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.

For the staff of the Church, what are the Digital Rights that are needed for them to be effective. A lot of Churches don’t have formal IT departments. Maybe they have a part time IT staff person, or maybe they have a 3rd party that provides IT services. That 3rd party is often connected via a member of the Church, so it is a discounted service provided. Thus, it may not always be possible to get a change in Administrative rights for a particular machine accomplished immediately. Should staff members then have Administrator rights over their machines? Some would say “Of course” and others would say “Never.” Where does your Church fall in that spectrum?

How do you measure a congregation? Some would say that you don’t need statistics, just the Word. But any large organization needs to measure itself, to determine what progress it is making in reaching its goals. Whether it be in terms of attendance, or giving, or even parking lot performance, the measurements depend upon data and metrics. And you need to utilize communication channels to keep the entire congregation aware of what information you are gaining by the measurements. Is it time for that new sanctuary because attendance has exploded over the last year? Do we need to reroute traffic to avoid a traffic jam in between services? These are the kinds of information that you need to plan for the future needs of the congregation.

How accurate is the video projected image in your sanctuary? When setting up a projector, there are a number of factors that affect the accuracy. Focal length of the lens; size of the screen; distance to the screen; video resolution of the system feeding the projector. All are important, and have an effect on the resulting image quality. If the image looks like a trapezoid, then you can adjust the “keystoning” to compensate. But be sure your projector remembers this setting – i.e. even when the power is off. Otherwise, you’ll have to do it every week for worship.

How about adding a web page where volunteers could sign up for the specific service that they would like to give. It would list the current needs, and be filterable by area – e.g. children’s ministry. It would show each task and give some details about what is involved – e.g. VBS volunteer for 5 days meeting 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon each day, working with 8 year old kids. It would then allow people to signup – e.g. commit to being a VBS volunteer this year. They would give their contact information so the Church could followup – i.e. an email address for planning and announcements about VBS. This would help get everyone signed up and build the emailing list all in one step. Does your Church use your web page for this purpose? If so, then how is it working?

How does your Church process contributions? A bunch of men may do it in a back room. Or a staff person may be charged with the task on Monday morning. Either way, the process needs to be accurate and financially accountable. But how efficient is it?

One approach would be to automate the processing cycle. Checks could be entered into a system that knows your congregation, recognizing the frequent givers. Records could then be automatically posted to their accounts. Thank yous would be generated for new givers. And the deposit slip would be printed up, ready to take to the bank. This can be done, and it is more efficient. But you always need checks and balances when it comes to handling money. Good stewardship needs to be recognized and supported with financial integrity and certainty. If someone adds a memo line to a check for the youth summer event, then that money needs to go to the youth department for supporting that event. There is always a chance of making mistakes, but you need to find ways to catch those mistakes before the processing is done. What is your experience?

With personal cell phones so ubiquitous, you might think the land lines at the Church are on their way out. However, you still need telephone numbers to the Church office, family life center, and youth programs. What are some options to consider that will enhance features, provide flexible service, and save money?

VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a popular option, given the advertising of Vantage, Skype, etc. But can you run a PBX over the Internet? Turns out that you can, with products such as Trixbox. You add a computer to your internal network, program it as a PBX (Private Branch eXchange), and replace all of your phones with VoIP models that connect to the network. Overall, your costs go down, and you can add new features like voicemail to eMail that help your staff manage communications better.

Traditional PBX systems are still around, and many Churches have long term contracts. But eventually these contracts come up for renewal, and consideration can then be given to other telephone service options. Have you made the switch to VoIP? Share your experience with others in a comment.

How do you measure attendance? Can you do it automatically? Some Churches have a check in/out procedure for the children’s ministry. It works great for getting the kids in and out, with automated kiosks to streamline the process. A by product is that the children’s attendance is automatically recorded. Computer databases are great at keeping track of such details. From the data recorded, reports can easily be generated.

Adult and Youth worship are a different matter. Traditional Churches used “pew attendance pads” to record attendance. This generates a stack of paperwork for the attendance secretary. But the data can be entered into the database and reports generated. (The forms were also designed to spot visitors so that their information can be passed on to other staff for followup.) All of this is voluntary, but most folks do fill them out.

What if we gave everyone in the Church a witness card? This card would have an RFID chip embedded which would register their attendance when they walked in any door of the sanctuary. All they would have to do is wave the card at a recording station. Would this go over? It would certainly provide automatic attendance recordkeeping – with the computers doing all of the work. However, people might resent the cards. And the youth might lose them frequently.

What do you think would work?

Many Churches use a Wireless LAN for their staff. This allows the staff to roam with their laptops. If the physical plant is large, then this may require multiple transmitters and/or repeaters. The staff sign in via their laptop and have full access to the Internet, Network Printers, online files, etc. In many ways, this is a typical arrangement for IT installations.

What about Sunday mornings? Should the WiFi be enabled at all? There is at least one Church who is inviting their worshipers to use WiFi networking during the service. They provide worship enhancements that people can access on their laptops and/or cell phones. The idea is to add to the worship experience, not take away from it. What do you think?

Did you hear about the Leaning Tower of Pisa finally falling down? Or how about the Space Shuttle landing in San Diego? Or how about the Cell Phone ban in New Zealand? All of these were hoaxes played on April Fools day; and they attracted a lot of attention. Perhaps you’ve got a staff member who likes to play pranks and sends out eMails like those to everyone on the staff. It can be good for a staff to find time to laugh a little, but it is also easy to go overboard. Anyone can send an eMail to everyone on the staff with just a few clicks. Maybe that isn’t such a good thing.

The trouble is volume. As your staff grows, so does the natural volume of eMail. At some point, the time spent reading all of the internally generated eMails becomes a concern. How much time should your staff really spend reading eMail, Twits, and/or Facebook walls? Who should really be able to send out a message to everyone? Here are some ideas to consider:

• The Senior Pastor – High Priority issue comes up
• Human Resource person – Something affecting everyone’s paycheck
• Security Personnel – Emergency situations that affect everyone’s safety
• Operations Personnel – Alerts about a System Malfunction

Obviously, the importance of the message needs to be a part of the criteria to consider. Ask yourself the question, “Does this really need to be sent to everyone?” Or should it be more focused on the few who are directly affected? This is a judgment call, and your staff are expected to use good judgment. In a small organization, where everyone knows everyone, this should not be a problem.

We have Geoffrey Chaucer to thank for April Fools day – i.e. from his reference to the 32nd of March (April 1st). Perhaps appropriately, this is mentioned in the story about the fox and the rooster in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. So let’s all find time to laugh today; just don’t overdo it.

How does your A/V system work? Who knows the exact configuration? Is it just the TD? That may be well and good, since he is the expert; but what happens if he quits? How will you fix things if you don’t have a clue about the wiring!

Every A/V setup should have a configuration manual. This can be hand drawings, but using a computer will make it a little clearer. It should document the essential connections between major components in audio, lighting, and video. That way, there is something written down that explains it all. Doing this will capture the institutional memory of how things are wired together, so that anyone on the tech team can figure out a problem – even when the TD is away.

Sure, it takes time to document things. But you can do it at a high level – i.e. component by component. You don’t have to label every single wire and document the wiring harness. But you do need to revise the configuration manual periodically as new equipment comes in, so that it stays up to date.

Let’s face it, the Church setting is not known for having a lot of Geeks. And in my experience, most pastoral staff were trained in religion and the arts – i.e. not the sciences and technology. So how do you support a non-technical staff person? First, you can’t expect them to understand technical jargon. Always remember that they simply weren’t trained for it, so the words will be going over (or under) their heads. Restate the technical details in terms that a layman or laywoman can understand. And you can’t expect them to be as enthusiastic about the technology as you are – you won’t hear any gee-wiz statements out of them. Remember that they are more concerned with the message – i.e. the Good News. And that is wholly appropriate. So point out how the technology will help get across the message in new ways.

A favorite analogy of mine is crossing a lake. There are many ways to get to the other side. You can fly the lake over in a helicopter – i.e. provide a quick overview. Or you can take a boat across – i.e. make a presentation. If you have the faith of Peter, then you can walk across – i.e. walk them through a tutorial. Or you can swim across – really getting your feet wet by explaining it all. Finally, you can put on scuba gear and go across along the bottom of the lake – i.e. sharing all of the nitty-gritty details. With each way, your staff member will encounter an increasing amount of technical detail. Some will like the details; others will abhor it. Obviously, you’ll want to pick the way across that is appropriate for the person you are talking to. If they only want to fly across, let them soar. If they really want to get their feet wet, go swimming with them. (Be sure to save the scuba diving for those times when you go to conferences on technology in the Church, or add your comments here.) Non-Technical users will always appreciate it when you don’t overwhelm them with the technology!

Supporting your users involves making the appropriate choice in how you communicate about the technology. You can’t expect everyone in the Church to have the same level of understanding that you do, so adapt to your audience and let the Word go forth!

How do people who drive by perceive your Church? Is the Church Sign something that catches their eye? Or is it just another sign along the side of the road. Making a Church Sign both eye-catching and informative is a challenge. What do you really want to say in a glance – which is about all the time a passing motorist has available?

Your Church Sign identifies you to the motoring public. It should thus have at least your name and address. In addition, you probably want to put the times for your worship services, since that will attract visitors. Adding a slogan or some saying may add to the appeal, and let you tell the public something more about your Church. But you have to keep it short and sweet – no long statements of faith or Church doctrines here. Some Churches have added a comment on the latest news. Keeping the Church Sign fresh and inviting is probably the key. What does yours say?

Disaster Recovery involves a whole lot of effort in a short period of time. Planning ahead helps by bringing order to the chaos and helping the recovery go smoothly. You can’t always prevent a disaster from striking. You can support the community of faith by helping them recover. The Church needs to recover, too.

Planning for the recovery of the administration of the Church involves many aspects. The Church can learn from IT Disaster Recovery, but it has some unique needs. People come first; administrative systems come after that. Planning for the recovery of the administration involves all of the following steps:

1. Get church/leadership support
2. Select a disaster recovery team
3. Conduct a Business/Ministry Impact Analysis
4. Build a Technology Recovery Plan
5. Testing and Monitoring
6. Document the plan

For more information, see the following references:
Protecting church data from the unthinkable : information technology (IT) disaster recovery planning by Brian J Shoup.

Given that most megachurches have extensive IT installations, would it make sense to give remote access to volunteers? If you trust these volunteers to come in on Sundays and work with expensive equipment, then why not trust them during the week? Some of these volunteers no doubt work with commercial implementations costing in the millions, so they are used to the equipment. And with the ubiquity of the Internet, they should be able to access any computer equipment from anywhere. What would really be the harm in giving the access? Nothing, since they already have it on Sundays.

However, access has to always be for a purpose. You could well insist that any access granted to a volunteer should have a well defined purpose. And that purpose should determine the level of access granted remotely. For example, suppose you had a volunteer who put together the slides for the song lyrics on Sundays. There is little reason to insist that they come in two hours before the service on Sunday mornings to type this in. That just doesn’t leave much room for proofreading, and you should always proofread anything that you display to the entire congregation – preferably by more than one pair of eyes! It would be better to have them type up the lyrics on Thursday mornings, following Wednesday night choir rehearsal. You could easily grant them access to the computer running the lyrics remotely, and they could type them up. Have someone else check the lyrics on Friday, just to be sure. And then you’re all set for Sunday morning! The volunteer is happier, not having to come in so early. And the staff has more confidence that they did it right; they could be the ones checking it on Fridays. And the service will go more smoothly, with less chance of a glitch.

Remote access for volunteers does make sense. It should have a purpose, and be tightly controlled. It can also be logged by the IT department, to monitor for abuse. However, it will make for a smoother service and happier volunteers serving the Kingdom!

Churches need to be well managed. Many Churches these days have a Church Administrator, a staff member dedicated to management tasks. This used to be the prerogative of the Senior Pastor; but larger Churches have discovered that they really want the Senior Pastor to be a visionary, not an administrator. And having an administrator means they can enjoy longer service, and consequently really know the ins and outs of the job.

Large Churches also need an information system, a Church Management System if you will. This is used by the Church Administrator to manage the day to day business of the Church. It needs to have at least the following functions:

• Membership Records
• Donor Database Management
• Web Site Management
• Administrative Reporting

The Church is blessed by many good software packages designed for this task. Here are just a few to check out:

This list represents a variety of features and prices, with something for every Church from a small to megachurch congregation.

The Power of the Web is no where more felt than on social networking websites. These sites allow you to express yourself, sharing photos, videos, opinions and ideas. At their best, they are a wonderful way to build communities. At their worst, they are openings for those who prey on others. How can the Church harness this web power?

The Church is the original community. Originally formed from that small band of Disciples turned Apostles who fled persecution and took the Gospel everywhere, home Churches flourished despite intense persecution. These home communities met to worship, learn about Jesus, and fellowship together. Governments tried to stamp the Church out, but failed. The Church grew because it met the needs of the people. In most places around the world, persecution has waned, but the needs are just as important now. People need to feel like they belong, they need a solid foundation built upon the rock of faith. The Church excels at that. The key is interaction, which can happen in the Church building or around the corner. It can even happen across the Web. Group discussions can focus on specific Bible passages – a sort of perpetual Bible study online. People can share their burdens through online Prayer requests. Families in need can be identified, with people then able to respond in tangible ways. Visits to the sick can be coordinated among the entire Church, not just a few staff members. The possibilities are endless.

Sometimes you get just a little bit of audio feedback in a large sanctuary with a complex audio system. What do you do when this happens during a worship service? You can’t stop the service and fix the problem; you have to do something on the fly. The best recourse is to make adjustments that will control the feedback without sacrificing performance quality. For example, you might tweak the “send to monitor” pots down a bit. Sometimes, this shotgun approach resolves the feedback without affecting the quality of the sound that the congregation hears. However, you’ll want to go back later and track down the problem more completely. The instrumentalists that depend on that monitor will appreciate it.

How reliable are your technical systems in the Church? Before you laugh, consider the embarrassment your senior pastor would feel if everything went off during the middle of a sermon. (I’ve seen this happen, and at the early service, too!) Perhaps we need to think a bit about reliability after all.

In the commercial realm, reliability is measured by the number of Nines. That is, there will be a contract, say with a web hosting firm, that specifies the Service Level Availability in terms of percentage of guaranteed uptime. Here’s a table to help you better appreciate this:

So, if I am guaranteed that my system is up 99% of the time, that means it will be down at most 4 days over the course of a year. If I am guaranteed 99.999% of the time (5 Nines), that means that it will be down at most 5 minutes in a year. If I managed to get to 7 Nines – i.e. 99.99999% of the time – I am guaranteed that the system will at most be down 3 seconds in a year! Believe it or not, the technology is capable of that, but it gets very expensive!

Fortunately, the Church doesn’t need 7 Nines reliability, but your preacher probably expects 6 Nines, and your congregation will start getting anxious at anything less. So what do you do? Start by making an assessment of which systems are required for worship to proceed. For example, if the electricity totally fails, do you go on with no systems working, or jump to the closing prayer. If you had a UPS on everything in the tech closet, then you could continue without main power. Now think through scenarios where each of those systems goes down. What would you do? Is there an alternative that you could quickly deploy? How would you expect the staff to respond? Thinking ahead can go a long ways towards avoiding panic and dealing with the event effectively. And that ultimately will allow worship to go on. You may be wishing that the “rocks will sing out” in the closing song. Maybe they will!

Copyright is always an issue when a Church reuses media not created in house. The Copyright laws exist to protect the legal and financial rights of the creators of the work. Fair Use is often cited as a reason, but it was originally intended so that schools could do research. The best practice is to get permission from the copyright owner, but that can be difficult and time consuming. Here are some web sites that can help:

Christian Copyright Licensing Inc. www.ccli.com

Christian Video Licensing Inc. www.cvli.org

BMI www.bmi.com/licensing/webcaster

ASCAP www.ascap.com/weblicense

How many screens do you use in your worship space? Can you have too many? Remember the reason for the screens or IMAG is to enable people to worship more effectively. For the person on the last row of the balcony, this may be the only way that they can get a clear view of the preacher. For the congregation, this may be the best way to present lyrics for the praise songs. One idea is to reflect the seating layout. You want everyone, no matter where they are sitting, to be able to see clearly. If this is not the case, then you need to add a screen so that it is. Some sanctuaries have a single big screen. Others have 3 or more screens placed strategically around the sanctuary worship space. Take a brief walk around the sanctuary. Can you see from every seat? You might be surprised at what you find! Your comments are welcome.

Remember that the tomb where they laid Jesus’ body was a borrowed one. Specifically, it was the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, who had obviously come to believe in Jesus. He provided his own tomb, which was available. Have you ever wondered about this tomb? What was the technology involved; we might call it primitive. First, the tomb was cut out of solid rock. And a large stone was rolled into place against the tomb – no doubt to keep the animals out. It thus took a lot of wealth to prepare a tomb like this. Evidently, Joseph was a wealthy man.

To make the tomb even more secure, Pilate in Mat 27:65 orders that the tomb be sealed with his seal, and a squad of soldiers went along to stand watch. This seal would indicate that the tomb was not to be tampered with, under penalty of Roman law.

To my thinking, this makes the Resurrection all the more spectacular. The disciples, fragmented and afraid for their lives, could never attack a Roman guard. And the women knew that they could never roll the stone away to get to the body of Jesus. Only God’s power could freeze the guard, roll away the stone, and resurrect the physical body of Jesus! That is the miracle of Easter. And I marvel at how God must have accomplished that!

Some might ask, “Why do we need IT in the Church?” Isn’t the Church about people, not information technology? Yes, the focus of the Church is on the salvation of people’s souls. But in order to believe, they have to first hear the Gospel message (ROM 10:14). In the Apostle Paul’s day, the Pax Romana sped the Gospel message around the world. In the 21st Century, it is the Internet that is speeding the Gospel message around the world. The Church needs to take advantage of every resource that it has available, especially technology, in communicating the Gospel.

Some might respond that IT is all well and good, but it is just too expensive. You can quickly spend a lot on IT equipment – money that could be better spent feeding the poor. By the same reasoning, you could argue that instead of a building program, the Church should spend the capitol campaign funds on helping the homeless. Jesus noted that “the poor you will always have with you” MAT 26:11. It is the Church building that enables ministry in a community. So it is with the technology; it enables the Church to communicate the Gospel message clearly in a world of lost souls. And the challenge has never been greater. The Church has to find ways to communicate that rise above the background noise of the culture, so that the Gospel is heard and disseminated. And just as a large Church needs a budget for taking care of its buildings, so it needs a budget for spending money on IT. As John Brandon of Christianity Today put it:

For most churches, Information Technology (IT) is a critical part of ministry. Computers that function correctly, a website that looks professional, and a backup process for sermon notes all help the staff do ministry more effectively, communicate with the congregation, and focus on building relationships.

Giving Tech Its Due posted 3/3/2010.

So the leaders of the Church need to provide funds for IT development, just as they would for keeping the lights on. There needs to be clearly established goals for this, and an appropriate level of priority. In so doing the wise Church will run its ministry to the fullest measure in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. And in the end, that will save money while getting the message out to more people.

Most of the larger Churches have come to recognize that they need IT (i.e. Information Technology.) Indeed, I would assert that there is a correlation between the size of a Church and this need. Megachurches are thus the most needy, but they also reach thousands of people. But is there a higher purpose for IT? Let’s consider it.

The Church originated information sharing – i.e. sharing the Gospel message. In the first century, this was often done in private homes by people witnessing to one another. (After Nero, it was difficult to speak publicly about The Way.) A hundred years ago, street preachers would stand on a corner and just preach the Word. Fifty years ago in the US, the Church was holding great revivals in tents and outdoor stadiums. Now the Church can reach out to a million people with the Word. The difference is the technology involved. From a whisper to the street corner to the stadium to the Internet, the Gospel has been proclaimed.

So the use of the technology within the Church has a Higher Purpose – i.e. communicating the Gospel. Whether by weekly emails from the pastor, or Blog postings on the Church web page, the purpose is the same. The methods and tools have changed with the times, but the Gospel message remains the same. And the more effective we are at using the technology, the better that message is proclaimed. May God use our IT skills to this great cause – that the Gospel will be proclaimed to the ends of the earth!

Which is better for the video projection of lyrics, a moving background or a beautiful color? There is a technical challenge with producing an image of the lyrics that has movement on the screen. While many video switchers have the capability to key an image over a specific color – e.g. dark blue – it can be difficult to put a moving image up. Some presentation software (see our review entitled “Presentation Software Review”) makes this a bit easier to generate. However, does movement add to the worship experience, or detract from it?

Some people find movement distracting – especially if the words blend into a background of the same color. Others find it easier to pay attention to the slides if there is movement behind the words. Feel free to share your comments on this question. It seems likely that larger Churches have an easier time generating moving images, and perhaps they also have more of a demand for this feature.