Learning in a Phygital World

Derrick Scott III & Jess Bielman

When we (Derrick and Jess) began to reflect on what’s unfolding among the Phygital Fellows Substack articles, we circled back to one thing: the way calling takes shape in unexpected spaces. The stories of those in the fellowship show that they are not satisfied with treating digital ministry as a gimmick or a backup plan. Instead, they’re asking what it means to embody faith where people actually live—on their phones, in their commutes, in the rhythms of daily life.

It was evident in so many ways. Once you decide that church doesn’t have to begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday, you start to notice how the whole system has been built for people who are already comfortable walking through church doors. Once you see that prayer can take root in a group text or that teaching can happen through a podcast at bedtime, you begin to wonder whether some of our “sacred” structures are actually just habits we’ve outgrown. Upon reflection, you begin to see that these fellows are not rejecting traditional forms of spiritual formation—they’re endeavoring to return to their original intentions, and using digital technologies to reimagine them with attention, reverence and affection.

We also notice how seamlessly healing and justice get pulled into the picture. When someone offers a space of stillness for digital natives who feel most like themselves in online spaces, they aren’t just experimenting with format; they’re extending dignity to people who’ve often been told they don’t belong. When another is creating a mobile sanctuary for people who feel too busy or burned out for church, reminding them that five minutes of presence can be enough. And when leaders create sacred spaces online for those who carry church trauma, they are opening the door to a kind of belonging that traditional structures have too often denied. Calling, in this phygital world, is less about the technology and more about love made portable.

And yet, these leaders never confuse the tools for the point. It’s not about winning the algorithm, it’s about faithfulness to the call. Again and again we hear them describe technology as a gift to be stewarded, not a shrine to be worshiped. They’ve come to this posture honestly. It takes a learned humility to admit that a livestream or podcast is just a tool—powerful, yes, but only as good as the healing, justice, and belonging it makes possible. We’ve discovered that the task isn’t to master every new platform but to keep asking better questions: Who is this really serving? What wounds can it tend? How does it help people belong? What else do we need?

The more time our fellows spend together, the less interested we are in categories like “digital” or “physical.” What matters is the bridge between them—the courage to show up in both, to treat both as real, and to trust that God is already at work through all of it. Watching these leaders risk experiments, hold their questions with open hands, and create communities that spill across boundaries has reminded us that ministry has always been about improvising with the Spirit.

At this leg of the journey, with a year to go in our fellowship and many more Substack posts to come, we don’t have a neat conclusion to offer. What we do have is a growing conviction: that what we are witnessing through the Phygital Fellows is not just innovation, but faithfulness. It’s the old calling to love God and neighbor, reimagined for a world where presence stretches across pixels and pews alike. And our job—as editor and program director—is to keep paying attention, to keep learning from the courage of these leaders, and to follow where their callings and curiosities point us next.

With Gratitude,

Derrick & Jess