🎧 PODCAST DESCRIPTION

What does it look like when an online church becomes more than a livestream—and starts functioning as a real congregation?

In this episode of Connected Faith, Bill Snider and Dr. Layne McDonald sit down with Connor Ketterling, Online Campus Pastor at River Valley Church in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area, to explore what it truly means to build a healthy, discipleship-driven online church.

Connor shares how River Valley’s online campus grew from a pre-COVID experiment into a fully recognized congregation with members, small groups, volunteers, pastoral care, and global reach. This conversation pulls back the curtain on how online church can serve people who are older, homebound, geographically distant, incarcerated, or simply more comfortable engaging digitally—without replacing the value of the local church.

You’ll hear why online church should never be measured by views alone, how engagement creates transformation, and how digital spaces can become places of real discipleship, generosity, and community. From online membership to Discord-based connection, prison ministry outreach, and global participation, this episode challenges the idea that church must be limited by walls or geography.

Recorded for pastors and church leaders, this episode is especially relevant for churches in Minnesota, across the United States, and globally who are asking how to steward online engagement with intention, theology, and care.

🌐 Learn more, explore resources, and join the conversation:
https://www.apmedia.org/connectedfaith

🛠️ PRACTICAL TIPS, STEPS & LIFE HACKS

Start before you feel ready
You don’t need perfection to begin
Most platforms are free
Momentum comes after movement

Build engagement pathways
Chat hosts instead of silent streams
Clear next steps for connection
Prayer, groups, and serving opportunities

Create a digital home base
Use a platform like Discord for community
Centralize conversations beyond Sundays
Give people a place to belong

Develop online volunteers
Train chat hosts with guardrails
Empower people to use their gifts digitally
Provide pastoral backup when needed

Measure spiritual fruit, not just metrics
Engagement
Discipleship
Generosity
Life change

Core principle:
Online church isn’t lesser—it’s different, and it deserves care.

⏱️ TIME CODES / CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Welcome to Connected Faith
01:00 Connor’s role and ministry background
04:15 When the online campus began
05:30 Purpose of online church
07:15 Online membership explained
08:40 Who online church reaches
10:30 Engagement vs. views
12:40 Tools and platforms used
14:50 Multi-platform streaming strategy
17:00 Managing chat and community
19:50 Building volunteer teams
21:55 Training and pastoral care online
24:25 Midweek engagement and Discord
26:50 Online church home base
28:50 How the church changed because of online
31:30 Testimonies from global and prison ministry
36:00 Advice for churches getting started
38:45 Vision for the future of online church

🙏 Use the chat button for prayer or conversation at
www.boundlessonlinechurch.org