Date
12-5-2022
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Kenneth Hood
Keywords
digital platforms, worship services, church, older adults, pandemic, use of digital platforms for church worship services by older adults during a pandemic
Disciplines
Religion
Recommended Citation
Smith, Donnie Lewis, "Older Adults and Digital Technology for Worship Service During a Pandemic at Saint Paul's Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4019.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4019
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the church to move from in-person worship to digital, online, and virtual worship services. This thesis project aims to determine if going to an alternative worship platform has presented problems for the elderly and senior Saint Paul’s Baptist Church members. Because of the large number of seniors at Saint Paul’s, the church’s leadership must be ready to help in any way to ensure that all members can participate in worship services during these unprecedented times. Since there is no projected timetable for when and if the church will return to worship services as we know them. This project will help identify if elderly church members are comfortable using this technology to participate in worship service. The participants will complete a survey about digital, virtual, and online platforms for church worship services. The project manager will also conduct individual interviews following the survey to gain more insight into the responses. The study hopes to determine if the church can assist members who are uncomfortable using technology. There will be a follow-up survey at the end of the study to gauge the project’s effectiveness. The information gathered in this study might help other churches confronted with the same issue. The anticipated length of the study is four to six weeks.
