Why Evangelicals Are Early Adopters of New Tech

When Bishop D. J. Soto gives his Christmas sermon this year—his fifth Christmas in the metaverse—he will be surrounded by spirits. “I think my favorite part is going to be when the host of angels comes and the shepherds are in the fields, and we will have some lighting effects and angels in the sky,” Soto told me. His virtual-reality-headset-wearing flock of about 200 will be right in the middle of it all, walking or soaring through a VR build of Bethlehem.

Soto co-founded VR Church in 2016, which means he has been preaching in the metaverse since long before Facebook-cum-Meta turned the word into a household name. Back then, Soto and his co-founders mostly replicated the experience of attending a physical church: There were VR pews to sit in and a pastor on stage preaching. But then “the light bulb came on in our brains and we’re like,.”