Over the past two years of The Narthex project, Christ Church Denver has learned something essential: the question facing the church is no longer whether digital ministry matters, but how it can be theologically grounded, strategically focused, and pastorally honest.
In addition to hosting a whole-day AI in-service training for our staff (July 2025), drafting up and recruiting a new Digital Ministry Contractor position for our parish, and undertaking two major video production projects (see below), our three main accomplishments in 2025 were as follows:
1. Moving congregations from abstract digital aspirations to contextual, theologically-grounded strategy.
Progressing from intentions to implementation, the Narthex has decisively shifted how congregations understand and practice digital ministry. Rather than treating digital work as a technical or platform-driven task, our pilot churches were guided into deeper theological and strategic clarity: naming who they are for, what they are inviting people into, and how digital proclamation, formation, and hospitality align with their sacramental and communal life.
At the end of Year 2, we have established a durable, transferable framework for digital ministry that is faithful to mainline ecclesiology and realistic about congregational capacity.
2. Demonstrating measurable impact through right-sized, targeted digital experiments.
This past year has revealed that modest, well-focused digital initiatives can generate meaningful engagement when they are rooted in clearly identified audiences and practices. For example:
St. Thomas Medina’s Women of the Bible in Stained Glass podcast series, which increased monthly downloads by more than 350% relative to baseline.
Bethany Denver’s expansion of short-form video, podcasting, and retreat-in-a-box offerings, resulting in dramatic increases in social engagement and sustained reach among ‘dechurched’ adults.
St. Paul’s Eggertsville is now regularly seeing as many online worshippers as in-person attendees, affirming digital participation as parallel—not secondary—belonging.
These outcomes confirmed that congregations do not need large budgets or constant innovation to thrive digitally. What they need are repeatable rhythms, audience alignment, and practices that respect real-life constraints.
3. Establishing Christ Church Denver as a convening hub for peer learning, production, and capacity-building.
Our parish continues to serve as the connective center for the Narthex initiative. Beyond supporting the pilot cohort of five other peer-mentoring congregations, the church helped 173 additional congregations engage in strategic reflection around digital ministry, adapted consulting tools to better fit mainline contexts, and facilitated digital learning across a widening network.
Not only are we freely sharing all we have learned to date, but we also continue to learn from other innovative parishes across the country.
At the same time, Christ Church advanced two major production efforts:
Two five-week, video-based, small-group curricula addressing hunger and homelessness in Denver, developed with Teacup Productions and the Colorado Council of Churches––poised for piloting in seven Denver-area congregations in 2026.
The revival of New Tracts for Our Times, producing short-form, post-Christian–oriented theological content designed for digital dissemination, in partnership with The Living Church, which will host and distribute these videos moving forward, leveraging resources and connections across the worldwide Anglican Communion.
As we look toward 2026, the next chapter is about implementation, sustainability, and integration—ensuring that digital engagement, formation, and peer learning are not side projects, but woven into the core life of Christ Church Denver and the communities we serve.
Our three concrete priorities for 2026:
1. Integrate Digital Ministry as a Core Pastoral Practice
Digital presence will be treated just not as communications support, but as an extension of proclamation, formation, and pastoral care.
Clarify Christ Church Denver’s primary digital audiences and the specific invitations we are making to them.
Align sermons, formation, and social witness with repeatable digital rhythms.
Measure success through trust, engagement, and sustained participation—not only attendance.
2. Anchor Formation in Justice-Shaped Storytelling
Build on the Hunger & Homelessness curriculum and related projects to connect discipleship with the lived realities of our city.
Pilot and evaluate the video-based curriculum with partner congregations in 2026.
Use short-form video and discussion-based resources to link worship, learning, and local action.
Center stories that show how faith is lived, not just what is believed.
3. Strengthen Christ Church Denver’s Role as a Convening Hub
Move from experimentation to durable infrastructure for peer learning and consultation.
Support implementation for the next Narthex subgrant congregations.
Expand peer-based learning through podcasts, workshops, and shared evaluation tools.
Continue developing a right-sized digital capacity consultation model with partners.
Taken together, this work reflects a church learning to speak and listen faithfully in a changed world. The Narthex has shown that digital ministry, when grounded in theology, shaped by community, and practiced with humility, can deepen belonging, extend witness, and strengthen mission.
As Christ Church Denver moves into 2026, we do so not chasing novelty, but stewarding practices that help the gospel be seen, heard, and trusted: both within our walls and far beyond them.