questions! In the near future, I plan to create short instructional videos for other communities that want to broadcast live. If you are interested, you will find out about it on our YouTube Kanel.

Thanks again for the questions and best regards!

Example of a cheap network camera with PoE:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Reolink-HD-IP-Camera-4MP-uberwachungskamera-Nachtsicht-wetterfest-Kamera-RLC-410/132314289966?hash=item1ece8bd72e:g:-E4AAOSw46BZqRs4
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Bjarte Edvardsen (Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary) 2017-11-02 12:23:58pm
Thank you for your essay Lorenz! I enjoyed reading it and the following discussion.

I might be going a bit off-topic with my comment, since your essay seems to be specifically about DM-apps. But I think there's an important connection with social media in general. One of the things that is interesting about social media is that the trends are constantly shifting. Simultaneously as the parents started showing up on Facebook, the kids moved to Instagram instead. And when the parents came to Instagram as well, the kids moved over to Snapchat. (An intended exaggaration to get the point across.) And it seems to be the same for DM-apps. When I grew up we used MSN Messenger, but that seems to have drastically decreased in popularity. My impression is that Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are the most common ones in Scandinavia these days. I'm unfamiliar with WhatsApp myself. It's interesting that certain apps become so popular within certain cultures.

The fact that the trends are shifting creates a challenge for us who want to reach out with the gospel on social media. A conclusion: We need to be aware of which social media platforms are most common to use for youth, adults and elders. The gospel message is the same, but certain images and certain passages might be especially relevant for each. Another conclusion is that we should be flexible and dare to go out of our comfort zones and try new social media platforms and DM apps – as you seem very eager to do – so that we "meet people" where they are.

I like the idea of sharing the gospel in direct or group messages. This possibility has crossed my mind a few times, but until now I have not actually really considered it. Reading your essay has changed that. I'm thinking it could especially be a good idea to share Bible passages or even short devotions (text and/or video) via direct messaging. I'm particularly interested in combining images with fitting Bible passages, which is becoming more and more common. It's a good idea to stream services too, and I'm very grateful that the Lord has blessed individuals with the gifts and willingness to work with that.

God bless the evangelism media work in ELFK!
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-09 2:16:23pm
Hey Bjarte,
great to hear from you! I'm very happy to see this conference being well known in our churches, what a blessing to have this exchange of information, thoughts and ideas!
Thanks for your comment! You remind me not to be lazy in looking for outreach opportunities. What I found is that using specific platforms and apps in social media can be so much fun when doing it with the objective of Gospel Outreach, while personally I might not be interested at all.
I'd really like to see some of your work with images and God's word. I'm kind of bothered with this topic when ever an article image is needed or if our weekly YouTube thumbnails ask for more than another perspective of our church.. I'm planning to spend quite a bit more time with this topic, so I'd like to see what you do. Is there a place online where you share it?
Thank you for your wishes! God's blessings to you too!
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-09 4:18:10pm
Again, thank you so much Dr Kuster for translating! I am about making a short behind the scenes video covering all of that in English. But in practice, I'm not even fast enough to translate my answers.. Thanks for your help!
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Elyse Kipfer (Wisconsin Lutheran College) 2017-11-12 12:46:25am
I liked the connection to the printing press which at the time was a new technology. Furthermore, I liked how you concluded that we should each use our gifts from God to share his Gospel. I also appreciate that you were open to sharing that you find it difficult to start conversations, but God has enabled you to talk with others freely through media and specifically WhatsApp. I believe that your gifts and talents from God along with hard work are essential to living out your calling from God. I hope that completing your education is going well and that you will continue to share God's Gospel on WhatsApp. Technology is constantly changing and I hope that you are able to keep up with the change in order to enhance God's mission which is to multiple his disciples. Thank you for your presentation and for the pictures.
God Bless your schooling and your missionary work.
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Lorenz Holland-Moritz 2017-11-13 7:02:18pm
Again, I want to thank everybody who made this online conference possible, first of all Tom and Judy Kuster! I still live on the great memories of meeting you and some of the commentors in Grimma last summer. Thanks to all of you for the good comments, advices and ideas concerning Gospel Outreach with Media! I'll continuously appreacheate reading the different articles and inputs from your side and I'm looking forward to the next conference.
May God bless all your work and efford going into spreading out the Gospel all over the world! It's such a blessing to have you and to enjoy your fellowship in faith!

For personal contact, please send an email to 31igkeit@gmail.com and we can change private adresses.