McCORDSVILLE — For several weeks, Erin Jackson has opened a laptop and gathered weekly with a smaller group of other people from her church for a 10-week Christian discipleship study.
Last year, the Outlook Christian Church life group she’s been part of for six years met online as the coronavirus reached the area.
“Technology’s made it super easy to stay connected,” she said. “Our small group has been a huge support for us … It’s great to have a support group that can be there for each other, even if it’s not in person.”
In a given week, scores of Hancock County residents are opening laptops or propping up phones to participate in Bible studies and other Christian small-group meetings on an online platform.
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For the uninitiated, online groups happen something like this: A group leader emails a link for the meeting to participants, including any meeting ID numbers or codes they’ll need to input to gain access.
When members join the meeting, they can see each other in little rectangles across the screen via the built-in cameras on their devices. They can turn their own cameras on or off or mute their own microphones if they need to cough or step away for a moment.
It offers real-time interaction. In the last year, many more people have become aware of such platforms. Churches have used them as a way to keep Bible studies and other groups going in a socially distant way.
Ministries such as Bible Study Fellowship also took their studies online. Local BSF participants typically attend either in Greenfield or the east side Indianapolis. Hancock resident Amy Nicklin is teaching leader for the Indianapolis East Day Women’s Class that has met at Indianapolis First Church of the Nazarene. In an email, she said enrollment is down by more than 25% this year, but attendance has been up — near 300 for this year’s study of Genesis.
Smaller groups of 10-15 women meet in a 40-minute Zoom call to discuss the week’s Bible passage and lesson questions. They can also access the weekly 30-minute lecture online individually or in groups.
Nicklin wrote that longtime class members have adapted particularly well, and “Their attendance has been higher this year,” Nicklin wrote, “possibly because they can participate in their Zoom calls without having to drive on icy roads or worry about viruses. They are growing and thriving.”
The Rev. Ethan Maple, pastor of Mt. Comfort Church, said his church has a Bible study going on Zoom that follows up on topics explored Sunday morning.
“The weirdly great thing about Zoom Bible studies is we actually get to see each other’s faces,” not faces covered by masks, Maple said. “At least it’s an opportunity to connect.”
Corri Brooks feels the same way. Brooks and Jackson are part of a 10-week discipleship group led by Rob McCord, senior minister of Outlook Christian Church in McCordsville. Sunday afternoon, the group of leaders from across the church will gather online for the sixth session in the series as it goes through “Disciples Now and Always,” a study McCord wrote.
“It has been a great way to stay in touch with people and the church, especially when meeting in person has been problematic for many,” Brooks wrote in an email to the Daily Reporter. “It is also convenient. Even if you have to be out of town you can still be part of the meeting virtually.”
The Rev. Larry Van Camp also points to advantages of an online Bible study not being tied to one site. Snowbirds wintering in Florida can still participate in a study back in Hancock County if they wish, or people can invite a family member or friend who’d be interested but doesn’t live locally.
“It opens up just another world of possibility,” said Van Camp, senior pastor of Trinity Park United Methodist Church.
Van Camp has been leading a six-week Lenten study on Wednesday evenings using the book “Seven Words” by Susan Robb, focusing on the last words spoken by Jesus on the cross. He also leads a session of the study at the church.
He’s seen people who had to miss an in-person session tune in later to the one on Zoom, and he’s seen people start on Zoom but receive COVID vaccines and later attend in person.
For all its flexibility, the online small group has its own potential pitfalls and need for etiquette, say those who connect in such studies.
Maple said people will get more out of an online study if they actively focus on it and engage with it, rather than simply having it on in the background like a podcast or the radio. Brooks writes that a strong leader with a clear plan for the meeting flow is crucial, or the meeting can drift and feel awkward.
Participants who have background noise going on at home can be considerate by muting themselves. Van Camp reminds people in any group he’s leading, in person or virtually, that what’s shared in the group should stay in the group.
People participating in online studies say they’re grateful for the opportunity to still gather. They still prefer in-person groups, but they anticipate online studies are here to stay in some form.
“I love the intimacy of getting together in a room,” Jackson said. “You can’t replace that.”
“Although meeting in person is always preferable, I have been so thankful for this technology this past year,” Brooks wrote. “It has allowed us to continue to meet for study and fellowship that otherwise would not have happened.”
“I think Zoom Bible studies are not going to go away,” Maple said, but “the Zoom options are always a supplement and not a substitution.
“It will never be able to truly replace what it is to sit around a table.”
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Brandywine Community Church will offer Financial Peace University on Zoom beginning at 7 p.m. April 6. The meeting usually runs 30-45 minutes, and the course lasts 9 weeks. Sign up at https://brandywine.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/107/responses/new.
Calvary Baptist Church in Greenfield has a women’s Bible study on Elijah on Thursdays that is available on Zoom or in person, distanced. Information: cbcgreenfield.org, 317-462-4586
Heather Hills Baptist Church has a women’s Bible study on Zoom at 9 a.m. Tuesdays and one at 7 p.m. Thursdays. Information: heatherhills.org, 317-894-7474
New Palestine United Methodist Church has an ongoing Sunday School class and a Sunday evening study group that meet on Zoom. There’s also a men’s group that meets Thursday mornings via Zoom. Information: npumc.com, 317-861-4390
Otterbein United Methodist Church is doing a Lenten study on 1 Peter. It meets at 7 p.m. Mondays on Zoom. Email Pastor Dave Wise at [email protected] for the link.
Park Chapel Christian Church has several groups meeting on Zoom. See parkchapel.org/adults.
Realife Church‘s Traveling Light small group meets online for a book study. It meets from 7 to 7:30 p.m., three Tuesdays a month. Information: realifechurch.org (select "Next Steps," then "Groups," and scroll to Traveling Light), 317-468-1100
Trinity Park United Methodist Church offers a Bible study during Lent using the book “Seven Words” by Susan Robb. It meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays on Zoom. Email the Rev. Larry Van Camp at [email protected].
Zion Lutheran Church has a Zoom Bible study of Exodus on Sunday mornings. Information: zionnewpal.org, 317-861-5544
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