Large Churches have a need for Inventory Management. They may need to keep track of class room items, such as video monitors and DVD players. Or they may need to assign whiteboards. They may even just need a list of valuations for property insurance purposes. Whatever the use, the Inventory Management system should be kept on a computer, with off site copies printed and updated on a regular basis.

A Church Management system (ChMS) will help your Church with Inventory Management. If your Church already has a ChMS, then this is likely already provided. Or you may need to purchase it as an additional module. Or you could just use a spreadsheet file for this purpose. To get started, first decide how you want to organize the Church Inventory:

• By Ministry: Worship, Music, Children, Youth, Adult
• By Building: Sanctuary, Gym, Administrative
• By Category: Video, Audio, Lighting, Tables, Chairs

However you organize the Inventory Management system, you will need some help in getting the initial lists together. Ask for volunteers to help you, and assign them to specific areas. Give them clipboards and pencils to write down the items they find. If you have asset tags, then this needs to be recorded as well. If not, then identifiable names and descriptions will do. After the lists are generated, enter the data and generate a full list. Look for any duplications or errors and correct them.

Once the Inventory is complete, print out a complete list and send it offsite on a regular basis. That way, if there is a fire, you don’t lose the list in the event. Perhaps you have a board of trustees; send the list to the chairman. Or perhaps you have a safety deposit box at your bank; place the copy in there. (If it is a small box, then a flash drive will work.) Whatever the method, add a calendar item to update the list and send it offsite. That way, there is always an updated list available for a backup.

Inventory Management is an administrative function that Churches need to. It can be done on an informal basis, but it will help you keep track of equipment and furniture. Although these items tend to get moved around a lot, they should stay on the list while they are useful. When they are sold or break, you can drop them off the list. The important thing is to have a list, so that you can support any claims made to property insurance companies in the future. Otherwise, the property insurance is going to come up short when rebuilding after an event.

How do you keep track of all of the technical gear that the Church uses? There is a tendency for technology to “sprout wings and walk away.” By that, I don’t mean outright theft. More likely, Fred borrowed it and just forgot to bring it back to the Church 6 months ago. All Fred really needs is a gentle reminder. But therein lies the problem. How do you ensure that the reminder gets made?

Technical gear that gets used every Sunday should always remain in place in the Church. If it is borrowed, say, for an outside event, it should be returned at the end of that event. You’ll want to be sure everyone on the Technical Ministry team understands that policy. And it should not just be dropped off at the door. It should be reinstalled in the Technical room and verified to be ready to work on Sunday morning. I can not emphasize that point enough. All technical gear should be returned in working order and reinstalled in the technical rack and verified to work. Otherwise, you are just setting a land mine for the Technical Ministry team on Sunday. No one likes to come in and find things in disarray or not working – least of all volunteers. They may be glad to fix it, but the problem is time. Right before the service is not the time to reinstall that video gear. (It should be reinstalled when it is returned to the Church.) By making sure the people who borrowed it know that they are responsible for reinstalling and verifying it when they bring it back, you can avoid headaches on Sunday morning. If you have a concern about whether someone will do this, arrange to meet them at the Church when they bring the gear back and work together to get it back in working order. It may mean a late night on Saturday, but it will pay off with less hassle and embarassment on Sunday morning.

The Church doesn’t need a formal inventory control system. It does need an informal list of technical gear for insurance purposes. And the accountant should know about every purchase or gift of technology, in case it has to be replaced. Usually, the Technical Team knows the gear that they use. (I have given more than one item to my Church to enable some new technical capability.) And the Technical Team or IT Support should take care of maintenance of computers and the like. That way, all of the technical gear stays up to date and gets used effectively in the ministry of the Church.

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!

Ours is a world filled with Technological Power. We see it everywhere, use it in our daily lives, and applaud the latest developments of Tech. However, we need to remember that the source of that power lies not within ourselves; all knowledge comes from God. So we don’t need to worship technology; we worship the living God who has given us all good things – including technology.

When we recognize that technology is another gift that God has given us, we put it in the right perspective. The technology presents us with new challenges, not an absence of God. The Church has encountered those challenges, sometimes with obstinance, sometimes with wisdom. At our best, we should be making use of the technology to spread the Gospel further, to reach more people, and to enhance the message so that more people listen. When we do that, we are using Technological Power to enhance ministry. And that is perhaps the best way to use it after all.

Does your Church have a policy for outside groups to come in and use the facilities? If so, then does it include clear guidelines for the use of all technical equipment, or do you require them to bring their own? It seems logical to expect that a group that rents a room at the Church would expect to have access to the technology in that room. The question then becomes how do you know that they will take good care of it?

If the room only contains a TV and a DVD player, then there is not much concern. Most people know how to run a DVD player, or they can figure it out. But what about the sanctuary, with audio and video systems? For a wedding, lighting might also enter into the picture. No doubt some Churches require that one of their staff be on site for the event given by the outside group, just to make sure that the technology is not abused.

Most Churches today have a global reach. Many call it missions. In the past, it was focused on one Sunday out of the year, and there was usually a special offering which was passed on to the Global Mission program of the denomination. Today, it is not uncommon for a single Church to sponsor multiple, short-term mission teams to foreign lands. They may be engaged in general evangelism, or specialized in technology. These mission teams go forth to support missionaries in their activities to fulfill the Great Commission. And they are succeeding.

One example of this is Africa. Once called the Dark Continent – because it was completely unreached – it is now the home of 400 million Christians. And the Churches in Africa are now starting to send their own missionaries out – to other parts of the world. You could say that they now have a Global Reach of their own. It is exciting to see what the Church is doing in this day and age.

Modern megachurches are dependent on technology. Any time you gather more than a hundred people together, you need some sort of technology to enhance worship. At the very least, you need an audio system, so that everyone can hear the sermon. Ideally, you should be able to hear the Word clearly in every seat – i.e. even in the back of the balcony. In addition to that, most megachurches offer video screens. Typically, this shows the lyrics for the songs, so no one needs a hymnal. But it can also show the preacher in a way that everyone can see clearly – i.e. IMAG. For those at the back of the room, this helps them follow the sermon. However, now we have moved into video technology; cameras, switchers, video projectors, and one or more video screens. And with the video, it becomes possible to show video clips as illustrations, announcements, and points of transition in the service. The technology allows the congregation to literally go anywhere; e.g. you could easily show Jerusalem’s wailing wall during a sermon about the Temple. And other types of technology lie on the horizon, awaiting development. The possibilities are limitless.

However, with the technology comes a dependence. What happens if the electricity goes out because of a storm at 3:00 AM on Sunday? If the service is held, the preacher may be preaching by candlelight. There needs to be a fall back position; e.g. a generator to run at least some lights and the sound system. And if you can’t show IMAG, can a battery powered camera at least record the sermon? You could then put the sermon on the Church’s web site for those who couldn’t come because of the storm’s damage. And a satellite congregation may have to resort to listening to an extemporaneous sermon by the local pastor.

We worship a big God, and we are blessed with technology to enhance that worship. But we need to make sure that we think through the issues of our dependence on that technology. That doesn’t mean we reject the technology and go back to smaller congregations. It does mean that we understand our priorities for using the technology should we encounter issues. Sunday worship will go on, but we may have to fall back to a different technical configuration on various occasions. We need to be prepared to do that, rather than panic at the circumstance.