Travel or Zoom?

As the spring and summer of COVID-19 progressed, most of us were making daily adjustments to how we worked, how we communicated, how we lived in general. In May, I received a Facebook Messenger note from a long-time friend and colleague in Chennai, India. He asked me to share with his group of 25 sports ministry leaders scattered across 12 states of India some introductory elements of sports chaplaincy. I asked some clarifying questions, and we agreed to two – ninety minute sessions; one on Tuesday and the other on Friday.

As the chosen Tuesday arrived I was prepared with a PowerPoint presentation to share on the screen and discussion questions to further their understanding. Tuesday’s session went off without a hitch, and Friday’s was similar (with a few Internet hitches). I was thrilled to share with my friend’s network and to give a gentle nudge forward to sports chaplaincy in India.

A couple of weeks later, during a brisk morning walk, I was contemplating those presentations, their effectiveness, and more. I came to the following observations. If this had been just 6 months earlier, we would have scheduled a training event in Chennai. I would have bought an airline ticket for a couple thousand dollars. His network of leaders would have had to travel from all over India to Chennai, at considerable expense, a conference center would have to be rented, hotel rooms booked, etc. We would have gathered people, exhausted from travel, and fed them with a firehose of information, and then sent them home. As it was, they all joined us from their homes, at convenient times, at no cost, and we delivered the information well. Winner!

I further contemplated how this event was different and the implications of its success. I hope these thoughts are of value to your decision making process going forward.

• If the purpose of an event is to build relationships, new or established, I will make the drive, buy the airline ticket, pay the costs to travel to meet in person. The relationships are worth it, and can be best developed in person.
• If the purpose of an event is primarily to deliver information, I will use a video conferencing platform and deliver the info that way for little or no cost.
• What we had been achieving through annual visits for training in Ukraine, at considerable expense to all, is now being accomplished through monthly video conference meetings at almost no cost. It’s much more flexible and doesn’t upset the normal rhythms of life for travel. We have established our relationships across five years of annual in person meetings in Kyiv.

Bottom line – I will use this set of values to determine whether or not to travel for ministry.

• Relationship focus – make the trip, pay the costs. It’s worth it.
• Information focus – use technology. It’s wise and effective.