What Every Senior Pastor Should Know About Church Technology
1. Technology is Not Always the Answer
Many times, I encounter those that believe if we purchase or develop software that it will make everyone’s life better. Bill Gates once said, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” Gates is right. Sometimes a reordering and combining of steps will result in great efficiency gains. Before throwing technology at a problem, scrutinize the processes first and reevaluate them regularly as the organization changes and grows.
By the way, a computerized child check-in solution is a great example. Every solution providers touts that its check-in system improves the security of your facility. I laugh when I read this…because the security of your facility is not in its technology, but in its processes. By processes, I mean those steps that you require to check-in children, whether by paper or by computer. If computerized check-in increases the security of your facility it is because your processes have changed, not because it is computerized.
2. Don’t Get Wooed by the Wow
We all get a case of gadget envy from time to time, but if technology decisions are driven by the ‘wow’ factor, your church will pay greatly for it. Good technology decisions should not be driven by what other churches have, but by the specific needs of your church. Diverting time and money to create an iPhone App when you need a new ChMS may not be a wise choice.
3. Don’t Take a Trinitarian View of the Project Triangle
Fully Featured, Cheap and Quick cannot coexist in one project. If a senior pastor or IT leader wants a project and its team to succeed, they should choose two and provide executive sponsorship for the project…ensuring buy-in from all levels of staff.
4. Standardizing Hardware and Software is Good Stewardship
Standardization of hardware allows for quick replacement or substitution of failed hardware. It also provides predictability and stability for how specific software will perform. Likewise, standardization of software reduces training costs and compatibility of files shared among staff. By standardizing on both, churches are able to leverage greater discounts though bulk purchasing. All of these reasons are why donated computer equipment can actually cost the church more money.
5. Standardizing Ministry Processes is Good Leadership
Ministry processes is the church equivalent to business processes. A ministry process is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service for a particular member or prospect. It often can be visualized with a flowchart as a sequence of activities. Examples of a ministry process would include: follow-up with a church prospect, staff’s response to an emergency hospitalization, process for joining the church. I have known many churches who have not defined these processes. As a result, new church employees are inadequately trained for their job and usually change the process to fit their skills or personality. In the case of a multi-site church, this problem is made much worse when each location’s processes don’t mirror each other. Inconsistent processes result in inconsistent reporting, data quality, and inadequate use of the technologies the church has invested in.
About Equip Them
Equip Them focuses on technology as tools for evangelism and spiritual formation in the church and family. It is the personal blog of David Drinnon, pastor and Director of Information Technology and Websites at Second Baptist Church, Houston, TX. The opinions and views expressed on this site are his own and do not necessarily represent those of his church.
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