There have only been a handful of technologies that fundamentally changed how churches function on a day-to-day basis: Electricity, Central A/C & Heat, Telephones, the Internet, Email and, most recently, mobile technologies. I believe that mobile technologies will eventually force churches to change from a “come to us on our terms and our location” mindset to one that says “we’re available to meet you wherever you are”. In order to help churches embrace this change, I’ve outlined some of the reasons why I believe this change is coming – and coming faster than most realize.
More Than a Phone
Some would argue that mobile- and smart-phones are merely an extension of the telephone, but I believe the familiarity of the phone aspects cloud the bigger, and inherently better, value of mobile technology. A telephone was only ever a phone, though it did act as a transport medium for faxes and dial-up Internet connections.
Mobile devices, on the other hand, have redefined nearly every communication and transactional interaction of our lives.
The research firm comScore released their 2010 Mobile Year in Review report and revealed some very interesting and telling trends that, I believe, will bring a tidal wave of change upon nearly every local church. The report highlighted the increasing functionality in mobile phones. One of the fastest-growing uses of mobile devices? Online banking & online giving. “The U.S. mobile market displayed the most mature mobile banking market reaching 11.4% of mobile users,” cited the report. In addition, mobile wallet capabilities – using mobile phones in place of debit or credit cards for in-person purchases – are beginning to come onto the scene. The report cited the example of Starbucks, which, in early 2011, announced that “customers in thousands of locations can pay for items with their phones via an application that can be scanned across a reader at check out.”
People are using the near-constant availability of their mobile devices to connect and share instantly; a facet of digital life that the local church must embrace.
For example, 24.7% of U.S. mobile users access social networking sites or blogs on their mobile device, showing the continued rise of online connectivity. With 93% penetration in the U.S., mobile reach has connected the vast majority of Americans, with 2.26 trillion (yep, with a ‘t’) minutes of cell phone calls logged and 1.81 trillion text messages sent in 2010 alone. Further, 24.5% of U.S. households are now wireless-only.
This kind of saturation leads to one obvious conclusion: we have the ability to find, connect, communicate, share and purchase from anywhere at anytime.
Mobile Usage Intersects with Life in Churches
As mobile devices continue to sell at unprecedented rates, the increasing usage to an ever-widening user group has certain categories showing massive double-digit growth.
Fastest Growing Mobile Categories in the US (Total Audience; Dec 2010 vs Dec 2009) | |
Mobile Category | % Growth 2010 (+) |
Social networking | 56% |
Classifieds | 55 |
Online Retail | 53 |
General reference | 47 |
Maps | 46 |
Weather | 45 |
Personal email | 39 |
Source: comScore MobiLens, February 2011 |
In the not-too-distant past, churches could pretty much get by with a “build-it-and-they-will-come” mentality. Today, churches can’t assume their venues, activities and events will be the hub of people’s spiritual lives. Remember when:
- New to town & looking for a church? Go to the street with all the church signs & try one.
- Want to share life with those who share your belief? Join a church Bible study class or small group.
- Need to tithe? Drop it in the offering plate at church.
- Desire to be in a mid-week discipleship class? Go to church.
- Need to share a prayer request? Go to church & post it on the prayer wall or meet with a pastor.
- Want to serve in a community outreach event? Go to church and sign up (on a piece of paper).
Today, every single one of those can be done through online technologies, all of which can be accessed on a mobile device. It is because of this near-limitless functionality, and the fact that it’s almost always on their body, that people are finding so many ways to use their mobile devices. Take a look at the top mobile activities over just a three month average:
Top Mobile Activities in the U.S. (by Share of Total Mobile Users; 3 mo. avg. ending Dec. 2010) | |
Activity | % of Mobile Users |
Sent text message | 68% |
Took photos | 52.4 |
Used connected Media | 46.7 |
Accessed news and information | 39.5 |
Used browser | 36.4 |
Used application | 34.4 |
Used email | 30.5 |
Accessed weather | 25.2 |
Accessed social network or blog | 24.7 |
Source: comScore MobiLens, February 2011 |
What’s more, social media continues to expand into a larger audience, fueled by the handy accessibility of their connected mobile devices. The number of U.S. users accessing the Facebook site via mobile reached roughly 44 million as of December 2010, while YouTube and Twitter held the second and third position in the U.S., growing 74% and 71%, respectively.
Top Social Media Brands (by Total Audience % Growth Dec. 2009 vs. Dec. 2010) | |
Network | % Change 2010 |
+121% | |
Youtube | +74 |
+71 | |
MySpace | -20 |
Source: comScore MobiLens, February 2011 |
Mobile is Now, Churches
In much the same way that building a website was a critical component for churches in the 1990′s, developing and using mobile applications will be one of the biggest needs (and challenges) for local churches. In fact, starting with a new website design today is probably a great starting point, as a mobile version of the site not only makes viewing it on a mobile device easier to read, the site navigation decisions that drive mobile design are excellent ways to trim the fat off of church websites.
Other mobile applications are readily available, many of them free, for churches to equip their staff & members. Some of my favorites include:
Mobile will continue to grow and make church attendees more acutely aware of how much your churches does NOT have available (or at least visible). In time, I believe that mobile technology will be leveraged to make some percent of a church’s experience location independent. Anytime, anywhere is where people’s lives are moving and church should be an active, mobile part of life.
Do you think churches will change because they want to or because they’ll have to?