A lot of Church staff struggle with technology. They are working in the Church because they are “people” oriented, not “information” oriented. That is what makes them personable, and helps them be effective with the people who are hurting. So how do you support these non-technical users?

The goal of any technology is to enable people to use it. The best technology in the world will sit idle if the users don’t know how to use it. So first of all, you want to provide hands on training, preferable one on one, to new users. It doesn’t have to be very formal. I’ve done one-on-one training with senior pastors. It just takes a little patience and understanding. Don’t try to do too much in one sitting. Focus on useful technical skills that they can make use of immediately. Teach them how to do it, then let them step through it themselves. There is no substitute for hands on learning when it comes to technology. And do it several times, at their pace. If they make a mistake – which is likely – gently correct the mistake and go on. Then go back through the process to ensure that they get it right at least once. By being gracious and patient, you can help them master a little skill that will enable them to be more effective.

Way back when, senior pastors had secretaries who did all of the typing. (I once had an executive secretary who was excellent, and knew everyone, and where to find everything. It made starting out a whole lot easier in that Church.) But those days are long gone. Everyone on the staff should do their own keyboarding. They should be trained on using the web site to update their area of ministry pages. And they should contribute ideas, pictures, logos, videos, sound tracks to the process of planning worship. That way, the Church is able to communicate more effectively. The technology really does make all of this easy, so take advantage of it!