Just as businesses need security systems, so do Churches nowadays. There was a time when you could leave the Church unlocked 24×7, so people could come in and pray. However, nowadays you have to lock the doors to prevent vandalism. And you need a Security System to monitor for incidents.

What happens when the Security System fires off? It will happen, so you need a process for the System Monitoring service to follow. Here are some ideas:
* System Monitoring Service calls the Contact list; if the alarm is invalid, then they give the all clear.
* System Monitoring Service calls the Police to check the building.
* Church Staff responds to the alarm, to make sure that everyone is okay.

Having a specific process to follow will avoid incidents escalating to police events all the time.

As winter continues, a lot of congregations are planning winter events. How do you support those events? You may need outdoor PA equipment, or at least an amphitheater with some cover to protect the sound equipment. With wireless mikes, the ministers can go anywhere on stage or in the congregation.

The New Year comes with a lot of expectations. We hope for better health, new jobs, blessed families. I like the fact that Advent kicks off the Christian Year. It means that the Church gets a jump on the New Calendar Year with a message of renewal and hope. May the New Year bring Joy to you and your family.

As you plan for the new year, be sure to identify the needs of the Technical Ministry of the Church. Perhaps you need to add or subtract equipment. Machines that are constantly being used eventually break. Equipment also becomes obsolete rather quickly in Technology, so you may have something gathering dust on a shelf. Sometimes you can find a good use for old equipment – e.g. sharing it with another Church that still has a use for it. Or sometimes you just need to discard it. Either way, you need to make room for something new in the New Year.

You also need to plan for how you introduce new technology to the ministry of the Church. Don’t just assume that everyone will instantly like that new Information Kiosk in the hallway. Introduce it gradually. Perhaps you run an article in the newsletter, or add an announcement to the announcement loop that says it is coming soon. List some bullet points that show how Church members will be able to use it. Or better yet, have a short video clip on the web site that has a Church member talking how it will help them find the room change for the evening event that they are coming to. (People don’t always catch the email that announces the change two hours before the event, but the Kiosks will be there so they can look it up.) That avoids the circumstance where someone shows up for the event, but they can’t find it on a large Church campus.

Thanksgiving is an annual holiday in the US, when we gather with family and friends. But it is also a spiritual discipline that we practice as Christians. Indeed, the holiday comes from the Pilgrims being thankful that they had survived the arduous journey across the unknown ocean.

One minister I knew liked to share an alphabetical list of the things that he was thankful every year. I would suggest taking a poll on the Church web site. Members of the congregation could list single words representing what they were thankful for. The website would record the words and generate a dynamic tally for each letter. By doing this, you could identify topics for future sermons or Bible studies. If 52% of the people chose Family for F, then you could do a series on “Families in the Bible.” There are some examples that have a lot of notoriety, which people could relate to.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still a concern, Trick-or-Treating becomes a question this year. Gathering in large groups is not encouraged, so big, indoor Halloween parties should be avoided by adults and children alike. However, what’s wrong with door to door Trick-or-Treating, especially in small groups of children wearing masks? I suspect that this would encourage children to wear a mask at other events, rather than discourage them.

It seems like the masks sold by the makers of Halloween costumes could easily include an air filter. Usually, there is a small slit for the children to breathe through. If that doesn’t happen, then perhaps a technical ministry crew could spend some time making Halloween masks that would be safe. The children will already be socially distanced from the front door.

One neighbor I know set up a Halloween display that included a PA and visual effects. The theme was to Test or Treat rather than Trick or Treat. He made huge testing sticks and turned large balls into COVID-19 spiked viruses. And he used a long PVC pipe to slide the candy down into the children’s bags. It was a big hit. It shows that with a little creativity and some technology, you can even celebrate All Hallow’s Eve in the faith community.

Many Churches have a fall festival as part of their children’s ministry. It can be as simple as a halloween party, or as complex as a fair inviting everyone in the city. It can be a challenge to plan such an event this year. There are still a lot of public health concerns.

What if you made the Fall Festival an online event? You could use a video-conferencing tool to allow family groups to participate. You can still offer prizes and story-telling, just online.

Many Churches are using this time to try out new worship styles. It may be as simple as not always using the Apostle’s Creed. (There are other historic creeds such as the Nicene Creed that also affirm our faith.) Or it may be a new time for worship. Or it may be a switch from traditional to contemporary style.

Worship at its best is creative and dynamic. So let your worship team try out new ideas. Some might just stick and become a regular part of your worship services. Ask the congregation for feedback, either via online comments or surveys. And evaluate the results to identify what works and what doesn’t. Worship is in many ways a retelling of the Christian story. It doesn’t have to be dull and boring. It can be exciting and new, applicable to modern life just as much as 2,000 years ago. The Holy Spirit is still at work, building up the Church.

Since the pandemic, many Churches have created an online presence for worship. The idea was to provide an online worship service for members of the congregation and visitors. It worked! Staff soon got used to prerecording video segments, maybe even the sermon. The audience attended online, staying safe in their homes.

Now many Churches are going back to in person worship services. Perhaps there are some policies about socially distancing and/or wearing masks, but the worship service is no longer an empty room with a camera. However, what do you do with the online service? Some Churches are choosing to keep it, resulting in a Split Church.

Some Churches have always broadcast their worship services, either on TV or radio. Back in the 1970s, it took a signal feed to the local station. Or perhaps the service was recorded on videotape and hand delivered to the station for later broadcast. I’ve done both. Now it is easy to have both in person and online worship services for Churches large and small. All it takes is a Technical Ministry team that knows how to do it. It means that your worship can now reach people, both the ones staying home for the pandemic and others around the globe. Worship is indeed praise to all the nations!

If your Church is worshipping outside, then it may be appropriate to put up a tent. After all, there is a precedent for this in the Old Testament – i.e. the Tabernacle. This will keep everyone dry should a summer thunderstorm come through. Otherwise, everyone will be scrambling to find shelter. That can be a significant disruption to worship.

How do you support meeting in the “Tabernacle” with technology? Perhaps you have an outdoor Public Address (PA) system that you can use. Wireless microphones are used in most services, and they will work great outside. You can try a projector screen, but the ambient light may be too strong to see words projected. So you may need to use hymnals or printed song lyrics. Or you could have the lyrics online, where everyone could read them off their smart phone.

Outdoor meetings can be a great way to help people get back to worship. They will provide plenty of fresh air, and will be fun for the children. Technology will work outside. You just need to do some planning.

With summer come rain and storms. If you’re worshipping outside due to the pandemic, then you may need to check the weather forecast closely to ensure that everyone is safe and dry. Or perhaps you have access to a tent or a tabernacle that allows the air flow of being outside but protects everyone from the rain. It seems like Camp Meeting had the provision for this long ago.

How do you let everyone know about the weather and it’s impact on the worship service? You can use social media, or texting, or email. The important thing is to make the decision in time for people to plan their Sunday accordingly.

Many Churches are moving to outdoor worship as a way of maintaining social distance protocols. If you have worship on the Church lawn, then people can space out as they feel comfortable.

The challenge is to have a PA system that handles this. Think of an outdoor concert. It has to be loud enough to drown out the noise of traffic going by. But it also has to be soft enough not to offend anyone. Perhaps you need multiple speakers set up so that everyone can hear clearly without being too loud.

The health and wellness of the community of faith has to always be a consideration for Church staff. Does your Church have a policy in place to manage the pandemic. If not, then you should gather a group of Church members (virtually) that have expertise in Health issues. They should discuss the possibilities and come up with a policy for your Church.

Once the policy is created, then use every means to inform the congregation about it. There should be some time for feedback to allow everyone to weigh in on it before it is implemented. But go ahead and set a date for when it goes into force. That way, staff have a definite time to get it underway. There may be preparations required.

With Churches starting to think about meeting in person again, it makes one wonder how that might work. Suppose you meet outside, where you have lots of space for social distancing. You could easily fill up the front lawn with people sitting in folding chairs. What are the technical considerations?

First of all, you should consider the weather forecast. If it is going to thunder and lightning because a thunderstorm rolls through, then the preacher will be upstaged. And everyone will probably scramble for the front porch of the Church, where they will huddle together. If the weather is cold, then the elderly will likely skip the service.

Secondly, make sure that you have a sound system outside. Think of an outdoor concert. With traffic rolling by, there will be lots of external noise. You need a sound system that can reinforce the word spoken and hymns sung so that everyone can hear clearly, even out by the street.

Thirdly, consider what you need to do pre-service and post-service. Normally, people congregate in the vestibule to converse with one another. Outdoors, that will look like something else. Try to consider effective ways to pass out bulletins – e.g. via an electronic link. Provide coffee if that is the normal pre-service fellowship time, but deliver it to anyone seated.

Worshipping outdoors reminds me of Camp Meeting. There, you had a Tabernacle to keep the rain off, but plenty of cool breeze in the evening time. It was relaxing and enjoyable. Try to make your Outdoor Worship a time to refresh the soul.

With many Churches worshiping online these days, it may feel just like being there. However, there are some things to consider here:

• Is the service live or pre-recorded? Pre-recording allows for the technical staff to edit the worship segments together, but the seams may show. Broadcasting the service live over the internet is more life-like, but minor errors and glitches will be seen by everyone
• If pre-recorded, then is the setting consistent? If you show the organist playing the anthem, is it in daylight or darkness? If the rest of the worship service is in daylight, then it will look odd if the anthem is suddenly shown in darkness. The windows may be covered, but some ambient light gets in. Make sure that the setting is consistent, so that worshipers feel like they are there for one service.

Worshiping online will likely be something the Church wants to continue long after the pandemic is over. It has some great advantages. People can join you in worship from the hospital or nursing home. They can worship even though they are far away from home on a trip. Then can worship when they’re sick. The Church needs to continue to support this as an outreach to the community.

In REV 21:5 God declares “Behold, I make all things new.” In this new year, we have an opportunity to make all things new in the life of our Churches. As we plan for the return to in person worship, how can we apply this concept?

In one sense, it will be good to return to the Church building. Many of us have been worshipping virtually through various video conferencing services. That has helped us keep the congregation together in worship throughout the pandemic that has become a barrier. Some Churches may have already returned to in person worship.

Churches can plan in person worship with new elements. How about an a Slideshow during the offering that shows how the money given is touching lives in the community. Or how about combining worship services together with a sister Church. Or maybe having a live shot from out in the community shelter to show how the Church is ministering to people in need.

As we return to worship, we have an opportunity to reinvigorate it and bring an air of excitement and joy. Joy in how God is touching lives in the midst of the travails of our society. Let’s seize the opportunity!

With the New Year of 2021 just around the corner, our attention turns to the future. It is appropriate this Advent Season to envision what that future might look like. (No prediction is 100% reliable, but some are more probable than others.)

With vaccines now available, the plague known as the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 will come to an end. This will have a profound effect on everyday life for all of us. The New Year holds the promise of life returning to somewhat normal. Churches will be able to resume in-person worship services. Schools will be able to once again hold in-person class sessions. Businesses will reopen. Restaurants will return to full, in-person capacity. But let us not forget to pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones. The abrupt end of so many lives around the world has been devastating to family after family. We need to pray for one another as we come to terms with the consequences.

My apologies to my readers. A recent update resulted in pages where the content was filtered out. The posts were thus coming up empty. This was caused by an old plugin that stopped working with WordPress 5.5. It has been corrected, so you should now be seeing this apology.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is a good time to be thankful.

This year will be a bit different, since the pandemic is raging. Instead of a big Thanksgiving Dinner with all of the family around one table, we may need to have multiple dinners in our homes and use videoconferencing afterwards. Why not have a videoconference with all the family groups as we enjoy dessert?

Churches have adopted Web Streaming Services during this time of pandemic. They broadcast the worship service via that service to members and visitors every Sunday. But how do you go about choosing which streaming services to support?

The budgets of many Churches are hard-pressed right now. It is nearing the end of the year, so Stewardship campaigns are cranking up. Difficult choices often have to be made. Will the Church be able to afford to keep using the multiple web streaming services that they currently have? Or will they consolidate and only use one, or possibly none at all.

Web streaming is a great way to let people who are away from home join in with worship. I have used web streaming while in another state and on the road during worship time. It felt like I was at home. And it was one way to stay connected with my Church even on a trip.

What do you do when your audio system is acting up during worship? Like all technology, there are minor technical issues that can come up during operation. Dealing with those is part of the responsibility of the technical ministry team.

The first consideration is what I will call “gravity.” Is this problem severe enough to interrupt the flow of the service? If the answer is “No,” then the best thing is to just put up with it until the service is over. You can then handle it in Followup time, while you’re putting gear away. Many times the issue is small enough that it only takes a couple of minutes to deal with.However, if you walk up to the pulpit to handle it, then the congregation will be paying more attention to you than the preacher! This is inappropriate, and should be avoided if at all possible. Worship is an encounter with the Divine, and doesn’t need to be subverted by technical issues.

A great example of a low gravity event is the failure of a wireless mike do to a battery going dead. The preacher should just switch to another mike and go on with the service. However, if you only have one mike and are recording the service, then this would become a high gravity event. You should then walk onto the stage and do the mike replacement. I have done this during sermons when it was high gravity. You don’t need to say anything. The preacher knows that the mike went dead, and hopefully is going on with the sermon. You just need to quietly and without much fuss swap out the battery and hand the now active mike back to the preacher so they can carry on. You can potentially edit the audio track for the sermon to handle the skipped part. Worship goes on.

A second consideration is the “impact” of the problem event. If the impact is small – I.e. it doesn’t really have much of an impact on the community – then it can be ignored. Usually, this is the best course. However, if it has a high impact – e.g. people won’t be able to listen to the sermon – then you have to deal with it immediately. The best way to gauge the impact is to consider what percentage of the community will notice the problem. if only a small percentage would even notice the audio issue, then it can be ignored. If everyone in the community is going to feel the impact, then it demands immediate action. This is particularly relevant while streaming worship. You need to get the sound audible again!

Hopefully, you are doing mike checks before the service to make sure all mikes are in good working order. If in doubt about a battery (e.g. have we used that one twice already? ) then just replace it. Batteries are fairly inexpensive, and you probably have a whole box in the closet. Supporting the Worship Service is the priority, so that everyone can worship!

Many Churches are “live streaming” their worship services these days during the pandemic. This is the next best thing to the congregation actually being there. The variety of methodologies and web services supporting this is encouraging to see. Some make it easy. Others provide all of the bells and whistles for the Technical Ministry team to use.

The goal of Streaming Live worship is to make it as close to “being there” as possible. The Service should start and stop on time, although the ending is flexible. You can go over 15 minutes and probably not incur any additional charge. But if you drag on for an hour, you will likely lose your audience. So keep the length of the service within the bounds of what people in the congregation normally expect.

What technology is your Church using to stream live worship services?

The Church has long embraced the freedom that comes with Christ. As Paul states in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” The Church in Galatia was struggling with those who argued that Gentile Christians should be obeying the Law of Moses. Paul counters that they should simply Love your neighbor.

How do we Love our neighbor during this time of pandemic? Some would say that we should just steer clear of them – i.e. keep to ourselves. That would certainly maintain a social distance. By doing so, we avoid the possibility of exposing them to the virus. Others would say that we should reach out to our neighbors more, since we are all home alone right now. We should remind them that we care about them and what they are going through. By sharing, we enter into community and fellowship.

Many are finding ways to do both through technology. With modern communications and the Internet, you can reach out to not only the people in your neighborhood, but the global village as well. How about contacting old friends over a teleconference? Or simply send them an email expressing your concern and caring? Or invite a coworker to just meet over videoconferencing for a cup of coffee together? Technology offers unique ways to overcome the isolation that these times have brought. It is High Tech, High Touch. Through it, we have the Freedom to Love our Neighbor in new ways!

Since Churches are worshipping online through streaming services, there is an opportunity for enhancing worship. The typical pattern is:

• Welcome
• Call to Worship
• Music
• Reading Scripture
• Prayer
• Sermon
• Music
• Benediction

Why not add some new items? This is a chance to be creative. You could have a drama. You could have people singing the hymns from their homes all over the community. You could include former members who are now far away in reading the scripture. You could have children sharing the prayer (i.e. using multiple takes if needed.)

The Welcome and the Benediction should be by the same person. This brings a sense of wholeness to the service. Some elements will be the same as the Church did in “live worship” before the pandemic. That gives a sense of familiarity. Finding new ways to worship online is like filling new wine in new wineskins. It allows the Church to grow and try out new items. And you may find that the congregation likes a new item so much that you’ll decide to incorporate it in “live worship” when you resume meeting in the sanctuary!

How do you worship at home? The early Church always worshipped at home. They didn’t have Church buildings. The great cathedrals would come much later. And some have organized new Churches around the concept of a small group meeting in a home. Maybe that’s a good idea.

With the Coronavirus pandemic still underway, many Churches are providing worship services online. That allows us to still worship together, but it is hard to feel like you’re in worship. One alternative is to provide a multi-window screen, consisting of lots of people in a matrix format. This gives a sense of the fact that the streaming worship service is touching many people.