Every time I see a hot new technology, like WiFi or iPods, I think “Wow, it would be cool to use that for church.” There are tons of ways emerging technologies could enhance our church experience and functioning.
One idea that I’ve researched a bit is the use of cell phone text messages to arrange spontaneous flash-mob church gatherings for various purposes. It doesn’t look like the technology can be had for free (unless you’re a Linux rocket scientist), so that idea will have to wait a while.
Another idea is the use of iPods or other portable music players to make up for the good worship music you miss when in a small emerging church that doesn’t have a band or big uplifting worship services (perhaps for good reason, but I still find myself missing the music).
But with all the technology that promises to enhance our church experience and the way we communicate, there is another side: It’s really not that complicated to be/do church. All you have to do is be a real person, be humble in light of that fact, treat others with respect and love, and pursue God together. Church starts there, not with zippy technology. Maybe the tech helps, but then again, maybe it just gets in the way.
What do you think? What church tech (big- or small-church) would you like to see?
Hmmm…. uh….
How about encouraging “real” accountability-in-community through the use of LoJack-like microchips?
I think there are tons of applications for technology in church. Real problem always boils down to time and money.
Linux and Open source software makes a lot of sense for churches. Free is a very good price. See http://www.jedimoose.org/freely/index.php for some examples. The issue with this is that while there are thousands of techs that use windows everyday, it is a little harder to find techs who are comfortable with Linux.
There are good programs out there like Typo3 content management system (http://typo3.org/), or the Asterisk PBX (http://www.asterisk.org/) that could serve churches very well. They are fairly complex technically however.
I think a good ministry idea would be for techs to learn these technologies and support 5-20 churches. These are big Skillsets to learn to support one church, but would be well worthwhile if you could support several churches.
This isn’t specific to the church, but I want an electronic task manager that understands sub-tasks and plugs into Outlook. Tasks aren’t all the same meta-level for me. Also, some subtasks are dependencies for multiple projects.
For example, I have an ongoing task to revamp out marriage workshop. Underneath that task I have a few books to look through to replace or supplement our current one. I have to work with my team to decide whether to move the location, and if so, to secure a new site. I have to ofigure out how and when to advertise. Under that one I have to finish our logo redesign, find out the newspaper’s current ad rates, and remember to pay the movie theatre’s ongoing ad bill.
The logo redesign also triggers a revamp of our sandwichboard signs, part of our website and all our printed brochures. So it’s linked to several top-level tasks.
Any suggestions for software that’s simpler than MS Project, freeware or cheapware, and ideally works in Outlook?
For Project management I would recommend people check out http://www.basecamphq.com It has a monthly charge of 0-60 bucks per month depending on how many projects you want to manage. It is internet based, so there is no software to install, and people can access it from anywhere that there is an internet connection.. It is simple enough that people can use it without much training.
the final key in ‘Good to great’ is that great companies tend to use what Collins calls ‘technology accelerators’. They don’t make a compnay great in thier own but they do bring it into the game in a serious way. i’m not sure what the parallel in church is but I reckon there might be one!
I’d like to see church websites with blogs under the “What We Believe” link, but only if you could get members to actively participate. That would communicate that “What We Believe” isn’t static for all time and is capable of changing as our understanding of things change. That would be really cool.
And using technology for organization and administration is also important. The less time you have to spend on those tasks the more time you can be doing other things.
Great discussion! I was thinking… there ought to be a blog dedicated to effective use of technology in the church environment. You guys don’t know of one already, do you?
I’m the resident geek at my church, so I manage the WiFi network in our coffeeshop, our Web site, and the video projection set up (luckily, we’ve got sound geeks to handle the audio… I’m deficient in sound geekery). Because of this, I’m always on the lookout for ways tech could be used creatively at church… so I’d seriously dig on something like that.
Will-
I like http://www.healyourchurchwebsite.com, run by Dean Peters, who wrote the Scripturizer plugin and is in general a genius.
I don’t know if there is a specific blog for church tech overall…anyone interested? I think the type of blog would depend on the formats in which the church operated (e.g. coffeehouse vs. auditorium - different needs).
Will,
I have just started a blog and my intention is to help enable churches to use technology more effectively. I literally just started this last week so I don’t really have anything up yet but I have alot of ideas to address. The URI is churchtechmatters.blogspot.com.
I don’t necessarily like self promotion but it seemed like I have just started something you are looking for. I certainly don’t have all the answers nor do I know it all but this is an area the Lord has really given me a passion for. This is an area that I want to help others in this area and also create a place that we can all share ideas.
I basically serve as the tech support for my church and right now it is strictly on a volunteer basis and I am doing more all the time. So check it out if you want and let me know what you think, once there is more content.
Jim
Jim-
As my Australian friends would say, good on ya. I think a lot of tech people are in the same boat - working on a volunteer basis and looking for a way to increase the effectiveness of and support to their ministry. This is a critical area for online communication and networking.
hey - there is a free SMS system called textmob. its free, web-based, community-driven - very cool. check http://www.txtmob.com/
btw, i’m really happy to find you all by total accident. (i googled ‘radical progress’!!!
i’m a first year seminary student, communications person w/community initiatives, and total tech geek. alleluia!
xo,
suzanne
I run a website/blog with the intention of helping churches use technology. Please consider visiting.
http://www.futurereach.org/blog
There’s a new cool tech tool for college ministers who need a web site but don’t have time or expertise…
http://www.lifewaylink.com/college
Like Jim at churchtechmatters.com, I have a website (http://www.anthonycoppedge.com) dedicated to maximizing media & communications in ministry. I hope the site is useful to you.
I totally agree. A group of churches are trying to partner together to do this exact thing, we called it Ekklesia Systems.
[...] I?ve recently started reading the RadicalCongruency blog. In a recent post, the author talks about how lately every time he learns of a new technology that he wonders how cool it would be to use that in church. Of course, not all tech is appropriate in all cases (in worship or in the world). [...]
I have a passion for churches and technology as well and I just recently started MinistryTech.net I am trying to grow the site to be a resource for all to use. So come check it out and get involved.