The world is embarking on a new iteration of the internet, but what does that mean for the Church? Here are some predictions and some humble suggestions from a priest in the Church of England.

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There’s a lot of conversation and information being shared about the Metaverse and Web 3 and the next iteration of the internet. From DAO’s to ‘Bored Apes’, Blockchains to Coins. I’ve also been doing a lot of reading, reflecting and learning to try and understand what, if anything, it means for the Church in the UK.

Lots of people are doing the same. That’s why we hosted a conversation about this at the Stronger conference back in January when we invited James Poulter to speak about the Metaverse. He didn’t disappoint. You can find the recording here.

The bottom line is that these latest advancements in technology and immersive communication are coming down the pipeline and to some extent are already emerging. God has placed you in certain industries and sectors of society and the chances are that your business or industry is getting ready and preparing and analysing for the shifts that are coming. I think churches and denominations need to include themselves in this exercise of analysis too.

This will be a cultural phenomenon and it will be adopted and absorbed. There will be challenges and things to iron out no doubt because it’s new, and the Church won’t be excluded from this new experience. On the contrary, as the Church, we are called to discern where God is at work and engage with culture and be present as a sign post to the Kingdom. This is an exciting moment, and I think you can find the mood amongst Christians and leaders around this is positive, upbeat, with a sense of opportunity about new missionary and Kingdom endeavours opening up.

Just to recap a little bit. Experts describe three iterations of the internet as ‘Web 1-3’. I find the following words describe some of the key features of each iteration:

Web 1: consume; read only; gather info, static (web page; AOL; Dial Up)
Web 2: consume, create, read & write, info gathered, centralised, social (social media; podcasts; content creation and influencers).
Web 3: consume, create, read, write, own, experience, immersive, decentralised, virtual, (augmented reality in the broadest sense where we don’t need a handheld device to connect and experience).

Welcome to the Metaverse, or Metaverses (clever ‘Meta’ got in fast and so we could mistakenly think that the Metaverse is singular and owned by one company). The reality looks much more complex and multi-dimensional. In fact, one of the challenges right now is how all these different chains and experiences will integrate, but they will.

Morgan Stanley are predicting that the metaverse (i.e. ‘metaverse’ plural) could constitute up to 10% of the luxury market by 2030. Interesting to note also that ‘Fashion brands are amongst the early adopters…maybe in response to the industry’s initially relatively slow adaptation to e-commerce & social media’ (via Fashion United).

I think this is compares with the Church at large. I was listening to the Carey Nieuwhof on his leadership podcast who said to an extent, the pandemic got us the Church ‘Web 2 ready’, but there will be certain segments of the Church who don’t want to be ‘behind the curve’ with this. I’ve heard that phrase used a number of times.

So here are a few of my predictions for digital in the church landscape:

Some segments of the Church ‘bullish’ on Web 3

So something akin to the principle being reported on in the Fashion industry. They were relatively slow to adapt. They don’t want to be left behind. This will be the case for the Church, and perhaps those churches with a larger budget. There will be personnel, time, room for innovation, resource to explore and experiment. Keep your eye on resource churches and see what comes out. I’ve been noticing churches in the states talking about it a lot. We’ve just come through 2 years of upping our game with online church, why wouldn’t there be chat about this new dimension of online. Look out for the development of new forms of digital ministry. On the flip side, some will see new expressions of digital ministry as ‘Luxury’ in contrast to essential, and the smaller ministries will be unable to justify the investment.

More work done on ethics and theology of digital

On the whole writing and thinking around digital has been reactive and seen as specialist over the last 20 years. There are some key thinkers to keep an eye on and I think particularly of Pete Philips, Sara Schumacher but you may well have others that come to mind. We’ll see a wave of more thinking and reflection coming out about digital and how we understand it theologically, and how should we use it ethically. 

A spectrum of churches inhabiting Web 1-3

We’ll see a range of churches and ministries on the spectrum from Web 1 to Web 3. There will be those who simply have a web page of information. The majority of churches will inhabit Web 2 spaces and will be refining their offering and getting better at showing up there. Then there will be a smaller proportion of churches out of the gate experimenting with Web 3.

A proliferation of surprising ministry

New technology will bring surprises and new things to culture. There will be new modes of communication and new experiences. Let’s expect this to be the case for communicating and connecting people with the gospel. At Stronger we’re gathering people together for those who are learning and growing in this area and we’d love to pick up anyone else who is interested in this area too. We’d love to connect with you. Why not ping us an email here and say hi.

And here are a few humble suggestions for us as the community of faith in the UK:

1.The need for collaboration

There needs to be joined up thinking and collaboration across the UK church. Digital enables this with ease of course. Let’s learn from each other, work together, let’s see how we can move forward together. 

2.The need to see digital as integral not special

I think if anything has shown us over the last couple of years, digital has a legitimate place at the table of mission and ministry. Why shouldn’t we see digital as integral in all we do. Not an add on anymore. Ministry is both physical and digital and each local expression of faith will need to contextualise the principal. 

3.The need for Innovation budget

There may not be much budget left over in this covid recovery phase, but if there was any wiggle room on a church, diocese, denomination budget somewhere for digital innovation, I would really encourage you to think about getting this on there. It may not be much, but putting it in acts like a stake in the ground saying that this is important and that it’s an area you want to grow in.

4.The need for more robust theological reflection

If you’ve been thinking theologically about this or reflecting on how the gospel interfaces with digital, we need to hear those thoughts and we need to listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to the Church. If you have an article in you for example, please do submit one for us. We would love to publish it and keep the conversation going about it. As I said above, there will be and needs to be more theological thinking about this, we want to play our part at Stronger to encourage you to speak out. We need to hear your voice.

If any of the above sparks interest or challenges you, or inspires you or spurs you to reflect further, why not get in touch or post a comment below. Would love to connect.