Online Campus Chat Feature

Online Campus Chat Feature

This month marked the release of several exciting, new projects that are helping interconnect our growing fellowship through technology. Among them are a chat feature for our Online Campus, and the PEACE Virtual Reality Experience.

In April, we shared exciting news of our web team’s release of the redesigned Online Campus. Featuring a completely new user experience, the site accomplished several goals including a smoother transition between external sites, the ability to invite friends to watch messages together, and customized content based on user profiles. Read the full feature HERE.

Now, in the next phase of development, users will be able to communicate with a new chat feature. Officially released in mid-June, this latest version operates in real time as a text message exchange. Unlike the previous chat system, this one allows for customization so that members can identify one another at a glance.

According to Online Pastor, Jay Kranda, “The chat feature is more of a robust, real-time interactive tool, as opposed to the old chat system that functioned more as a comedy platform. No matter if someone is domestic or international, someone will be available to talk and help people in the online community.”

The new feature, located at the bottom right of the screen, allows users to turn the chat on depending on their preference. They can also engage with other members during live services and detach the chat feature from the main window.

“Down the line, we’d like it to function like a help desk for all things Online Campus,” says Jay. “Some churches are starting to communicate using digital receptions, which is a great way to serve people instantly wherever they are.”

PEACE Virtual Reality Experience

That’s not the only new technology that was unveiled this month. Released at the 2017 Purpose Driven Church Conference, the PEACE Virtual Reality (VR) Experience was designed to help ministry leaders experience PEACE-in-action through computer-generated simulation and 3D imaging.

The plan started when PEACE Plan Pastor, Mike Constantz, and Chief of Staff David Chrzan approached Saddleback’s Video Journalist, Braven Carven. They came up with the idea of using VR technology to engage aspiring International Partnering Churches (IPCs) to equip nations to implement PEACE and Purpose Driven strategies. Bringing the experience into being was Saddleback’s Global Team Pastor, Bob Bradberry who invested two months designing, organizing, and laboring to bring it all together.  

With Bob's skills and Braven’s videography, they created four, brief videos of PEACE in action, including one about planting churches, another on educating the next generation, one on assisting the poor, and a fourth on caring for the sick.

While wearing a VR headset, church leaders were transported to Rwanda’s western province where those specific PEACE stories took place. Making the experience truly unique were village-scene backdrops and ambient sounds that replicated the Rwandan environment.

For viewers, once the video was complete and the headset was removed, the staged setting helped blur the lines between the users’ virtual visit to Rwanda and their current physical location.

As Braven explains, the simulated experience gave pastors a chance to briefly immerse themselves in the culture. “It gave the viewer a day in the life of someone in the Rwandan community,” he says. “They could see the needs and the five Global Giants that the people face in their country. The videos also gave a better understanding of how locals can find hope and encouragement through the church.”

The ultimate goal, Braven says, was to get pastors excited about PEACE and partnering with other countries.

Among the four profiled videos was one that followed the journey of Emertha, a young woman who was able to save money for a farm, a home, and for the adoption of two children through the PEACE Plan’s saving program.

A second story told how HIV support groups have led people out of a place of desperation and hopelessness into a place of healing in the church. The third story highlighted preschools that were launched through PEACE Plan training. The fourth video shared the story of Joel Sengoga who transformed a local bar into a thriving church in Kigali, Rwanda.

Showcased at PDC17 from June 27–29, the PEACE VR Experience was available for viewing in the Saddleback Pavilion during 28, half-hour sessions. With 25 VR headsets available—between four stations—roughly 50 people per hour were able to participate in the PEACE workshop.

Once pastors existed the Pavilion, they were invited to connect with PEACE volunteers and learn about the next steps in partnering with other nations.

“It was an opportunity to bridge the gap between where pastors were physically and what they could see visually,” says Braven. “In the process they were given a chance to learn about partnering with African countries and experience PEACE in a unique way.”

To learn more about PD and PEACE, visit pd.church and saddleback.com/peace.