Case Study Presentation: The Block Church

Church Studied: The Block Church

Religious identity and mission:

The Block Church is a non-denominational Christian multi site church that consists of primarily young adults who seek worship through community and performance of their faith.

Their mission statement is as follows, "We plan to plant churches and locations, we hope to develop leaders for the marketplace, we work to bless our neighbors, we give and serve to help the helpless.

Evidence: Community

When you go on their website you'll find that almost everything has something with "Block" in it. So, when a person joins the Block they are joining a small community of people who set out to help the larger (Philadelphia) community. The website depicts various block members picking up trash around the community as well as painting a building. When I visited the Block Church the first thing I noticed was how friendly they were. I was greeted at the door, introduced to other members, and guided to where the service was. As I was walking out the building, the lead singer of the service: stopped me, introduced himself, asked how I thought the service went, told me why he joined, and showed me how to sign up, and then introduced me to other members (all of which were extremely friendly). The website does do a good job  depicting the community aspect of the church, but to actually see how community centered they are one must visit the church. 

The first thing that you see when you go on the Block Church website is this picture of people putting on a performance. This is a great depiction of what goes on at the church. When I first walked into the church service I was astounded at what I saw. The atmosphere inside was like a rock concert. People in the front area were jumping up and down singing the words (people in the back were more so swaying but also singing as well. One of the main groups that people can join is called, Block Worship which the website describes as "a diverse team of musicians and creatives within our church". This group is no joke; they sound as professional as it gets.

• How does this church approach media?

The Block Church and media go hand and hand. The way I look at it, any media outside of the church is used as an informational tool. The website provides information like where the church is, what the church believes in, events that are coming up, how to donate, and how to get involved. While they do post the sermon on their website and Facebook page, I do not think you can experience the true message by just watching it online. When I first watched the sermon online for one of my previous blogs, I didn't "feel" any connection to what the pastor was saying. When I actually visited the Block Church service it was a totally different experience. The Block Church also has a strong connection with media within the actual church. The musical performance was riddled with technology i.e strobe lights, lyrics on the screen, electronic keyboard, ipads, and more. Following the performance, the theater sized screen dropped down and the sermon was played. As the pastor would go over the different readings and points a graphic would pop up on the bottom with text (as shown below). Overall, the block church uses media to spread their information and ideas, that being said it is not a one or the other type deal instead they blend together perfectly.

• Questions and feedback:

Do you think young people will start to switch over from traditional churches to multi site churches? Or do you feel like the people that attend these multi sit churches are an entirely different "market" of parishioners?

For me watching the streamed sermon was completely different when I watched it at the church with other people vs when I watched it alone on my laptop. Did you have a similar experience?

Week 12: Performing Religious Identity through the Digital

 This week I will be summarizing my research on the Block Church thus far.

Through the use of media, the Block Church is able to show perspective members that this church is not like any other. Their mission statement, as stated directly on the website, is We are a spirit-led, gospel centered community, seeking a move of God. The Block is a place where social, economic, religious and political walls are torn down”.  So does their use of media accurately fit this statement? By observing the various forms of media that the Block church offers, it became clear that they do in a terrific job portraying this mission. On their website - http://theblockchurch.org - various photos and texts are portrayed on the site. These photos portray the various experiences people have when they come to the church. This includes things like singing, acting, and praying together. Tying back to the mission statement, the pictures portray people in normal everyday clothes, which shows that they do not expect people to spend any kind of money on clothing when they come to the church. The site also portrays various forms of texts which include things like, “We are servants to our city” “At the block we are passionate”. Also on the website are various videos that include a “Welcome to the Block” introductory video as well as the various sermon’s that have taken place recently. These videos serve more as an informational tool for members and prospective members, as the website makes it clear that to actually be a part of the Block, members must actually show up to the church and experience it first hand.  Aside from the website itself, the Block Church also has a strong influence on social media, particularly through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theblockchurch/). On this page they present practically the same material that is present on their website, but what distinguishes the FB site from the website is the interactiveness of it. Users can post comments and ratings on the church, which gives prospective new members an honest review of how the church really is. Overall, through their up to date use of media, the Block Church is able to effectively show what they are all about.

Week 11: Analyzing The Block Church App

This week I will be observing the Block Churches Facebook page. The Block Church’s Facebook Page is organized similarly to their website. They have their website laid out so the “About The Block” section is first, user/member reviews, certain videos such as their introduction video (same as the one posted on the website) as well as their sermons from previous weeks, they have upcoming events listed, and lastly are there general facebook posts (i.e events coming up, certain inspiring phrases ect.) Considering Facebook has a pretty restrictive format in terms of how companies & originations like the Block Church are able to portray their message, I would say that The Block Church does a great job.

One of the most impressive aspects of this Facebook page is how user friendly/interactive it is. The Facebook page offers members and visitors the opportunity to leave comments on the page, allowing them to discuss their experience with the block church while also leaving some kind of rating. This is something that the Block Church website does not have on it, so this gives perspective members a way to see how members actually feel about the church. The page provides links to the churches emails and telephone numbers, and allows users to directly message the company via Facebook itself. On the website it states that when you direct message the page the company “typically replies within a day”. This quick response rate is a great indicator of how connected the church is to the internet.

After reviewing both the Block Church website, as well as their Facebook page I have come to find that their relationship between church and technology can be seen as bridging. The reason I say this is because the whole purpose of “The block” is how people physically come together and participate in various events, like performing a skit or singing a song together. Obviously the website does a phenomenal job of staying up to date with their content, but you can only learn about the block from the website, you can’t “Be The Block” without physically going to the church and participating. This distinction is why I would say the two are bridged together, but are still separate.

Summarizing: Assessing Church Identity and Mission Portrayed Online

The mission of the block church is to gain an understanding of God through a unique community known as "The Block". The website states "We are a spirit-led, gospel centered community, seeking move of God. The Block is a place where social, economic, religious, and political walls are torn down". The website depicts various photos (shown below) that highlight their main focus of community, as well as altruism. Whether it be photos of a person painting or a group of Block members performing a skit, the website does a phenomenal job showing what they are all about this church. Overall the content that is provided on the website does in fact compare to their mission statement.  

Week 10: The Use of Multimedia

Week 10: The Multimedia Presence

This week I will be examining the multimedia videos that are present on the Block Churches website. The first video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=91&v=reQbY7VRCOk) is an introductory video welcoming viewers to the block, and explains what it means to be apart of the church. This video does a great job of using text and video to make their mission clear. In each of the video captures below, you can see that they incorporated both visuals and text to get their point across. Based off the material incorporated in the video it is clear that the Block church puts great value in helping others through various volunteer events. The two photos below depict a member of the church carrying out tasks such as painting, and taking out the trash. In addition to being charitable, one of the other major themes present in this video is how the block church is all about forgetting the past and starting fresh with the other members of the Block. One of the texts that appears during the video states “It’s not about where you are from, we want you to come just as you are and never leave the same”. Overall this introductory video does a terrific job at highlighting what the church stands for.

The Second video I observed is one of their sermon’s titled “Stay in the Overflow – Go With The Flow” (https://www.youtube.com/watchlist=PLAl6F6cEv4wZCJC6QZWbsPfA8qttyoaT9&time_continue=29&v=rD2BKKp_mz0)  

At 5:50 the speaker states the main goal of the sermon which he states is, “I want you to not waste your overflow, I want you to learn to return it with gratitude. Following that statement he goes on to talk about certain passages in the Bible and wraps up with communion. Overall, the thing that stood out to me the most during this sermon was how casually dressed everyone was, even the speaker (as shown below) was wearing very casual attire. I think this highlights how the Block church is very progressive when it comes to most aspects. There was also a laptop and electronic keyboard right behind the speaker, again highlighting their progressive use of technology. When it came the text on this video, there would be certain phrases/passages that would pop in and out throughout the entirety of the video. The younger generation's attention span has grown smaller and smaller, so by putting the main points in text on the bottom helps the viewer get the main ideas of the sermon even if they weren't paying attention to the entire video.

Week 9: The Block Church's Mission

      This week I will continue to observe the Block church website, this time, observing the websites main mission. On the homepage of the Block Churches website it states, "We are a spirit-led, Gospel Centered Community, Seeking a move of God". Based off of this statement I believe that their main audience would be directed at people who are already Christians. In addition their website definitely is also targeting young people, the website states, "We don't think the church should be normal, nor boring".To me, this line is speaking primarily to the younger generations because younger people tend to be turned off to the "conservative" ways when it comes to religion.

(Man in this photo seen wearing an NFL jersey)

The main goal of this website is to get the viewer to understand that the block church is not only focused on learning/hearing the word of God, but also being involved with the other church members known as, "The Block". Each of their tabs had the term "block" on them (as seen below). This website does a phenomenal job of getting people to understand what the block is all about community. 

   The one thing I found to be a negative about this website is that it is difficult to figure out when exactly their services and other activities are. They do say that their masses are held at noon on Sundays, but they don't go into the specifics on when the block groups meet, pray, ect. That being said, they do lay out their various outreach and philanthropist opportunities within the church (as seen in the image below)

     The mission for the church, as stated on the website, is, "We will pursue God, connect with each other, hear a relevant message, and celebrate his activity in our lives. Philadelphia is not a boring city, so we desire to express our love for God in a passionate and unique way!". Going off of this statement, the website does a phenomenal job portraying this message through texts and images. Almost all the images present on the website showcase people learning/working together.

This image is a great example of how well the website portrays their message through media. Not only do they have text that tells the viewer what their mission is, they also provide a YouTube link to a video that showcases what the Block Church is all about. 

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Week 8 Questions

  What do the visual aspects on the site (especially pictures) communicate about who is a member or part of their community/church?

Based off the website, it seems as though the members are primarily young adults. Almost every picture features a member who appears to be around the 20-40 age range. The fact that their site is so cleanly formatted, and extremely up to date, it is obvious they have a youthful way about them.

What do these churches seem to value based on the content/features/themes they highlight on their site?

I would say that based on the content on their site, the Block church values community and openness. In almost every photo people are working alongside with one another whether it be singing together, or praying. In addition, everyone in the pictures is wearing normal everyday attire, which to me shows that they have more of an emphasis on being progressive as opposed to other more orthodox churches.

 What story do the design and visual aspects of the websites communicate about what makes them a church, and what are their unique characteristics?

What I found most compelling about the Block Church's site was how much they emphasized "The Block". Basically every subsection of the website the "The Block" in it. For example, they have things like, "Be the Block" :Block Worship" "Block Youth". This communicates that what makes the Block Church unique is that they truly put value in the church and community instead of just solely focusing on the religion itself.

 What would you say are the top priorities of this church, based on the aspects of their services or ministries they highlight?

On the website they note how, "Certainly, we need to attend services and hear God’s word as well as worship in song and giving. BUT, something happens when you sit in a living room with a small group of others who have the same questions and who are going through the same things." This line highlights their top priority of the church, which is community. Through pictures of people being joyous while working together, and the use of text, The Block Church does a phenomenal job using their site to show exactly what their church is all about.

Sean Lonergan 

The Block Church Experience

I am Sean Lonergan, and I will be writing my blog posts on the Block Church in Philadelphia. This church uses has a strong relationship with media, and through their website are able to connect with the community.

Web Link:
http://www.theblockchurch.org/


Regards,
Sean Lonergan