INTENTIONAL CHURCHES


Connecting the Church Through Technology


by SETH GUTHRIE, CHILDREN'S PASTOR The year 2020 forced us all


to think of new ways to do ministry. Connection and community is such a crucial part of the local church that we’ve all fought to make that happen in any way possi- ble, even in times where we haven’t been able to meet in person. Some of these creative solutions will carry over into the future.


One tool I began using this year, and plan to con-


tinue using, is a program called GooseChase. This is an app that allows the easy facilitation of scavenger hunts. I want to share a little bit about what GooseChase is, how it was helpful for us during quarantine, and how I hope to use it in the future.


GooseChase is a digital scavenger hunt and can be


found at GooseChase.com. There is a free version avail- able with a limited number of participants; larger player counts require a yearly subscription. The organizer has the ability to create missions for players to complete. It comes with a large bank of available missions to choose from, but it is also very easy to create custom ones.


Missions come in four different types: photos, videos,


locations, and questions. For instance, a mission might be to build a tower only out of pennies, or blow up a balloon as large as you can. These could be submitted by photo or video. You’re also able to go to locations and set GPS coordinates, so that players must travel to that specific spot. Questions are pretty straightforward and players are awarded points if their answer is correct.


The really neat thing about GooseChase, though, is


the live feed and leaderboard. The system automatically keeps track of the score so players can see how they’re doing in real time. All the photos and videos that people are taking are shared on a feed, so that everyone can see each other’s accomplishments.


While GooseChase is intended to be used at in-per-


son events, we found that it was a helpful and fun way to connect people during quarantine. We stopped meeting in person not long before Easter in 2020, so we decided to use GooseChase to keep people involved with one anoth- er. Over Easter weekend, when many people’s plans had just been cancelled, we set up an at-home scavenger hunt


After that, our youth pastor began doing weekly at-


home scavenger hunts for the youth group. This went on for a while when they were not meeting in person.


Several months later, in the summer, we had to decide what to do for Children’s Ministry. Typically our


lasting three days. There were new missions to be com- pleted every day — they required a mix of creativity, Bible knowledge, outdoor activities, and a sense of humor.


That first GooseChase was a lot of fun for everyone.


While it was primarily families with kids that participat- ed, we had people of all ages involved. It helped us to con- nect as a community, when we were not able to physically be together at Easter.


FELLOWSHIPFORWARD.ORG 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24