As you plan for the new year, be sure to identify the needs of the Technical Ministry of the Church. Perhaps you need to add or subtract equipment. Machines that are constantly being used eventually break. Equipment also becomes obsolete rather quickly in Technology, so you may have something gathering dust on a shelf. Sometimes you can find a good use for old equipment – e.g. sharing it with another Church that still has a use for it. Or sometimes you just need to discard it. Either way, you need to make room for something new in the New Year.

You also need to plan for how you introduce new technology to the ministry of the Church. Don’t just assume that everyone will instantly like that new Information Kiosk in the hallway. Introduce it gradually. Perhaps you run an article in the newsletter, or add an announcement to the announcement loop that says it is coming soon. List some bullet points that show how Church members will be able to use it. Or better yet, have a short video clip on the web site that has a Church member talking how it will help them find the room change for the evening event that they are coming to. (People don’t always catch the email that announces the change two hours before the event, but the Kiosks will be there so they can look it up.) That avoids the circumstance where someone shows up for the event, but they can’t find it on a large Church campus.

Christmas is a Wonderful Time of Year, and worship takes on a new dynamic. The Advent season brings all sorts of special events. These demand more from our technologies than at any other time of year. Special lighting might include lighting the Advent Candles so the person in the back row can tell that they were really lit. Musical cantatas celebrate the joy of Christmas with praise and even drama. Do you or do you not mike the baby Jesus in the manger? The end of the year brings many opportunities to take advantage of our technical ministry capabilities. There are special videos, special music, and unique lighting requests – e.g. Christmas trees in the back of the choir that need to twinkle. And all of this plays out before record crowds. All the more reason for advance planning and development long before December rolls around!

Of course, Christmas has deep spiritual meaning. Coming from the Church tradition of the Christ Mass, there is a significance that transcends any other season. The Christ is born means that God is incarnate, stepping down out of Heaven to walk among us here on earth. How and when are not so important as the why of that event. But you can expect that the minister will have a special sermon series that focuses on that question. And perhaps that demands a new, refreshing way of looking at things. So a new look to the videos may be in order. Or a new style to the website may be just the thing to help visitors find Joy in our Savior’s Birth! Yes, Christmas is a Wonderful time of year, and a tremendous opportunity to apply technology to worship in new ways!

Merry Christmas and May the Light of our Savior strike your eye in a new way this coming year!

Bradley Roberts