If your church is older, you might have a hard time getting people used to new tech solutions because they are not familiar with or experienced using them.
If your church is younger, you may face the opposite problem of having too many tech-savvy members who want to use new tech products that are not yet cost-effective for the church.
When is technology harmful to churches?
Technology can be a distraction to church members.
Leaders who use technology to grow their attendance numbers without helping the congregation can harm your church.
It is possible for churches to become obsessed with using new technologies, such as sending too many texts or emails that they forget the other important things when you started your ministry or church in the first place, like the human interaction of simply gathering.
Technology can create unhealthy relationships with other people
Technology can cause people to become obsessed with their phones, social media, etc. This can lead them to disconnect from other people.
Technology can hurt relationships because the use of technology in a relationship is more important than the relationship itself. (For example, when you choose to be on your phone or computer rather than spend time with someone.)
Technology can be used for the wrong things, such as pornography and gambling.
Although a spiritual leader or pastor would not use these things for church ministry, technology can lead weaker people to engage in these behaviors.
The Future Of Church Technology Is Here.
Why invest in technology for your church?
- Technology enables churches to keep up with the demands of growing congregations.
- Technology can help your church find new ways to serve its community, regardless of location.
- Technology has opened up more opportunities for ministry outreach than ever before.
The future of Church Technology and what it could look like in the next 10 years
The most effective Churches will know how to reach people online.
The most influential churches will meet people where they are and find ways to use tech tools to connect with them.
A church with a lot of members may be able to hire someone who is not a pastor but has tech skills and knowledge, so they can lead the church in using technology to connect with people.
A church might also create a more blended ministry where some members minister through the internet but still meet weekly for worship, and other events in churches, just like some churches do today.
Technology will continue to enable more and different artistic expressions in our churches and ministries than ever before.
Technology will continue to be used in our churches for personal goal-setting and accountability.
I believe technology can help churches more effectively serve unreached or underserved people, such as refugees or homeless people.
I hope everyone can use technology to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and love others, but it often takes money and education.
What would you like to see in the future of Church technology?
I hope every local church can access an affordable way of using technology tools without having to pay thousands of dollars for someone else to manage the system. I also want it to be easy to use and not require a lot of training or staff.
This article on bthe uses of church technology originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
