Date
5-23-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
James A. Wood
Keywords
sense of belonging, intergenerational, assimilation and accommodation, digital platforms, virtual worship service, community
Disciplines
Christianity
Recommended Citation
Banks, Carolyn L., "A Qualitative Approach to Understanding a Baptist Association’s Attitudes and Beliefs While Using Digital Spaces During COVID-19" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7050.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7050
Abstract
When Covid-19 forced worldwide institutional shutdowns, many mass gatherings and public areas of socializing were forced to transition to digital spaces. Of the many institutions that were impacted were the brick-and-mortar church and face-to-face fellowship. Online worship service became the next best mode of communication to keep the body of believers engaged in worship services and other church events. A change from normal brick-and-mortar worship to cyber worship created a need for many to adapt to unchartered territory. Physically unable to be present, hug, shake hands, or personally interact with church members, a sense of belonging, and the potential for disciples to feel psychologically disconnected presented new ways of being a part of a church community. While Mintzberg (2009) notes there are various methods of communication, he makes a point of noting that the most beneficial forms of communication are interpersonal in nature. This qualitative research study will explore the beliefs and attitudes of persons who utilized digital platforms during Covid-19 to get a better understanding of their lived experiences toward a sense of belonging while utilizing those digital spaces for worship and other church events; their ability to adapt to virtual church as a viable alternative to the brick-and-mortar church, and describe how the participants related to the different modes of communication. Through the implementation of the interview method, the researcher collected important data and compiled similarities in themes and responses from the demographic information. Furthermore, the data obtained from this research can possibly assist in future research, which can continuously explore the effects of the phenomenon post-Covid-19.
