Date
4-26-2024
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Chair
James A. Wood
Keywords
Small church, Covid 19 pandemic, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, digital technology
Disciplines
Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
Woodruff, Phillip Steven, "Digital Technology Use and Influence on the Mission and Ministry of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Church Community in the United States Resulting from the Covid -19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5428.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5428
Abstract
Digital technology use within the church has received mixed responses from both the church leadership and members of the congregation. Some believe that using digital technology, such as social media, is a way of expanding the church’s mission and ministry. Other people believe that using these methods are costly, secular, or evil, and have no place in church ministry. The COVID-19 pandemic caused churches to rethink how they connected to their members since in-person worship services were canceled. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between the use of digital technology among the smaller churches within the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact upon membership retention, spiritual formation, as well as the expansion of the church’s mission and ministry. Current research has had limited investigation with regard to the results of using digital technology by the smaller church during the pandemic and its effect upon the church membership. A biblical, historical perspective of technology and the church was balanced with the practical theology and churches’ experience of using digital technology during the pandemic.
