Sunday evening, June 22, did not end how Pacers fans wanted, but it was still Hoosier energy at its finest. I had the opportunity to go up to Indy for a sold-out watch party at the Pacers' home court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and even though the team was in Oklahoma, you would have assumed they were right there on the court. Fans cheered as if the players could hear them, booed for OKC, and cringed when Halliburton went down in the first quarter. Not only was it a fun night (despite losing the game), but as cheesy as it sounds, it gave me a look at why our online campus matters:

It matters because community can happen around a screen. Even if we're not in the same room as an experience, we can still create a shared experience around it. Whether watching our online services solo, or in a room with others, we're still having a shared experience. I love when I'm watching one of our livestreams and folks are interacting in the comments - that's community being built! We're reacting, growing, and learning together, and that all builds community. 

Oftentimes we assume a community can only be built if in the same physical location, but that's just not true anymore. Online gaming, dating apps, even online school through Covid - we've learned over the past few years that even through a screen, common interests can bond us even when thousands of miles apart. Our online campus serves as a place where people can (virtually) gather, share a common experience, and grow together in something they care about. 

And that's what our goal is through our two-year Reach More campaign as well: to create more environments where people can build community. As we work towards adding a campus in Decatur County, we're reminded of the importance of community, and bringing that right to where people live and grow together. Shared experiences, even around a livestream, help build that community. And the other two initiatives in our Reach More campaign have the goal of building community, too: through maximizing our current facility so that organizations and individuals in our area can use our spaces to build community and get to know us, and creating Ridge Counseling Services to help people with their mental health through counseling and community groups/support groups. As we take next steps towards all those initiatives, we are so excited to continue to do whatever it takes to reach people for Christ in new spaces, communities, and counties.

So, I came for basketball, but I left with a fresh passion for our campuses. Because whether it’s a playoff game or a Sunday service, what really draws people in isn’t just what's on the screen—it’s the connection around the screen. And that’s something we’re committed to creating, both online and in person, wherever people gather.

Whatever it takes,
Becca Malburg
Online Campus Pastor