By Jake McCandless, Missionary Pastor • Epic Life, Pea Ridge
This past week, I was reminded of a term we don’t often hear in church circles, but it’s everywhere in social media and online marketing — engagement.
It’s not something we typically track on our church dashboards or report from the stage, but I believe we should. The unique journey I have had, which has led me to church planting here in Pea Ridge, has made “engagement” a driving force behind how I lead, measure success and celebrate growth, even if it doesn’t always register on other people’s radars.
What brought it to mind this week was a bittersweet moment. I spoke at the funeral of a friend in Delaware — someone I launched an “online-only” church with back in 2018. Yes, 2018, a couple of years before COVID pushed nearly every church online. We were actual beta (maybe even more alpha) users of what is now known as the Church Online Platform today. Even now, I know some faces are made when I say “online only” church, but there definitely were in 2018. At the time, I was connected with the ABSC and approached their state missions about it. They helped me connect with all the churches at that time that even had online services. Only one church in the state had an “online pastor.” They showed me how they streamed their services and proudly mentioned the hundreds to thousands of views each week.
But what stunned me was this — they had no idea who those viewers were. They had no connection.
That moment changed everything for me. I realized views didn’t matter if there was no connection. So, we flipped the model — we required registration to watch a service. Attendance dropped, but something better happened — we built relationships. Even though we were only online, we met people. We had contact and could move them into personal conversation, small groups and discipleship.
A few years later, while studying digital marketing, I came across The End of Marketing by Carlos Gil. He wrote that it’s better to have a handful of rabid fans than thousands of unengaged followers. That concept resonated deeply. In the digital world, it’s common sense. In the church world? Not so much.
However, I’ve carried that lesson with me ever since. And it’s one of the quiet but powerful reasons Epic Life is making an impact.
Back in August, when I met with our Advisory Board, we celebrated a 40% retention rate. That means 4 out of 10 people who visit a Connection Group stick and become part of the community. Most churches hover around 10–20%. What makes the difference? Engagement over attendance.
It’s hard to spend less than two hours at a Connection Group — even though our Bible Study is only 45 minutes to an hour — because people genuinely want to be together. Every group has an active text thread that keeps the conversation going all week — so do our leaders. We share meals. We show up for each other. We live life together. We don’t just allow engagement — we encourage it.
And while it means slower growth, smaller numbers and fewer casual drop-ins, it also means something else — deeper roots, greater transformation and real community. In other words, more life change.
