An online pastor ministers to other people using the Internet. Online pastors often accomplish these tasks through the use of social media, Internet chat and by using a webcam. Many engage in a pastor career offline as well, but some online ministers perform the bulk of their duties, including delivering sermons, solely over the web.
With the increasing popularity of digital communication, online churches have been established in an effort to reach out to people worldwide. Some pastor jobs are offered by these types of churches and the duties of such jobs are performed almost entirely online. In other cases, however, a brick and mortar church may exist, but an online pastor may be selected to communicate with congregants and the general public using a variety of Internet communication methods. Still, some perform the bulk of their duties offline and dedicate a portion of their time to performing online pastor tasks.
Establishing a website for Internet ministry is a common task that an online pastor may perform. Through such a website, live streaming sermons may be delivered or a church service being held at a physical location may be delivered live or rebroadcast to people over the web. Websites may also be established to accept financial offerings, field questions, take prayer requests and broadcast upcoming events.
An online pastor may also communicate with team members through regular Internet-based meetings. Leading a team in such a way is generally accomplished with the use of special software designed to facilitate online meetings. A webcam may be used so that members may see each other face-to-face or some programs simply use a telephone while a graphic presentation is displayed on each attendee’s computer monitor.
The specific tasks of an online pastor vary, but most are committed to communicating with other people through the use of social media websites, blogs and live Internet chats. Some use prerecorded video to broadcast sermons or to answer previously submitted questions about a variety of moral and religious topics. An online pastor may also use a webcam to communicate with members of a congregation, as well as people who are not direct members of a particular church or organization. Some churches hire an online pastor to specifically engage in these tasks, while others may encourage existing pastors working at a specific location to log onto the web at certain intervals to perform some of these duties in addition to their regular duties performed offline.