The Interactive Future Of Church Is Here
Published: 11/27/2024
Big Announcement!
We're excited to share that The Being Academy will design a family-focused interactive sanctuary to contextualize the preached Word of God through visual arts and immersive sermons engaged through a 3D immersive landscape setting. Instagram Reel
This is a grant sponsored Compelling Preaching Initiative with The USC Dornsife Center For Religion and Civic Culture to explore the impact of "Family-Focused VR Preaching."
The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture supports faith leaders as they seek to reimagine their ministries and help their congregations thrive in a time of significant religious and social change.
With support from the Lilly Endowment, CRCC’s Compelling Preaching Initiative will include public programming directed at leaders across faiths, as well as a diverse cohort of Christian preachers in Southern California. This cohort will build networks of support for additional preachers, with the aim of re-centering the importance of preaching for congregations and in public life.
The Being Academy's preaching cohort will be working with family-focused ministries led by husband and wife pastoral teams, faith-based curriculum homeschool families, and spiritual formation pastors. We have room for one more ministry team to participate. Contact us if you are interested: info@mybeingacademy.com
The interactive sanctuary will be designed to foster a more effective and accessible family discipleship training model through compelling preaching communicated via immersive digital arts.
The preached word will be made accessible beyond the confines of Sunday service and digital playback through an embodied visual arts preaching experience. The purpose of our experience will be to deepen the congregations engagement and the preached word’s capacity for practical application in their daily lives.
In 2023, 32% of U.S. adults reported attending church in the past seven days, either in person or virtually. This is down from 44% in 2000 and 49% in 1958.
While churches are losing members drastically, especially young adults, virtual citizenship in the VR/XR/MR world is rapidly growing.
"More than 13 % of US households own a VR device, spending on average 30–45 minutes in it 2–4 times per week. Nearly half of VR users fall into the age brackets of both 18–34 (47 %) and 35–54 (47 %).
Even the 55–64 age group is starting to dabble, making up 6% of users. A substantial 49% use VR in the sanctity of their own homes. But a significant number — 43% — also experience VR at a friend or family member’s home." Read more here
"The village is burning... and we must be the fire marshalls." - Susan Taylor, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus at Essence Magazine, National CARES Mentoring Movement
About a decade ago, I had the privilege of being at The Columbia Business School Black MBA gala where Susan Taylor gave the keynote address as a guest of honor.
This was beyond her time as Editor-In-Chief of Essence Magazine. This night her fierce focus was igniting us young folks to take up our mantles as artists, community activists, business leaders, mentors, and Holy people for the greater good of the villages from whence we came. She charged us with digging deeper to honor those giants whose shoulders we stand on and the little hands desperately reaching out for us to reach back in the lands we once grew.
Her words that day have never left me. I sat in the room as a young Sr. Financial Analyst getting ready to take a big leap of faith into the world of impact investing in emerging domestic markets. Her voice was a sonic boom microphone into my soul when she spoke about the troubles young people in America, particularly Black and Brown children, were facing.
I knew quite intimately what she spoke of because I could have been one of those young children if it had not been for Jesus, my love village in West Philadelphia, and my home church community.
When I think about the dangers lurking and destroying the hopes of a better tomorrow for Generation Z and Alpha, I refuse to fall into despair. No, instead, I think about the young people I meet every week at prayer meetings and bible studies. I think about my own children building a faith-based media technology company with their parents. I also think about the hundreds of young people I see on social media using the digital tech at their disposal to make jokes/entertainment that opens new doors modern times biblical exploration.
Just because young people are leaving pews does not mean that they are leaving God. I also know for certain that God, Emmanuel, who leaves the 99 to chase down the 1 is still recklessly pursuing them wherever they go. So like Isaiah said to The Lord who burned his mouth with a hot coal, I say, "send me."
We will make space in the immersive digital landscape of Web 3.0 and beyond for The Kingdom of God to make disciples of all nations still.
"And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:7-8
Clarissa Joan Middleton
Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Being Academy
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