When a disaster strikes a community, the Church is often there immediately to help. Whether it is a hurricane, tornado, flood, fire or earthquake, the Church is part of the community response. Usually, this happens after the first responders have completed their mission. Churches will reach out with people, resources and service to help in the recovery. This is part of the Church’s caring for others ministry.

How does your Church respond when a disaster strikes? Some Churches will take up a collection and send money. Others will gather supplies and get them delivered. Still others will organize a team to go and help. It might be covering damaged roofs with tarps to keep out more rain. It might be repairing damaged homes for those without insurance. It might be sending cleaning supplies and home goods to help those who have suffered. Whatever the method, the Church is called to reach out and help. And I have been amazed at the generosity and helpfulness of those in the Church.

Church buildings need security systems. In the past, there have been incidents at Churches. These make the news. But do they mean that the Church building needs for security are being ignored?

In the past, the Church – especially the sanctuary – was considered a place of safety. It was a refuge to those in trouble. People respected this, so the Church building was secure and safe. This is no longer the case. So staff need to take steps to make the Church building secure.

Property alarm systems can be installed, but who monitors the alarm in the middle of the night. One Church I was involved with had the alarm system connected to the police station, which was 2 blocks away. This meant that if there was a break in, the police arrived in 2 minutes. However, what happens if the youth are having an overnight event and accidentally trip the alarm. Better to have someone in the Church also get the alarm, and be able to override it before it goes to the police station. And that person should be up to date with the scheduled events of the calendar. That way, you don’t have an issue on the 4th of July.

Church buildings have various systems and security needs. Some are open only on the weekends. Others are almost open 24×7. They need utility services. They need security services. Your Church probably has a programmable thermostat. This saves energy and lowers electricity bills by running the HVAC system only when the sanctuary is in use. It might start cooling down the sanctuary early on Sunday morning and shut it off again after worship services are concluded.

Church staff need to know how to control these systems. There might be an morning children’s worship service during VBS week. Someone needs to reprogram the thermostat so everyone stays cool. Or there might be special evening event open to the community. Someone needs to unlock the doors and ensure that the heat is on in the winter. Whatever the reason, make sure that staff know how to control these systems and understand their responsibility to ensure that the building is used responsibly and used well.

Eastertide is the period of time between Easter and Pentecost. On Easter, we all think about the empty tomb. It is the defining characteristic of Christianity. Other religions have great leaders, but only Christianity has a leader who rose from the dead. And for good measure, he did it after 3 days!

Many Churches have special celebrations during Eastertide. Some Churches have a sunrise service, to celebrate the empty tomb. Some Churches have special events for children, like Easter Festivals. I even heard of a Church that clipped the Church. Clipping the Church is an English custom where you form a human chain around the Church building, facing outward. You then sing hymns to celebrate the fact that the Church is reaching out to the community.

However you celebrate Eastertide, always remember that it is because of the Risen Lord that we have Easter!

There is so much that goes into the Easter season. It can get a little hectic. And you may be asking yourself, is serving on the Church Staff bad for my Spiritual Life? Let’s reflect on this a bit.

In one sense, yes. You are involved in almost everything the Church does, and it can become spiritually draining. But in another sense, you are continually inspired by worship – even when you lead it!

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!

Typically, users login by entering 2 factors – i.e. a username and a password. For a lot of web sites, the rule is to make the username an email address. I suppose that makes it easier to respond when the user loses there password. 🙁

These days, 2 factors is not enough; so a lot of web sites are going to multiple factors for logging in securely. For example, you can add a 3rd factor, which could be one of the following:

• Text message to a mobile phone
• Phone call to a telephone number
• Random numbers generated by an Authentication App
• Biometric response – e.g. a fingerprint reader

The web sites for our Churches need to be secure. So perhaps it makes sense to add multiple factors for login to your staff’s accounts. But is it appropriate to ask Church members to use Multiple Factor login? Please comment if your Church is doing that.

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.

Do you allow your staff to install and upgrade software? Most organizations do, since it is easier to make the users a Local Admin on the computers they use everyday. However, it is more secure to control the software that goes on a computer from a central, authorized source. That way, the chance of installing malware goes way down.

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.

Your Church no doubt has a Local Area Network (LAN). This comes with setting up an Internet connection. The portion of that system that comes from the Modem to your computers is the LAN. It can be wired (using Ethernet) or unwired (using WiFi). It is the last leg of the technology that you use to connect. If you have exposed your WiFi to the congregation, then they are all using your LAN.

Given the public nature of a WiFi connection, you should monitor the traffic. You don’t want a drive-by hacker to use your Internet connection to send SPAM (or something worse)! If you suspect a problem, you can always block the WiFi connection while you sort things out. Your Modem should have a administration access (inspect the device for tips on how to access it.) You can log in and see a lot of details about traffic and configuration settings and versions etc. Don’t change any configuration setting unless you’re sure it needs to be changed. Do look for ways to monitor the traffic. You can restrict it in many ways. The most restrictive is to only allow certain devices to use the network. The least restrictive is to allow all devices to use the network. You can block devices that cause a problem. You want to monitor usage to identify any devices that are abusing the network and block them.

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.

Virtual Servers are a great opportunity for economizing the Church Web Hosting budget. One physical web server can serve up all of the Church’s web sites. This reduces the cost considerably.

The key to using this technology is realizing that you can map any domain to any web server. You just need a separate sub-directory for each domain. And you may need a separate database to hold the data. But one physical machine can easily handle multiple web sites. Talk to your web hosting company to see if you can consolidate those separate web sites into one on a virtualized server.

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.

Spring is a good time to review your software needs and capabilities. No doubt you have some software packages or services that have fallen into disuse. Feel free to get rid of them. By deleting them, you save disk space and make your computer systems run more efficiently. But do a survey of staff and users first to make sure nobody is really using them. It doesn’t do to delete a package or service and surprise somebody. They were expecting it to be there, but now it’s not!

Churches also need to renew licenses on an annual basis. The expense should be covered by a budget item. Keeping software packages and services up to date is good stewardship, for it heads off problems down the road. Pick a time when you know the computers are unused. (Sunday mornings are a bad choice, for what if you have a glitch in the upgrade process? There isn’t time to really resolve that when worship is about to start and the system has to be in working order!) So the best practice is to Turn Off Automatic Updates on presentation systems! That way, you don’t get a prompt on the big screen to enter your password or license! The worship team will appreciate that you did that. But that means that you have to schedule time for updates; just do it at a time when you don’t have an event about to happen in the sanctuary. That way, the computer systems stay up to date, the backups get done, and the systems are protected from known security threats in old software.

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!

Traditionally, the Ash Wednesday service comes with an emphasis on repentance and silence. Why be silent? Why not have someone reading scriptures during the imposition of the ashes? That way, those still in their pews will have something to focus on as they pray.

Many Churches hold an Ash Wednesday service. It marks the beginning of Lent, which is traditionally symbolized by the color purple. During this service, people are reminded of their need for repentance. The ashes are traditionally taken from burning the Christmas Tree. The imposition of the ashes is a reminder that we are all mortal and in need of Christ’s forgiveness and grace.

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!