Richmond Community Church Online Service


Richmond Community Online Campus, or High Impact TV, is one of the first ten churches nationally to offer an online service. Richmond Community Church has historically been innovative, and so it is not surprising that they introduced the first online service to Richmond in January 2008. The church is Evangelical , and community building and communication is a major part of the church’s purpose. The online service is one way the church tries to reach people inside and outside the community. The online service allows Richmond Community Church to reach a larger number of people over a wider geographic area. The service has been watched by people in over fifteen countries, including France, China, Brazil, Japan, and India. Between one third and one half of the viewers of High Impact TV come from the Richmond area, with the remainder coming from outside the area and outside the country. With High Impact TV, therefore, Richmond Community Church has been able to reach a population that had previously been inaccessible.

The online campus is one of three campuses the Richmond Community Church operates. The online campus records a live service from the Glen Allen church which is shown with a one hour delay. The time lapse allows the production team to improve the quality of the video feed and to input special videos, such as The Online 411 which informs viewers about new events, study groups, Bible studies, and general information about High Impact TV. With these exceptions viewers of High Impact TV see the same program as the people attending the Glen Allen Campus service.

The online campus constructs a variety of ways for their attendees to stay plugged into the church. The campus provides online small groups, Facebook, Myspace, and Bible studies to connect, grow, and feel part of a community. During the service, people can engage by communicating through the chat room. The chat room is on the screen simultaneously with the service. This allows viewers to watch and talk at the same time. Viewers can participate in the chat room in real time and engage in conversation with any other participants. The director of the High Impact TV and the host of chat room have the ability to facilitate conversation and answer any questions. The chat rooms represent an attempt to provide fellowship that a person would receive at a physical campus.


Richmond Community Church
11801 Nuckols Road
Glen Allen, Va 23059

Source:
Richmond Community Church Online Campus Director
Richmond Community Church website


Profile prepared by Jaclyn Allen
February, 2009