Ministry in 2021 means going where the people are. For many that is online, and one of our priests has connected in a mighty way!
Rev. Ed Trevors, the rector at Christ Church, Shelburne, is cultivating a community of faith-seekers on his YouTube channel. Another Reflection has burst onto the online Christian scene, attracting thousands of subscribers and now a royalty cheque.
Every day the passionate preacher rolls out two short videos of less than 10 minutes. Weekday mornings feature a talk that is predominantly pastoral in nature. Afternoons address some current event in a theological way. Weekend videos include Morning Prayer worship and a sermon.
Find Ed: Search YouTube for ‘Rev Ed Trevors’
Like many other parishes, once COVID-19 came some ministry turned virtual. “We began uploading our videos to my YouTube channel in order reach our congregants who could no longer gather for worship,” explained Rev. Ed. “Even after we began gathering in our parking lot and eventually in the church buildings again, we found that the reflections were seen as a valuable resource.”
The intention and focus for Rev. Ed Trevor’s Another Reflection is clear. “To offer pastoral and theological reflections based around current events happening in the world that people are talking about,” he said. “To offer messages that show us how God is relevant to us in this place we find ourselves. To offer an image of the Divine that speaks to the immensity and depth and power of God’s love for every single person.”
Although Rev. Ed’s YouTube online community was originally established for the local Shelburne County congregation, it is attracting a huge number and diversity of people. There are plenty of Canadians, Americans and others from around the world. “We have Christians of every denomination, atheists, anti-theists, monotheists, pluralists, pagans, you name it, it seems like they are here,” the priest exclaimed. “We currently have a little over 6,700 subscribers, an average of 2,500 viewers each day, and a comment rate of about 15%.”
Questions and comments posed in the group chat range from personal experiences through to the deepest most complex scholarly ones. Rev. Ed said, “They ask theological questions, political questions, church behaviour and governance questions. A lot of folks want to vent about the church, they want to share their experiences and how they’ve been hurt. They want to share their observations and perceptions.”
“Many people I have talked to over the months have shared things like, ‘We didn’t know Christians believed that,’ or ‘If my church said what you say, I might not have left,’” he said. “Their opinion of the Body of Christ is based almost exclusively on what they are hearing from our fundamentalist brothers and sisters and that is not necessarily a positive thing. They think all Christians are yelling prophets, legalistic preachers, or faith healers and they are happy to find that we are not all like that.”
Rev. Ed Trevor’s YouTube Channel attracted a high profile YouTuber and in a flash it caught on! Now the popular online platform promotes Rev. Ed’s daily videos to other potentially interested viewers. That means the parish receives a share of the ad revenue too. “To be monetized, a channel needs at least 1,000 subscriptions and 4,000 hours viewed a year,” he explained.
Despite what many church leaders assume, people are still yearning for God and faith community in some form or other. “People are hungry for a Christian message that is Christ centred,” he said. “They want hope. They want to know about love. They want to hear about call and mission. They want to hear that no matter what they believe or what faith they hold that they are loved, welcomed, and that there is a place for them in the great mission we are called to.”
The South Shore priest has dreams for his YouTube community. Rev. Ed said, “We are hoping to launch a weekly Bible study for subscribers. There has been interest expressed from the community. This would be a great opportunity to go deeper into thoughts than our eight minute videos and to further strengthen our relationships.”
There are also plans for a monthly live, Q&A type program featuring experts who will share about themes like the Trinity, Black Loyalists and Mi’kmaq peoples.
