A new study by The Barna Group looks at how Protestant churches across the nation are using various forms of emerging technology to influence people’s lives and enliven their church experience.
However, the study reveals that the pace of technology adoption seems to have slowed in the past two years as some churches focus upon making the most of what they already have, and other churches attempt to get by without incorporating such tools into their ministry mix.
“Those tools included large screens used for showing video imagery; showing movie clips and other video segments during church events; sending email blasts to all or portions of the congregation; operating a church website; offering a blog site or pages for interaction with church leaders; maintaining a page on behalf of the church on one or more social networking sites; providing podcasts for people to listen to; and receiving programming and training via a satellite dish,” said a Barna Group news release.
In my opinion, the church often seems to be behind the secular world when it comes to technology when in all reality they should be ahead of the game.
GodTube which is a Christian YouTube of sorts and MyChurch which is likened to MySpace are just a couple of examples. Still all the same, churches should work hard to at least keep pace.
That means that churches should at the very least try to incorporate multi-media and video within church services, have a web site that is frequently updated, utilize blogging software to publish church related content, and get involved with social media. Of course this is not always possible with very small churches that have limited talent and resources.
David Wallace is a search & social media marketer who lives in Ahwatukee, Arizona with his lovely wife. Interests & hobbies include Christianity, musicianship, all things Disney, and roller coasters to name a few.
