Worship Watch Party

You knew it would come to this. Ignite Church of Plano, Texas is freeing up space for holiday visitors by inviting its members to host worship watch parties for its Easter service. If all goes well, the watch parties will become a routine part of the church’s body life. Pastor Dillon Roberts said the idea came to him while watching ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.” According to Pastor Roberts, “When Tony Kornheiser said the NFL caters more to its television audience than its fans in the stands, I thought, ‘Well, why not us? We could do worse than imitate the most successful sports league in the world today.’”

A non-trivial part of Ignite Church has not returned since Covid, and Roberts thinks this could become a selling point for the church. People get together to watch the Final Four, so why not encourage them to gather in a leader’s home to watch Ignite’s worship services? The leaders will take attendance, so the church will get an accurate count, and they will encourage online giving, so the church’s finances should improve.

Ignite Church plans to use some of the money from its worship watch parties to invest in its media production team. Roberts states, “Our vision combines the best of the multi-site and house church models. Our folks are used to watching a preacher on a screen. Why not do so with your friends in the comfort of their home? You can enjoy brunch together, and depending on your interests, watch the Cowboys or the NBA playoffs afterward.”