Three questions and three recommendations regarding the church and technology …

A single invention, which was at that time a world-changing advance in technology, was one of the greatest gifts the church has ever received.

What was it?

The invention of the printing press.

That single invention eventually resulted in the Bible becoming the world’s best-selling book with at least five billion copies sold and distributed.

Talk about technology being a blessing to the church!

Then, in 2020, technology was one of the church’s “best friends” as it became the chief means for churches to stay connected and continue to make worship services and preaching available, as well as produce other content when response to the global pandemic impeded the regular and normal gathering of the church “in person.”

You would think, after the church being heavily reliant on technology for more than a year, that church leaders would have learned a lesson that there is much more we can do to advance the Gospel message and further the work of God’s kingdom by widely and consistently employing the use of technology. But here we are in 2021 with a hefty number of church leaders all too ready or willing to abandon technology as an important and permanent tool of the church.

Could we be any more unappreciative … and foolish?

Let’s look at the current situation by asking a few questions:

WHY THE SURPRISE? Long before the onset of the pandemic, the value of technology to the church had already shown itself, even if many church leaders ignored it. It used to be — a long time ago — if someone was looking for a church, they would reach for what was called a “phone book” and rummage through the “yellow pages” offering advertisements from local churches. If you had a big ad budget, your church bought a large ad which would be placed at the front of listings for churches, making you more “seen” by people. If had a small budget, your little ad or simple listing would be buried in the back of the section for churches, meaning most people wouldn’t see it.

But that was a long time ago.

For years now, the website has replaced yellow page advertising. In fact, it has done MUCH more than that – it has become the starting place for anyone looking for a church, or information about your church. In 2021, if someone wants to find a church in their town or city (or anywhere in the world), or perhaps they drove by your church building and want to learn something about your local church, they turn to the internet and “Google” you.

No website? Then to them you don’t exist.

Believe it or not, prior to the pandemic many churches still didn’t have a basic website (in 2015, it was reported that almost 56 percent of churches did not have a website; “thanks” to the pandemic, that may have fallen to as little as 16 percent today). So when the pandemic hit, many churches had to scramble to catch up with technology, from adding a website to opening social media accounts so they could be where their people, and their community, is — online.

The only reason why so many ministers were surprised at the NEED to use technology over the past 18 months is because they were late to engage in some of the most basic uses of technology by the members of their local congregations and society at large.

The people were (and had been for years) online, many church leaders were (still, or mostly) offline.

Too many ministers weren’t keeping up and found themselves surprised at how necessary it is to engage the use of technology in order to be where the people are.

WHY THE WAIT? A few reasons …
Some church leaders are especially stubborn about engaging people online, strongly preferring “real life” or in- person connections. I can sincerely appreciate that. Connections are often deeper and richer when we’re face-to-face (“in the flesh” rather than via Zoom) with someone. But in 2021, that is no reason to disregard the many more connections that can be made and nurtured using technology. Some leaders of large churches were more aware of this fact, because having to shepherd and lead hundreds or thousands of people requires some of the tools technology offers. However, with most churches in America being 90 people or less, a lot of church leaders thought they could get by without learning how to use common and popular technology, or spend time on it.

Another reason for waiting is many church leaders of those mostly small congregations that make up the church say they can’t afford a website. Well, maybe they can’t afford the really expensive websites with all the bells and whistles some larger churches have, but almost any church today can afford the most basic of websites. The real issue is many haven’t done their homework researching ways it can be done for little cost. Now that a pandemic has forced the issue of needing to engage the use of technology, more church leaders are stepping up their engagement, but for many it’s still reluctantly and not with the best of attitudes.

SO WHY THE CONTINUED RESISTANCE? That’s the really big question for today. The past 18 months has shown how beneficial – in far-reaching ways – using technology as a tool can be for the church, yet some church leaders still long to “go back to normal.” That’s like saying going back to phone books or monks handwriting scripture in scriptoriums. Instead of being stiff-necked about technology, why not explore all the different ways technology might actually be used to advance the Gospel mission of the church?

Instead of fighting against employing technology, we’re now in a time when we need to recommend a serious investment in technology in at least three ways:

Training – Some church leaders, ministry leaders, and others still need to learn new skills to more effectively and fully engage in using technology in the work of the church. As church leaders increase their skills in using technology, they need to develop a plan and strategy for employing it.

Equipment, and the space for it – For a very long time, it has been thought the cost of having and maintaining a church building was a necessary cost for a church. Now we need to think that purchasing the equipment (computers, cameras, etc.) and providing any needed dedicated space to employ technology for ministry is a necessary cost for any church.

Staff. Old school thinking was that you needed a senior minister and an assistant minister (usually a youth minister) as minimal staffing, but that has changed dramatically over the years. Now we have “connection pastors” and “care pastors” and “worship arts directors,” etc. It’s time to normalize adding staff with specific skills in technology to help churches develop and use technology in carrying out their mission.

To be resistant to making technology a broadly and fully used tool of the church in 2021 is to purposely choose to stunt the full ministry potential of your local church. Why would any church leader want to do that?

Scotty