I sat down with Pastor Olu Lawal, the Online Campus Pastor at Shoreline City Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, to answer one question every growing church is asking: does your church actually need an online campus pastor? Olu’s experience at Shoreline City Church gives a clear answer, and it might surprise you.
The Online Campus as the Front Door
One of the first things Olu told me was that the online campus is not a lesser version of church. At Shoreline City Church, it is the front door. People who are looking for a new church often check out the online service before they ever set foot in a physical building.
“The online campus is really the front door to our church,” Olu shared. “We’re getting a lot of people who are looking for a new church. They go to our online service before they come to our physical locations.” That insight completely changes how churches should think about online ministry. It is not a backup option. It is often the first impression.
Why You Need a Dedicated Online Campus Pastor
Most churches that do online services have someone managing the technical side. But Olu makes the case for something deeper: someone whose entire job is to pastor the online congregation. Not just produce content, but actually care for people, follow up with them, connect them to community, and help them grow.
Without a dedicated pastor, online attenders fall through the cracks. They watch a service, feel moved, and then have no clear next step. They are never followed up with, never invited to a connect group, never given a reason to become part of the community. Olu’s role exists to prevent exactly that.
Online Connect Groups: How They Do It
One of the most practical parts of our conversation was about connect groups for the online community. At Shoreline City Church, they run three semesters a year with online groups that meet virtually. The groups are topic-based or activity-based, and they keep running even between semesters because people want to stay connected.
“We say that connect groups are how we do church,” Olu told me. “We mean that even for our online campus.” They currently have a basketball life group, a women’s book club, and many others. These are real relationships being built between people who may never meet in person but are still growing together in community.
Serving the Online Congregation
One thing that surprised me was how Shoreline City Church handles serving opportunities for their online members. Olu told me they have found creative ways to involve online attenders in the mission of the church, even from a distance. Prayer teams, social media volunteers, and administrative support roles can all be filled by people who are part of the online campus.
This kind of intentionality is what separates a thriving online campus from one that just streams a service. You have to think of online attenders as real church members who need real connection and real ways to contribute.
Starting an Online Campus: Where to Begin
I asked Olu what advice he would give to a church just starting to think about online ministry. His answer was practical and grounded. You do not have to have everything figured out on day one.
- Start with your existing content. Repurpose your sermon recordings into social media posts, clips, and highlights. You are already creating this content. Use it.
- Show up consistently. Regular online services build audience trust. Inconsistency kills momentum.
- Follow up with online attenders. Someone who watches your service online deserves a follow-up just as much as someone who visited in person.
- Create clear next steps. Tell online attenders exactly how to get connected, join a group, or plan a physical visit.
- Hire or appoint a dedicated person. If you are serious about online ministry, you need someone whose job it is to care for that community.
This kind of intentional online outreach connects directly to what I teach through ChurchCandy. The churches that run Facebook and Instagram ads and then have a strong online presence see much better results because there is somewhere for those people to land.
Final Thought
Olu Lawal makes a compelling case that every growing church needs to take their online congregation seriously. The online campus is not a lesser form of church. It is often the first touch point that eventually leads someone to show up in person. If you are not investing in your online presence, you are likely losing people who were already interested.
For more on using digital tools to reach more people, check out my conversation with Michael Whittle on why pastors should be paying attention to AI in ministry.
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