A church that should change with the times, a 2022 account of buzz, and the metaverse as creation and play

As the times change, the church too must change, the writer says — not a mere matter of choice, but a necessary posture for transmitting the essence of the gospel fully in the world. In Matthew 5:13–16 it is said, “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” Salt must be used to fit the food, and light has meaning only in the dark; likewise a church should communicate in a way that fits people’s lives in its time and society. The problem is that a church often stays only with the tradition of the past and is cut off from a changing world. Even the early church, the writer says, transmitted the gospel wisely in the culture and situation of its time. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:22, said he had become many things to many people so that by all means some might be saved. A method of keeping the gospel and still communicating with the times is already clearly set out in Scripture. The present generation lives in a digital environment; rather than resisting change, actively taking change in for the sake of the kingdom of God is, the writer thinks, the real appearance of the church. The essence does not change, but expression and method should change to fit the times. The metaverse is a virtual space in which reality and the digital are joined, with possibility open in education, work, and social activity, beyond a mere game or entertainment. After COVID-19, left here in that period, a non-face-to-face environment became everyday. Choi Seung-eun, MedTimes, 28 March 2022, is cited under a heading that after COVID-19 the volume of online buzz about the metaverse has been increasing every year, and has increased more than ten times in the recent year. A table in the essay is saying that the market using metaverse technology after COVID has grown greatly; Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, extended reality, and blockchain are organically connected in a three-dimensional space. Some firms are already experimenting with meetings, education, and shopping on metaverse platforms. Specialists say the metaverse may become a major means of communication going forward, and Nokia, in Finland, is having looked ahead that even the mobile phone may disappear when a metaverse era fully arrives. If an existing church was centered on a building and on face-to-face worship, a metaverse church makes various forms of worship and gathering possible inside virtual space, and older people, people with disabilities, and people living overseas who find attendance hard can also take part. The word is a compound of “meta” and “universe,” first used in science-fiction novels; a paper defined it as a new internet environment, based on three dimensions, connected with reality. An avatar can stand in for thoughts, feelings, and actions, and what an avatar does is sometimes regarded as if one had actually done it. Another paper defines the metaverse as a product of human desire, a new space of experience beyond the limits of reality — as cave paintings once substituted for reality, one can now meet dinosaurs or travel in space in a virtual space.

After the pandemic, non-face-to-face worship became everyday, and interest in a “metaverse church” grew; it is no longer merely a temporary expedient, but has taken its place as an alternative space. The spread of non-face-to-face worship raised a question for traditional thinking about the church: if people can be connected and share faith even without an actual space, can that also be called a church? Some views hold that community and faith can be formed even in metaverse space through avatars, and are not different from the actual. There is also a critique that genuine spirituality or the sacraments are difficult in the metaverse. But the metaverse has entered life deeply, and even the life of faith is being affected, so a church should not simply avoid or ignore this change, but should respond actively and interpret it newly. Human beings, the essay says, have from the first been beings who enjoy play; this play instinct became culture, norms, and a foundation of society, and the metaverse too began from it. A virtual world that began with online games can be called an early form: users make characters, engage in economic activity, and form relations. Human beings want to go further and become beings who design and steer a world like gods, and some scholars say that human beings are evolving into “homo deus,” a godlike being. From this view the metaverse is an evolutionary space in which human beings themselves are becoming creators. It cannot be seen as cut off from reality because it is virtual; just as letters, the telephone, text messages, and video calls are all part of reality, the metaverse too is now on an extension of everyday life.

A headset the writer put on, a church case in 2022, and how a church meets the technology

Investigating a case of metaverse worship based on virtual-reality technology, the writer received the impression of a new form of “participatory worship” entirely different from existing manners of worship. The writer personally put on an Oculus Quest 2, entered a virtual worship space, and through this experience tasted the possibility of immersive worship beyond mere watching. In the virtual church space, an avatar greets people in one’s place, goes into the sanctuary, and takes part in praise and the word. The sermon was arranged not merely as a way of hearing a voice, but so that one could explore and experience directly the space that is the background of the word. In a sermon on the theme of Hebrews 11, the avatar actually walks Noah’s ark, parts the Red Sea, and takes part in a scene of the Exodus — a “sermon that enters into the story,” not mere viewing. Avatars could also converse with one another, and questions and opinions could be shared by chat during the sermon; through this the writer could confirm that communal worship is fully possible even inside metaverse space. A paper explains this as “a shift from the existing one-way structure of delivery to a worship environment in which real-time interaction is possible.” Jang Yong-hwan, a 2022 doctoral thesis at Hoseo University’s United Theological Seminary, in South Chungcheong, on a study of preaching using social media and the metaverse, is cited as the source of a figure: the church in question installed 360-degree cameras, made the worship as video, and provided it to be viewed with a virtual-reality device, so that one could receive a “feeling of attending” without going to the church in person. During sermon time there was also an attempt to communicate in real time with the congregation through a social-network chat room, and to reflect the congregation’s opinions in the shared sermon time.

Christianity has historically responded appropriately as society changed, and, while taking a somewhat cautious attitude toward technological change, has actively used it as a means of transmitting the gospel. Just as the appearance of print technology made the Reformation possible, today’s digital technology is changing the paradigm of church ministry entirely. The COVID-19 pandemic, left in that period, accelerated this process further. As face-to-face worship became difficult, online worship, Zoom gatherings, and YouTube sermons quickly took hold. Worship and education through the metaverse have a deep meaning in that the church is going a step further than simply “using technology,” and is creating a new space of faith practice. In one paper the writer came upon cases of actually holding worship on a platform such as Altspace VR: a user enters a sanctuary through an avatar and shares praise, the word, and fellowship as if it were actual. At first the writer thought it would be merely interest-centered, but could confirm that several churches were operating it as regular worship. A manner even appeared in which a preacher “meets a figure from Scripture directly in virtual space” and preaches; there was also an evaluation that worship more immersive and centered on interaction than existing lecture-style preaching had become possible. In accepting technology there is still much debate, and clear theological tasks exist: for traditional sacraments such as the Lord’s Supper or baptism, there was also the point that theological ordering is needed regarding practice in virtual space. Even so, the church was seeing the metaverse as a new land of the gospel, a digital mission field, and was grafting it into actual ministry. The writer could confirm that the church is not a passive being merely swept along by change, but an active subject trying to transmit the gospel and form community even in a new era. Named in the bibliography, without findings filled beyond what the essay already uses, are also Kim Yun-chan, a 2023 master’s thesis at the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary graduate school, in Seoul, on the possibility of a metaverse ecclesiology; Im Na-el, a 2023 master’s thesis at Chongshin University graduate school, in Seoul, on Christian adolescents’ perception of the metaverse; Park Seong-gwang, a 2022 master’s thesis at Chongshin University graduate school, in Seoul, on participatory narrative preaching conducted in the metaverse for adolescents; and Seo Yeong-min, a 2024 master’s thesis at Yonsei University’s graduate school of education, on the development and application of a metaverse-based Christian education program using Minecraft — those unfilled findings. The same Korean report, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.

Sources

1. As the times change, the church too must change. It is not a mere matter of choice, but a necessary posture for transmitting the essence of the gospel fully in the world. In Matthew 5:13–16 it is said, “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” Salt must be used to fit the food, and light has meaning only in the dark. Likewise a church too should communicate in a way that fits people’s lives in the times and in society. The problem is that a church often stays only with the tradition of the past and is cut off from a changing world. But even looking only at the early church, it transmitted the gospel wisely in the culture and situation of that time. Paul also, in 1 Corinthians 9:22, said that he had become many appearances to many people so that by all means some might be saved. A method of keeping the gospel and still communicating with the times is already clearly set out in Scripture. The present generation lives in a digital environment. To transmit the gospel to them, online space, media, and various cultural languages should be used actively. Rather than resisting change, actively taking change in for the sake of the kingdom of God is the real appearance of the church. The essence does not change, but expression and method should change to fit the times. The metaverse is a virtual space in which reality and the digital are joined, and possibility of use is open in various areas such as education, work, and social activity, beyond a mere game or entertainment. After COVID-19 a non-face-to-face environment became everyday, and the metaverse is receiving attention not as a mere trend but as a technological base for a future society. Source: Choi Seung-eun, 28 March 2022, “After COVID-19, the volume of online buzz about the metaverse increasing every year… an increase of more than ten times in the recent year,” MedTimes. Table 1. After COVID, the market using metaverse technology is growing greatly. The metaverse provides a three-dimensional space in which a user can act and interact as in reality, and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, extended reality, and blockchain are organically connected and operate. For example, artificial intelligence gives an avatar a human character, or the Internet of Things makes a connection with virtual space possible through sensors in reality. Extended-reality technology gives a user a sense of immersion as if in an actual space, and blockchain protects the ownership of digital assets and raises the trustworthiness of transactions. These technologies provide a user, inside the metaverse, with a richer and more realistic experience, and are opening a possibility of new communication and activity that goes beyond the limits of reality. In this way the metaverse has the potential to change the manner of communication among people and to create a new form of community culture. Already some firms are proceeding with meetings, education, and shopping on metaverse platforms and are experimenting, and adolescents and a younger generation are growing used to life in virtual space through games or social platforms. Specialists say that going forward the metaverse may become a major means of communication, and Nokia, in Finland, looked ahead that even the mobile phone may disappear when a metaverse era fully arrives. This new manner of expressing identity and forming relations, going back and forth between reality and the digital, will come to change human everyday life as a whole. Therefore the metaverse is not a mere advance of technology, but a platform that fundamentally changes the manner of human communication, community, and identity. In this flow, a church too needs to use the technology called the metaverse not simply as a trend, but as a new tool of gospel transmission and community formation. If an existing church was a structure centered on a building and on face-to-face worship, a metaverse church makes various forms of worship and gathering possible inside virtual space. As one case, it can become a structure in which each person’s avatar gathers in a metaverse sanctuary, praises together, and hears the word, and a faith community can be connected from anywhere in the world without the constraint of physical distance and time. There is the advantage that older people, people with disabilities, and people living overseas who find attendance hard can also take part actively. In addition, inside the metaverse, sermons and Bible study in various manners using video, images, interactive content, and the like become possible, and can raise the interest and degree of immersion of a younger generation. The essence of the gospel does not change, but in the point that the manner of transmitting it should change to fit the times, the metaverse can become a sufficiently meaningful tool of ministry. The metaverse is not another world completely separated from reality, but a virtual space that continues reality. It can be called a digital space in which an avatar standing in for the self in reality appears and lives a daily life, shops, meets friends, and even engages in economic activity. Unlike mere entertainment virtual reality, the activity that happens inside the metaverse touches actual life. The word “metaverse” was said to be a compound of “meta,” meaning transcendence, and “universe,” meaning world. At first it was used in science-fiction novels, but it is now a concept that has entered everyday life around us. In a paper it was defined as a new internet environment, based on three dimensions, connected with reality. The concept of the avatar is important. In the past it was no more than a mere character, but an avatar in today’s metaverse is not merely at the level of lending an appearance; it also sometimes stands in for one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. So the action an avatar does is also sometimes regarded as if one had actually done it. In this way the metaverse is in the course of becoming no longer a world of games or play, but another stage of our life. Also, in another paper, the metaverse is being defined as a product of human desire. The metaverse will not mean only a mere virtual-reality technology. It is another world made by human imagination and desire, a new space of experience made beyond the limits of reality. The beginning of the metaverse originated in an essential desire human beings have. The desire to imagine what is impossible in reality and to accomplish it, the aspiration to pursue a better life, made the metaverse. Reality has many constraints. There are limits of time, space, and the body. But the advance of technology is gradually breaking these limits down. One case introduced is that, just as in the past reality was substituted for in pictures, like cave paintings, now an experience of meeting dinosaurs in a virtual space, or of traveling in space, is also possible. Beyond mere entertainment, it narrows the gap between human imagination and reality. Augmented reality and virtual reality are the technologies that make such things possible. Seen from a view such as the above, the metaverse is a result of human imagination and technology meeting. It is not simply a space for fun, but a new platform that helps so that what human beings dream as they live can be realized. It makes possible, inside the metaverse, feelings, relations, and activity that cannot be experienced in reality. Today we live in a digital age, and this environment is giving a great effect also to the church and to faith. After the pandemic, as non-face-to-face worship became everyday, interest in a “metaverse church” also grew. Now the metaverse has taken its place not merely as a temporary expedient, but as an alternative space. The spread of non-face-to-face worship raised a question for traditional thinking about the church. If, even without an actual space, people can be connected and can share faith, can that also be called a church? This concern made the possibility of a church in metaverse space begin to be discussed in earnest. They are attempts not to move the existing concept of the church over as it is, but to reinterpret its essence to fit a digital space. In this background various theological views appeared. In some views it is held that community and faith can be formed even in metaverse space. It is a position that recognizing one another through avatars, worshiping together, and having fellowship is not different from the actual. On the other hand, there is also a critique that sees genuine spirituality or the sacraments as difficult in the metaverse. But the point is that the metaverse is no longer a toy of technology. It has entered deep into our life, and even the life of faith is being affected. Therefore a church should not simply avoid or ignore this change, but needs to respond actively and to interpret it newly. The metaverse has now become an era topic that must also be handled theologically. It was said that human beings have from the first been beings who enjoy play. From childhood they have been absorbed in toys or games, have made rules, and have lived enjoying together. This play instinct became culture, became norms, and became a foundation that forms a society. The metaverse too began from this play instinct. People took an interest in a new manner of play, in creating a new world. The result of that is precisely the metaverse. A virtual world that began with online games can be called an early form of the metaverse. Users make characters, engage in economic activity inside, form relations, and live. This is different from reality, but is a space that is felt like another reality. Human beings want to go further here, and to become beings who design and steer a world like gods. So some scholars also say that human beings are evolving into “homo deus,” a godlike being. Seen from the view above, the metaverse is not simply a “virtual space,” but an evolutionary space in which human beings themselves are becoming creators. It is a stage on which, beyond the limits of reality, one can directly make the environment and society one wants. Here human beings make an identity of their own, interact, and satisfy various desires. Also, the metaverse cannot be seen as a space cut off from reality for the reason that it is virtual. Rather it is a new world in which reality and the virtual are closely connected and interact. Just as letters, the telephone, text messages, and video calls are all part of reality, the metaverse too is now on an extension of our everyday life. Going forward, communication, culture, faith, and life as a whole in this space will be more actively discussed and developed. While investigating a case of metaverse worship based on virtual-reality technology, the writer received the impression of a new form of “participatory worship” entirely different from existing manners of worship. The writer personally put on an Oculus Quest 2, entered a virtual worship space, and through this experience experienced the possibility of immersive worship beyond mere watching. In the virtual church space entered through a virtual-reality device, an avatar greets people in one’s place, goes into the sanctuary, and takes part in praise and the word. What was interesting was that the sermon was arranged not merely as a manner of hearing a voice, but so that one could explore and experience directly the space that is the background of the word. In a sermon on the theme of Hebrews 11, it is in the manner that the avatar actually walks Noah’s ark, parts the Red Sea, and takes part in a scene of the Exodus. It was not mere viewing but “a sermon that enters into the story,” and the writer too, moving along the story of Scripture, could have the experience of seeing that scene with the eyes and of entering directly into the situation. This virtual-reality technology is very impressive in the point that, beyond a merely realistic experience of worship, it induces interaction among worshipers. Inside the virtual space it was possible for avatars to converse with one another, or to ask questions and share opinions by chat during the sermon. Through this process the writer could confirm the point that communal worship is fully possible even inside metaverse space. In a paper it is explained as “a shift from the existing one-way structure of delivery to a worship environment in which real-time interaction is possible.” A church case using the metaverse is very concrete. The church in question installed 360-degree cameras and made the worship as video — figure 1, source: Jang Yong-hwan, “A study of preaching using social media and the metaverse,” domestic doctoral thesis, Hoseo University United Theological Seminary, 2022, South Chungcheong — and provided it to be viewed with a virtual-reality device. It made it so that one could receive a “feeling of attending” worship without actually going to the church in person. The writer, actually experiencing it, could discover a new possibility of being able to be connected to a faith community even without the constraint of physical distance. During sermon time there was an attempt to communicate in real time with the congregation through a social-network chat room, and to reflect the congregation’s opinions in the shared sermon time. Christianity has historically responded appropriately according to social change. In technological change, while taking a somewhat cautious attitude, it has shown an appearance of actively using it as a means of gospel transmission. In this study it came to be looked at concretely how, in the church field, digital technology such as the metaverse is being received. Just as the appearance of print technology in the past made the Reformation possible, today’s digital technology is changing the paradigm of church ministry entirely. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this process further. As face-to-face worship became difficult, online worship using non-face-to-face technology, Zoom gatherings, YouTube sermons, and the like quickly took hold. Among them, worship and education through the metaverse have a deep meaning in the point that the church is going a step further than simply “using technology,” and is creating a new space of faith practice. In one paper the writer came to encounter a case of actually holding worship on a platform such as Altspace VR. A user enters a sanctuary through an avatar, and shares praise, the word, and fellowship as if it were actual. At first the writer thought it would be merely interest-centered, but could confirm that several churches were operating it as regular worship. A manner even appeared in which a preacher “meets a figure from Scripture directly in virtual space” and preaches. There was also an evaluation that through this manner, worship more immersive and centered on interaction than existing lecture-style preaching had become possible. In the point of accepting technology, there is still much debate in Christianity, and theological tasks clearly exist. In the case of traditional sacraments such as the Lord’s Supper or baptism, there was also the point that theological ordering is needed regarding practice in virtual space. But even so, the church was seeing the metaverse as a new land of the gospel, a digital mission field, and was grafting it into actual ministry. The writer could confirm that the church is not a passive being merely swept along by change, but an active subject trying to transmit the gospel and form community even in a new era. Bibliography: Kim Yun-chan, “A study on the possibility of a metaverse ecclesiology,” domestic master’s thesis, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary general graduate school, 2023, Seoul. Choi Seung-eun, 28 March 2022, “After COVID-19, the volume of online buzz about the metaverse increasing every year… an increase of more than ten times in the recent year,” MedTimes. Im Na-el, “A study on Christian adolescents’ perception of the metaverse,” domestic master’s thesis, Chongshin University general graduate school, 2023, Seoul. Jang Yong-hwan, “A study of preaching using social media and the metaverse,” domestic doctoral thesis, Hoseo University United Theological Seminary, 2022, South Chungcheong. Park Seong-gwang, “A study of participatory narrative preaching conducted in the metaverse for adolescents,” domestic master’s thesis, Chongshin University general graduate school, 2022, Seoul. Seo Yeong-min, “Development and application of a metaverse-based Christian education program using Minecraft,” domestic master’s thesis, Yonsei University graduate school of education, 2024. Findings of those bibliography items are not filled beyond what the essay already uses.

Last updated: 14 November 2026