When you’re having a worship service, sometimes you need an Environmental Effect. For example, you plan to use real candles in a Christmas Eve service. If the HVAC system is running at that time, then it can make it challenging to keep the candles lit. One solution is to ask one of the ushers to turn off the HVAC system just before the candle lighting. That way, the fan won’t be blowing and the candles will stay lit. However, if it is cold outside, then you don’t want the heat to stay off too long. You need to time the HVAC’s cycle so it warms up just before the closing song. Then you can turn it off. After the song, you can turn it back on again. After everyone has gone home, then the HVAC can return to standby mode.

Environmental Effects can enhance the worship service. In concerts, they often use a haze effect to enhance the lighting effects. The beams are easier to see if there is some fog in the air. However, you need to be sure that the haze is not going to cause any problems for the congregation. Be sure to use hazing fluids that are non-allergenic.

This Advent Season brings memories of Christmas in childhood. Remember the awe and wonder of those Christmases, with family traditions and gifts of love. They joy of opening presents was matched the feasts of Christmas dinner. In my family, we always went to a Christmas Eve worship service, where we sang Christmas Hyms and celebrated Holy Communion. The service would always end with singing “Silent Night” as we lit candles in the dark. The whole sanctuary lit up with light!

Thanksgiving is a time to eat turkey, watch football and enjoy family. It can also be a time to say “Thank You” to all of the volunteers who generously give of their time and energy to support the Church. They may be on stage playing music, singing hymns, or reading scripture. They may be standing at the door as ushers or taking up the offering. They may be behind the scenes, caring for little children so their parents can worship. They may be outside, helping cars park, helping people in, or keeping us secure. The Church is a community which is really run by all of the volunteers.

Taking time at Thanksgiving is just one way to recognize the contributions of all of the volunteers. Look for other ways throughout the year. It can be as simple as a phone call, or a text message. Or it can be a small gift like a gift card to get something that they need. Or it can be reimbursement for an expense they had in teaching or taking care. Just as their are thousands of ways that the congregation volunteers, so there are thousands of ways to say “Thank You” to them throughout the year. Doing so is an act of recognition and a word of encouragement.

Patrick was a 5th Century Christian Missionary to Ireland. He is known as the patron saint of Ireland, as well as Nigeria. Both countries have embraced Christianity. The death of St Patrick is celebrated around the world on March 17th.

Patrick was born to Roman parents in Britain at end of Roman rule. At age 16, he was captured by slavers and taken to Ireland. He remained a slave for 6 years, herding sheep. During this time, he learned about Irish culture; and he grew in faith through prayer. After this time, he heard a divine voice that directed him to return home to Britain. He found a ship, and walked back to his home and his family. Now in his twenties, Patrick studied Christianity, eventually being ordained as a priest and consecrated as a bishop.

Patrick chose to return to Ireland as a missionary, which took courage and commitment. He baptized both slaves and kings, and brought Christianity to Ireland.

As we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, let us remember his courage and impact upon the world. By recounting his story, we can find that courage in facing the difficulties in our lives.

With the year coming to a close, our thoughts turn to Advent. It is a wonderful time of year, with many Churches having special activities and worship. Children are involved in Christmas Pageants. Youth create special events like Christmas in Bethlehem. Adults have Church School gatherings. In all of these activities, we strive to remember the Christ child, who stepped out of Heaven to walk among us on earth. How can we emphasize that message in the midst of all of the celebrations?

There are also those who experience the Christmas Blues. Maybe they had a death in the family around Christmas time. Or perhaps they are alone, away from family during the Advent season. Either way, they need support and encouragement. How about making a list of members who haven’t been in a while and reaching out to them to let them know that the Church cares? There are probably some people that stopped coming during the pandemic and haven’t found their way back yet. You could reach out to them to invite them to join you for a Christmas Eve service. A personal invite may help them find their way back into fellowship.

Advent is the start of the Christian Year, as we once more begin to tell the story of the Christ. This year, find a balance between all of the activity and reaching out to those who have been isolated and alone. The joy you share will enrich the community of believers in the year ahead.

The time after Easter is known as Eastertide. Easter Sunday is such a special day, that it is hard to believe that it really lasts longer. But we have Holy Week, which is the week before Easter.

What are some things that your Church does during Eastertide? Are there any outdoor events planned? What kind of youth activities are planned? These are some of the questions to address as you plan out the need for technical ministry services at this time of year.

Church Staff tend to be a varied group of people who are commited to serving the Church and Community. Some will be well trained, such as clergy and lay paid staff. Others will just be volunteers who give generously of their time and energy to the Church.

How does your Church communicate effectively with one another? The Church web site will typically provide email addresses, so you can use email. But there are also groupware tools that businesses use to communicate in teams. And video conferencing is also available online so even when people are spread out, they can still have a conversation together about the business of the Church. Take advantage of these tools, so you never have the situation of the “left hand does not tell the right hand” about what is going on.

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.

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.

Most Churches have added Social Networking sites through some group starting a facebook page. Maybe it was the youth group that came up with that idea, because the youth minister wanted to share pictures from the youth retreat. Or maybe it was the women’s group that wanted to share video clips from a women’s event via instagram. Or maybe it was a men’s group that wanted to coordinate the BBQ cookout via twitter. Whatever the source, the Social Networking sites just sort of sprung up by themselves, with little if any coordination with the Church staff. That’s okay. It’s creative, and it met an immediate need by these groups to communicate.

If you look at how the Church communicates overall with the community of believers, then you might perceive a problem here, though. The Church is stronger when it speaks with one voice to the community. If you have many voices saying different things, then it gets confusing and is less effective. Suppose the women’s event is scheduled on the Church calendar for Friday night at 7:00 PM in Room 300. The Church bulletin announces it for that time and place. However, the organizers discover that they’ve got more people signed up than they anticipated – a great problem to have! So they decide to move the event to the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 PM. They announce the change at the last minute on instagram, which they expect all of the women to see. However, they don’t update the Church calendar. The consequence is that half of the women show up late and at the wrong room. Some are frustrated to find the room empty. Checking the Church calendar online confirms the information that they had in their personal calendar. So they conclude that the event was cancelled and go home. In other words, they miss out!

What is needed is more coordination. What if we started looking at all of those Social Networking sites as Branch Blogs – i.e. extensions to the Church’s web site. Information and updates would flow in both directions – i.e. from the Church Web Site to the Branch Blog, and from the Branch Blog to the Church Web Site. That way, communication is increased and the message of the Church is one voice on each subject. Why not simply assign staff to the task of coordinating with the editors of these various Social Networking sites. The Youth Minister would simply make sure that anything going onto the Youth facebook page also gets updated on the Church Web Site. And anything that the Youth Minister adds to the Church Web site for the youth also gets reported on the facebook page. This is likely already happening if the Youth Minister also edits the facebook page.

In summary, take time to think through the process of how do we coordinate between the various ministry groups and their related Social Networking sites. Identify the staff member or volunteer that needs to coordinate between the Church Web Site and the group. Make sure they also know who publishes the Social Networking site. Or, better yet, get them access to the Social Networking site so they can publish the information themselves. Social Networking is then another channel through which the Church spreads the Gospel Message. It will be more accurate, and more timely, if it is coordinated with the Church Web Site.

We expect a lot from our Senior Pastor. They are expected to be the best preacher in town, so the congregation will feel disappointed if they miss their sermon. They are expected to be a shining example of the faith, so others can follow. They are expected to always be caring and loving, so members can turn to them in times of crisis or need. They are expected to provide leadership to the Church as an organization, so that administrative matters are handled efficiently and effectively. All of that is tough to live up to. I know, I used to be a pastor.

The truth is that pastors are human beings, with all of the gifts, graces, anxieties, and troubles that others have. And leading a Church is a tough job. You don’t do it for the money; most Churches don’t pay that much. You don’t do it for the prestige; the local Church has lost a lot of its prestige in most cities. You do it because you feel called to it by Christ. And the Lord has blessed you with those gifts and graces, so you seek to use them to build up the Kingdom of God in this neighborhood. And you’re always mindful that you only have a little bit of time to do that. Others will follow, and you hope that they can build on what you accomplished.

In larger Churches, the Pastor is expected to lead the Staff as well as the Church. They need to get to know personally all of the staff members – even the custodians. Andy they need to be a source of encouragement to each Staff member in whatever responsibilities they are trying to carry out. The Pastor should pitch in and help when the staff gets overwhelmed. And they need to open doors when the staff needs to go in a new direction. In short, the Pastor needs to be a Servant Leader to both the staff and the Church.

So pray for your Pastor(s). Pray that they will be blessed with more grace and less frustration in everything that they do. And pray that they can grow as a Servant Leader in the midst of this community of faith!

During Advent, we hear a lot of familiar stories. One of my favorites is “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Written in 1843 AD, it is a classic. It tells the story of how an elderly miser named Ebenezer Scrooge was confronted at Christmas time by his past, present and future. It was published on December 19th, and immediately sold out. Dickens went on to perform live “story telling” events based on A Christmas Carol until his death in 1870.

Ebenezer turned his life around. In the light of the Gospel, he chose a new path of generosity and love. As a result the Cratchit family was blessed. Tiny Tim no doubt got the operation that saved his life.

What are some ways that your Church could use A Christmas Carol to further the Gospel? Here are just a few ideas:

• Small Group study – looking at Advent through A Christmas Carol
• Movie Night – Show one of the many movies based on A Christmas Carol
• Christmas Event – Give to the poor like Ebenezer learned to do
• Web page listing local charity events that people can participate in

May Advent be a time of reckoning, a time of joy as we anticipate the arrival of the Christ together.

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but it is based on the Biblical idea of thanking God. We thank God for His many blessings in our lives. We thank God for His mercy and His love. And we thank God for His marvelous grace, which covers our multitude of sins.

As you approach this Thanksgiving, be sure to thank the members of your staff, who ensure that the Church functions as an organization. They not be perfect, but they show their dedication and commitment by coming to work each day to help the Church. Let them know that they are appreciated, and you will be investing in good will which will last well into the new year.

This author has served in Churches, both big and small. It is all to easy to leave people on staff feeling under-appreciated along with being over-worked. The two are a bad combination. You may not be able to change the workload, but you can always express appreciation for their efforts. From the least of these to the most, thank them for their efforts.

Does your staff use Macbooks? The Mac Operating System that runs on the Macbook (currently Mojave or version 10.15) is well supported by Apple. Many users find it easy to use and intuitive. This can be a blessing to your ministry staff. However, you have to provide support for Macbooks on your office LAN.

There was a time when supporting Macs was difficult. These days, a lot of hardware – i.e. routers and other network equipment – comes with support for both Windows and Macs. This makes it easy to support both on the same network. With Windows 10, Microsoft made this even easier.

A lot of Churches now have an electronic sign out front on the lawn that greets passersby and visitors. What does your sign say about your Church? It is a great way to set a first impression for someone new to the area as they drive by. Does it leave them laughing because of a funny one liner? Does it inform them about Worship Times? Does it help them figure out the ministries of the Church? Does it invite them to come and join us for Sunday Worship? These are all questions that a sign should answer. And the beauty about it is that these systems can communicate many lines, images, and even videos. Make sure your Church sign meets the needs of the Church to be a Welcoming Place.

Who should have permission to send an eMail message to the whole staff? Seems like that would be a very dangerous thing. They should reserved for messages that everyone on the staff is concerned with. They should not be trivia that will just clutter up the inbox of staff members who have no interest.

In the past, we might have just automatically added every new staff person to the All Hands Email List. That way, the Sr Pastor could always reach all of the staff. But times have changed, and that kind of an email blast is not acceptable anymore. Better to let people manage their eMail preferences. They can choose to get eMails to various mailing lists that the Church maintains. That way, no one gets offended (for long, at least.) And everyone has control over their inbox.

The Church is a unique organization in that it has one priority:

To Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord

All other considerations are secondary to this. That doesn’t mean that the Church doesn’t need other priorities, only that they have to be secondary to this one.

The Technical Ministry of the Church needs to keep this one priority in mind. All activities, especially worship, should be about this proclamation. The Goal of Technical Ministry is to enhance that proclamation, not detract from it. All of the equipment, technical services, program licenses, software should be evaluated by a simple rule:

Does this enhance the Proclamation of the Gospel?

If the answer is Yes, then by all means continue to use the technology. When the answer comes up No, then it is time to reflect and reconsider. The technology might be the latest, newest or hot in the market; but if it doesn’t enhance the proclamation, then it is useless in the Church.

It is hard to believe, but this blog is 10 years old and counting! I have been involved with ministry and technology for a long time. I have sought to document my experience with various aspects and topics about that involvement here, so that you can gain from it. Topics have ranged from Information Technology to how to Welcome Visitors. I hope that you have found these pages of interest.

I am both a man of grace and an optimist. I believe in Christ, and I know that He guides my steps. And I look forward to the future with Hope and Grace. May we all be found in Heaven one day. If that happens within the next 10 years, then Hallelujah! If not, then I’ll keep blogging about it until we do.

May God grant you grace and mercy this day!

Churches get first time visitors. Some of those go on to join. What keeps them from just jumping in and getting involved? Seems like there are a few walls that should come down if you want new member involvement:

• Signage in the Church
• Openness of classes to add new members
• Opportunities for participating in regular events
• Welcome

A lot of Churches have managed the last item on this list – i.e. to be a welcoming congregation. They take time during worship to “turn to your neighbor and welcome them.” They act friendly to visitors. They provide great information in the bulletin and brochures on various ministries. They have a great web site with pages dedicated to new comers. It is the other items that prove to be impediments.

Newcomers don’t know their way around the Church building, so signage is important. Can you walk in without any prior knowledge of the building’s layout and find the sanctuary? What about the worship space for early services? What about the bathrooms? Are they hidden down a hall and out of sight? Are people inviting visitors to their small groups? Or do the small groups just meet off by themselves? The web site should list regular events on a calendar, with times and places. Or do they just appear as names (since everyone who goes already knows where and when they meet)?

I have been a new Church member many times, and I have seen good and bad examples of these items. I’m well motivated to join and jump in quickly, but I wonder about those who aren’t so well motivated. They need encouragement, plenty of information, and patient followup as they come on board. The result will be active members of the Church who worship and serve on a weekly basis.

How do people find a new Church? People move when they get a new job or they have family needs that come up. If they have been going to Church, then they naturally start shopping for a new Church home. Your Church should make that an easy process, not an impossible one! But how do you advertise in the Church Market?

One approach is to make sure you have a dynamic, inviting web site. Another is to be sure you have easy to find social media sites. You should integrate the two together, so people can find your social media sites from your primary web site. Be sure it is easy to find the primary Church site from the social media sites as well! That is usually the first place people will look, but it is not the last.

Another approach is through the mail. Send out a flyer when you are advertising a special event like the Christmas Cantata. You can also add newspaper and radio spots. Or how about door to door canvassing to invite people to come. You never know when you are going to find someone that is Church Shopping.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks. The technical ministry of the Church can help us identify all of the ways that we are thankful to God. I have seen preachers run through their ABC list of thankful things. Here is a list of my own:

• For being with us times of Catastrophe
• For helping us through economic crisis
• For healing our children when seriously ill
• For reminding us that God reigns when we forget
• For blessing us with life itself

What if your Church had a web poll where people could identify one way that they were thankful this year? You could then publish the resulting list on Thanksgiving Sunday. People would probably marvel at the results. It would be one way to collectively give thanks for God’s blessings this year.

Most Churches reach out to the homeless during November. This might take the form of feeding the homeless during Thanksgiving week. In the news is one Church that got into trouble for the homeless ministry. The Church provided a weekly meal to the homeless in their area, but the neighbors objected to the homeless being attracted to their neighborhood. The neighborhood got the Church’s permit from the city revoked. An argument ensued between the neighborhood and the Church. How do you balance the Ministry of the Church to the homeless with the need for security in the surrounding neighborhood?

Jesus said that the “poor you will always have with you” (MAT 26:11 NIV). There will always be some who are rich and some who are poor. The Church needs to reach out to the poor. Most Churches have some sort of security system – even a close by member that gets a call when some alarm fires off. You can always tighten up the security with web cameras and sensors. But how does that enhance your ministry to the homeless. How about taking off one Sunday from worship to reach out into the community. You can take hot coffee and donuts to the homeless on the streets at the city park. Or you can go door to door to invite people to Church during the 11:00 AM hour. (The people who are at home then are obviously not regular Church attenders.) Or you can pray along the streets and byways for the city. All of these remind us that the Church gathers on Sundays, but reaches out to the community during the week.

What are some innovative ways that your Church can go beyond the 4 walls and reach out to the Homeless this Thanksgiving?

Most Churches have an offering during the worship service. It is another way we glorify God, by giving to support the ministry of the Church. However, what do you put on the screen during the offering? In many Churches, the choir sings an offertory; other Churches have he musicians play an inspirational song. I have put up a slid with an offering plate that included checks and cash – a subtle suggestion to give. But that seems a little like strong-arming people into only giving money.

Recently in worship I saw a slideshow during the offering time. In it, there was a slide for every ministry of the Church. The idea was to celebrate all of the ways that God is putting your offering to work in the ministry of the Church. Why not let those slides also show ways people can give of their time as well as treasure? It should be inviting and winsome, not desperate calls to help some ministry before it collapses. But the slides can also show the joy of giving – in the faces of children who are having fun learning about Christ in VBS. Or how about the smiling faces of people that have been touched by the short term mission team. Or how about the joy of neighbors being helped in time of crisis.

The idea is to make the offering time more than just money to support the budget of the Church. It should present opportunities to the congregation to volunteer. It should present opportunities to serve in the various ministries of the Church. And I would suggest that the slide show should have a timeliness to it. So you would put up the slides about the Church Bazaar first in the weeks leading up to the Bazaar. That way, it becomes a way to enlist more participation by volunteers.

I have seen Churches where the offering was a time of celebration. And I have seen Churches where it was a distraction to worship – a necessary collection from the rich to keep the doors open. At it’s best, the offering should be a time to worship, to celebrate all of the good that God is doing through us, to praise God for life itself!

The Church Staff needs pastoral care just like any Church member. But how do you take care of the needs of the Technical Team? It can be difficult for a pastor, trained in spiritual matters, to understand and empathize with technicians, trained in technology. However, the needs of people are universal. They need to know that they are appreciated. They need support when they are emotionally challenged by life events. And they need understanding when they struggle with the challenges they face. A great pastor will be able to help people in all walks of life.

So after the next awesome Sunday Service, be sure to thank the technical volunteers who helped make it happen. They typically don’t like attention, because that usually comes when something goes wrong. And it can be negative at times. People will criticize anything that goes awry during the service. However, those volunteers need to know that they are appreciated. And without them, worship would be a far different experience. So appreciate them.

What should we do about everyone having cell phones in Church? Have you heard anyone saying that? It’s a modern day invention, and some people are very attached to their mobile device. They depend upon it every day. They use it at work, school. Well, why not use it at Church?

Some might complain that the mobile device is a distraction during worship. It certainly would be annoying if someone let their cell phone ring during the sermon – or worse yet, took a phone call! However, most people know better than that. (You might add a slide to your pre-service roll to remind them if this becomes a problem.) But sometimes people will look at their cell phones, rather than the preacher. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

You should consider ways to encourage people to use their mobile device to engage more with the sermon. Let people look up the Bible verse that you just referenced. “If you’ve got your Bible or your cell phone, look up ….” And be sure to encourage them to check out the context later. All too often, there is only time to read a few verses. However, every verse has a context that adds a great deal to its meaning. With modern day Bible apps, people can easily mark a verse for further reading, and that only encourages more Bible study – a great thing. Or ask people to get on social media and let their friends know about the message, as in the movie “God Is Not Dead.”

Being distracted in worship is nothing new. It goes back to Eutychus in Acts 20. However, instead of fighting the mobile devices that people depend upon, we should leverage them to get people more engaged.