How Can Churches Effectively Utilize Digital Discipleship?

Pete is out on his fishing boat after a long and unsuccessful day. His haul for the day would only be enough to feed a small child. As he’s getting ready to row into shore and call it a day, he hears a beep.

It’s a notification from an unknown number.

“Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.”

Pete is a little confused, but he’s desperate enough to try anything. He does as this rando asked him, and he hauls in so many fish that his net starts to break.

*Ding*

It’s the unknown number again.

“For more fishing tips…be sure to follow me @... and I’ll make you a fisher of men. Then like, comment, and subscribe.”

For those of you who aren’t so offended by my retelling of Luke 5 that you left, allow me to point out how ridiculous the above story sounds. We know that Jesus didn’t do discipleship at a distance. In the real story of Luke 5, Jesus was right there in the boat. And Peter, having a prior experience with Jesus, said “because You told me to, I will let the net down.” And we all know that Jesus’ call to follow Him doesn’t mean to subscribe to His YouTube channel or social media account — it’s to lay your life down.

This difference is why some might be hesitant to embrace something called digital discipleship. Jesus didn’t disciple from a distance. He stepped into our world. He touched lepers. He ate at tables. He looked people in the eye, and not mediated through a screen.

But here is the tension. The internet didn’t exist when Jesus walked the earth. We can only speculate as to how he’d use these platforms. Yes, Jesus discipled in person. He went where they lived. But what happens when the people we are trying to reach now live a significant part of their lives online?

We make decisions online. We form habits online. We consume ideas online. We even live out faith online. In a word…we’re being discipled. Digitally.

Defining Digital Discipleship

So the question isn’t “should we disciple people online.” They are being discipled. The question now is how and by whom. For most of our contexts, we must use digital tools to reach people who live most of their life online. The bigger question is how do we use digital tools without losing the embodied, relational heart of discipleship that Jesus models?

Digital discipleship is not about reducing Jesus to a content creator. It is not about replacing Sunday gatherings with screens. It is simply the intentional use of digital tools to help people follow Jesus in their everyday lives. Modern life has created new spaces where people spend their time. Digital discipleship is about entering those spaces with the same goal Jesus had in Luke 5: helping ordinary people take faithful steps toward Him.

That means churches need to think intentionally about how they use digital tools. We cannot treat them as replacements for embodied community, but we also cannot ignore the digital spaces where so many people now live. When used wisely, digital discipleship can support the same relational, Scripture-centered formation Jesus calls us to. Here are five practical ways churches can do that well.

1. Help People Form Daily Habits

I recently saw a study that found about 80% of people check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. And most of these people are going to scroll through social media and check their messages and email. It’s a daily habit and it’s one that, if given wrong content, is creating deformation.

But what if rather than fighting this impulse, we captured it? Habit formation research tells us that small, consistent cues shape long-term patterns. Digital reminders can serve as those cues, helping believers return again and again to Scripture.

There are plenty of apps out there that churches can use to encourage people to develop a consistent rhythm of prayer and Scripture reading. Think of it like a gentle nudge in the right direction. Short verses delivered through a church app might change the entire direction of someone’s day.

Here is one thought to help you get started. Choose one short daily rhythm that your whole church can participate in. For example, your church could send a single Scripture text every morning at the same time, paired with one question to reflect on. People know exactly when it will arrive, it takes less than a minute to read, and it plants Scripture at the front end of their day. The key is consistency. When the same prompt arrives day after day, it helps people build a habit they might never form on their own.

2. Keep Relationships Connected

Most church members will go days without seeing one another face to face. Work, school, scattered schedules, and family responsibilities mean that in-person connection often happens far less than we would like. That gap can create a sense of isolation, even inside a loving church. Digital tools allow us to bridge that space.

Of course, Scripture also warns us about overdoing it. Proverbs reminds us that “too much honey” can make you sick and that showing up too often can wear out a welcome. The same is true digitally. No one needs a flood of notifications or constant messages. If done poorly it just becomes one more piece of digital “noise” that overwhelms your people.

But used wisely, a little goes a long way. People already look for encouragement, connection, and guidance every single day. They reach for their phone in moments of uncertainty or exhaustion. Why not point them toward truth, prayer, or community in the very spaces where they are already searching?

This is not about broadcasting information. It is about noticing one another. Encourage small groups to give simple check-ins throughout the week. Put together a Facebook messenger group where people can communicate when struggling or just to give encouragement. A midweek “How can I pray for you today?” can go a long way in helping people grab hold of Jesus.

Try asking every small group leader or ministry volunteer to check in with one person midweek. Not a group blast. One person. Over time, these small acts of noticing build a culture where people feel connected between Sundays.

3. Expand Your Sunday Morning Teaching

The Lord’s Day matters. It always has. And it always will. It gathers the church around the Word (and table, if that’s your tradition) in a way that is irreplaceable.

But the reality is that not everyone can be in the room every week. Illness, travel, shift work, caregiving responsibilities, or simply the unpredictability of life means that many people miss moments they genuinely want to be part of. Digital tools allow churches to extend the teaching ministry of Sunday into places and situations where people cannot physically join in.

It’s not just about giving content for the sake of delivering content. There is a pitfall to this too, in that some people know that you can “get the sermon” at some other point through the week, and so they diminish the importance of gathering on the Lord’s Day. This is a real issue that has to be confronted.

But there is a massive blessing here as well for those who are shut-ins who cannot attend but can still hear the Word that shaped the rest of the congregation. A young parent who missed a service can catch the teaching while folding laundry. A curious seeker can rewatch a sermon clip and wrestle with a question that surfaced later. These are tremendous opportunities.

Digital discipleship also gives you space to explore what didn’t fit into the sermon. Pastors can record short follow-up videos, offer a midweek reflection, answer questions that came in afterward, or highlight a passage they had to trim for time. This extends the teaching through the week. It encourages people to engage deeply with Scripture on every day of the week. Not to mention that it can allow pastors to get their foot in the door via Facebook reel, TikTok video, YouTube short, etc.

Maybe you could record a simple three-minute “Sermon Follow-Up” each Monday. Share one idea you didn’t have time for on Sunday and invite people to reflect or send in questions. It’s a low-effort, high-impact way to carry Sunday’s teaching into the rest of the week. But you don’t want it to seem like it’s just an extended invitation to gather on a Sunday morning. It’s a real connection and a real discussion throughout the week.

The key is to see this “through-the-week” teaching as just another way of feeding sheep. And it might even be scattering the seed among places you couldn’t have otherwise reached.

4. Guide People Toward Embodied Community While Seeing Digital as a Type of Real Community

Dave Adamson says it well: “Try telling a student who is being bullied online that digital interactions aren't real.” I’ve also heard it somewhat humorously stated that if you don’t think digital interactions are real, see if your wife likes you sending DM’s to another woman. “It isn’t real” won’t fly in that moment. The reality is that there is authentic community that happens online.

A healthy digital discipleship strategy does not treat online engagement as a temporary substitute until people show up in a building. Digital interactions are real interactions. Digital relationships are real relationships. For many, digital spaces are the first environment where they feel safe enough to ask a spiritual question, share a prayer request, or admit a struggle. These are not lesser steps of discipleship. They are meaningful and relational, even if they happen through a device.

Think of your digital space kind of like a “front-porch” of discipleship. It’s a place for people to gather, talk, learn, and belong there. For many, this will naturally lead to in-person rhythms when life allows. For others (like shut-ins) digital community may be the most accessible place to grow for a season.

Do an online Bible study. Start group chats. Livestream comments as a real small group. Assign a digital host or volunteer who greets people, prays for them by name, answers questions, and helps build relationships. Let community form where people are actually showing up.

And when people feel this connection, they’ll likely take natural steps into in-person connection. Just don’t keep forcing that or making your online space just a billboard for your in-person services.

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