From Sanctuary to Screen: Hybrid Worship, Religious Organizing, and the Relational Challenges of Post-Pandemic Church Management

This thematic literature review examines the post-pandemic expansion of online and hybrid worship as a form of religious organizing rather than a temporary technological accommodation. Drawing on scholarship in digital religion, congregational studies, practical theology, and management, the review synthesizes literature on online worship, embodied participation, religious belonging, pastoral care, social support, and congregational adaptation. Six themes emerged: digital worship as access and resilience; the distinction between attendance and participation; embodiment and mediated worship; practiced belonging and relational infrastructure; hybrid church as organizational transformation; and the movement from digital reach to relational depth. The article argues that churches face a relational conversion challenge: converting digital access into participation, participation into belonging, belonging into care, and care into sustained commitment. The study contributes to management, spirituality, and religion scholarship by conceptualizing relational infrastructure as a key managerial and spiritual task for hybrid churches.