Churches have a lot of information about religion available. But how much technical knowledge do they have? Those with Technical Ministry departments depend upon IT professionals to manage things, but what happens when they move on? Churches need a knowledge base from which they can draw when they have technical issues to solve. This could be a section on their website, or it could be a data warehouse on their Intranet.

The idea would be to capture the knowledge of all of those volunteers and staff who work with the technology every week. This could record tips and know-how about the equipment, which could then be shared with those who follow. Otherwise, new volunteers have to relearn the same things as they deal with issues. For example, where do you have a complete wiring diagram of the A/V room? Suppose one of the scan converters starts displaying an error message. How would you diagnose it? With a knowledge base, you could simply look it up. Chances are that it has happened before, and someone figured it out.

Capturing knowledge is a community effort. Everyone should contribute, so that everyone benefits. It will then go a long way towards ensuring that the technology continues to serve the Church, rather than becoming a stumbling block.