Some of the best advice I ever received for revitalizing a church is “Start where you are.” I can’t remember where I first heard that statement, but I want to affirm the echo of voices. When it comes to technology in your church, the same is true: Start where you are.
Many regular-sized churches lack technology resources and know-how. The main issue is not so much that they are not up to speed with what’s out there. Rather, the issue is that they often do not know where to start.
Here are a few ways that you can move the needle to improve technology in your church:
1. Diagnose the state of your tech situation. How bad is it? Perform some triage to determine what is working or not for your church. What is the shape of your website? Do you even have a website? What is the quality of your streaming videos? Do you have any traction with social media? What about the condition of the sound and lighting in your church? Start by becoming aware of the situation.
2. Harness what is working. There may be one aspect of your technology that is working well. Good. Build on that. If you have a good website, use that to drive people to your social media. If you have a healthy technology budget already, use those funds to beef up one of your weak areas of technology.
3. Look for what’s free. Not everyone has a large tech budget. Some churches have nothing budgeted for technology. So, start by taking advantage of what is free. My church started with the free version of productivity tools such as Trello and Google Workplace. We use the free version of the communication app Slack. We use Canva to help with our graphics needs. I use the free video editor on my laptop to create videos for our church. There are a lot of free tools that can be useful if you look for them and take the time to learn how to use them.
4. Ask for help. Don’t be shy. There are other churches and people in your community who are willing to share their expertise if you simply ask. We were blessed by a large church in the neighboring town who allowed their technology director to come to our church and give us a technology audit. He was very kind and very helpful. There are likely some who would be willing to help you if you simply asked. I highly encourage you to reach out to Churchteams, one of our partners at Church Answers. They love the church, and they know technology.
5. Set some achievable goals. You don’t have to hit a home run right away. A simple base hit may be the place to begin. So, set some achievable goals for your technology. Seek to have your staff on the same type of communication software by the end of the summer. Try to improve your worship center lighting in the next two years. Commit to having at least one quality social media post every week. Set short-term goals, then build from there.
6. Find a technology champion in your church. Too many church leaders are trying to do all of the work by themselves. You’ve likely heard that before. I feel your pain. I’m a regular pastor in a regular-sized church. In fact, I’m guilty of this flaw. I have been our website editor, our graphic designer, our video producer, our social media manager, and more for far too long. In recent months, I’ve been trying to equip others to do more of this work. One of the ways to do this is to find a champion (or champions) in your church who can help you with technology. Look for one or more people who can “own” an area of technology. Encourage and equip them, then wait to see what God will do.
There are a few ways that our church has made some progress with technology in our church. You may look at our church and discover some areas of technology that still need improvement. You’re right. We still have some work to do. However, we have moved the needle, and you can too.
I’d love to hear what is working for you in your church. Leave a comment below!
The post Moving the Needle with Technology in a Regular-Sized Church appeared first on Church Answers.
Source by Church Answers Read More
