Posted on 04/30/2008 9:24:24 AM PDT by Between the Lines
New research shows that a majority of churches use some type of emerging technology in their services, but the pace of technology adoption has slowed in recent years.
Although 65 percent of Protestant churches now have a large screen projection system, that number is just slightly higher than in 2005 when 62 percent had such a system, according to The Barna Group. The use of large screens had jumped from the year 2000 when only 39 percent were using them.
Since 2005, there was only a 5 percent increase in the adoption of a large screen projection system.
The Barna study, released Monday, found that churches that say they are theologically conservative are more likely to have large screens (68 percent) than churches described by their pastor as having "liberal theology" (43 percent).
Smaller churches – ones that average less than 100 adults each week – are less likely to have big screens, with only 53 percent of them reportedly having one. Meanwhile, 76 percent of churches that draw 100 to 250 adults have a large screen and 88 percent of churches that draw more than 250 adults have it.
Over half the churches that have a big screen use it to show movie clips or other video segments during their services and events.
Along with the slower adoption of large screens, sending e-mail blasts have also not prevailed in the last couple of years.
Fifty-six percent of Protestant churches send email blasts to large groups or to the entire church body but that number has remained the same since 2005.
More churches have created an Internet presence since 2005. The latest study showed that 62 percent of Protestant churches have a church Web site, up from 57 percent in 2005. In 2000, only 34 percent had a Web site.
Larger churches are more likely to have an Internet presence. Nine out of 10 churches with more than 250 adults attending have a Web site while only 48 percent of churches with less than 100 adults have one.
"Many small churches seem to believe that new tools for ministry are outside of their budget range or may not be significant for a church of their size. It may be, though, that such thinking contributes to the continued small size of some of those churches," said George Barna, who directed the study.
Also connecting to the MySpace generation, 26 percent of Protestant churches have some presence on one or more social networking sites. Charismatic churches were more likely to use such sites (38 percent) than mainline or evangelical congregations.
Nearly half of large churches (more than 250 adults) have adopted podcasting. Only 16 percent of Protestant churches overall are utilizing podcast technology.
Blogging is also being picked up by more churches with 13 percent of Protestant churches now having blog sites or pages where people can interact with the thoughts posted by church leaders.
Churches meanwhile have still been slow to utilize satellite broadcasting. Only 8 percent of churches use such technology for receiving programming and training, a slight increase from the 7 percent in the year 2000.
"The fact that market penetration of digital technologies seems to top out around two-thirds of the market could easily change if the digital-resistant churches conceived ways of facilitating their vision through the deployment of such tools," Barna noted. "That is what made these tools so appealing to larger churches: being able to apply the tools to furthering their ministry goals."
Despite the slower adoption of emerging technology use, Barna stresses that the incorporation of digital technologies into church-based ministry is an important frontier for churches to master.
"The Internet has become one of the pivotal communications and community-building tools of our lifetime. Churches are well-advised to have an intelligent and foresighted Internet strategy in order to facilitate meaningful ministry," he said.
The study is based on interviews on a random sample of 605 senior pastors of Protestant churches. In prior studies, 845 senior pastors were interviewed in 2005 and 610 were interviewed in 2000.
Bet you didn't expect that one.
I’m in a very conservative church and we don’t have technology in the sanctuary past an organ and a microphone. Adding a bunch of technological distractions would take away from the feeling of reverence in the 81 year old church. I just don’t agree with the tacit assumption of the article that every church should implement modern tech as a part of worship.
I’m with you on that. Religion is timeless, and the Bible and God’s Message is lo-tech.
If I want a PowerPoint presentation I will go to a Board Meeting, not to Church.
They needed a study to find that out????
What kind of technology would Jesus have used? I may be fairly sarcastic on this...but I’m thinking simplicity of a message makes things more acceptable.
If I were in a church and the minister or the deacons dragged out a projection system and started a PowerPoint presentation...I’d be the first guy out of the row and the first out of the church. I spent twenty-two years in the Air Force and can make PowerPoint presentations that will bring tears to your eyes. But I’ve come to realize over the years that the simplier the briefing and the fewer the slides...then the more you rely on a speaker to really get the point across. That turns an entire audience.
I was sitting at a meeting once as a NCO, and the projection system failed...and I proceeded to ad-lib my way through eight slides to a group of two dozen audience members. I was told later that it was one of the best delivered presentations they’d ever heard and the crowd bought off on whatever I was briefing. I am a firm believer that we survived for all those centuries without PowerPoint....as did Socrates and Plato...and did a pretty dang good job.
This is almost funny. High tech in our church was when they installed the electric pump on the pipe organ.
On at least one occasion, Jesus spoke from a boat to a crowd assembled along the hillside. The natural shape of the hill would have worked as an amphitheatre. And his position from the boat would have enhanced the acoustics.
:-)
Jesus could have spoken in a whisper and all could hear Him if that was what He wanted.
My church is lagging waaay back technologically, with candles and incense and icons and books, and people singing without any recorded music, but somehow it works.
I would think a better question would be "What kind of technology does Jesus use today to spread His word?"
Absolutely.
But you’d have a hard time finding a contemporary preacher who could do the same.
Is it electricity, air conditioning, printed Bibles? Every technology can be used or abused. It is up to us to use our tools wisely. All of the tools listed in the article are for communication. I firmly believe that communicating the Good News is our primary mission and that God wishes us to use the tools at our disposal wisely for His purpose.
There’s a reason for the slow up take on technology in churches. . .it takes money. Only those churches whose congregations are pretty regular givers can afford to spend on technology.
At my small church we use a projector for special occasions like a children’s play, annual meeting, etc. Of course it means borrowing a projector from one of the members that has one (lots of computer-type folks), and moving the communion table and the cross so we can put up the screen! Oh - and it helps if it is at night or a cloudy day with all the huge clear windows in our sanctuary!
(Point is - its not just the $3,000 (or whatever) for a projector and a screen that you need, the whole facility needs to work.)
Let's see. He didn't have these fancy "books" created on "printing presses". So I guess we have to do away with our Bibles and wait for someone to hand-copy a set of scrolls for us to carry around. But actually he didn't carry them around, they were at the temple. So memorization was His main method then.
And forget these fancy "pews" or "chairs". They were far out of reach for the common man. Everyone sat on dirt floors, and ate from tables that were a little over a foot off the ground. Eating and drinking at these short tables were pretty central to Christian service as noted by Paul in 1 Cor. 11. So no pews or chairs.
And "pipe organs"? Who could have possibly imagined such an advanced piece of musical technology in Jesus' time? Very simple flutes and stringed instruments were the order of the day, if there was music at all. No organs.
How about stained glass? Ridiculous! Glass windows wouldn't be around for centuries. Much less electric lighting, air conditioning, carpeting, etc. These are comforts unimaginable to people in the early church.
You can't just set your point of spiritual perfection at some arbitrary point in history and say nothing past that is "spiritual". When future Christians do contextual searches on e-Bibles while sitting at tall cafe style tables on magnetically levitated seating while watching the pastor demonstrate a theological concept on a holographic projection system, they will still be as Christian as you or I.
Shucks, we got that there internet thingee for the Pastor.
And we got that email stuff, so that we can do instaneous, er, instanious, er, real quick prayer requests for aunt emma and uncle john, and such (oh yea, and especially for the stein family, all of them, as often as humanely possible).
And, of course, our recent installation of an indoor, flush toilet has really moved us forward (course, when the whole congregation needs to go really bad, it's always ladies first, ladies first .... ummm, as it should be .... of course.
I tell you, them big fancy churches ain't got nothing up on us!
Pipe organs are extremely expensive. A church can get a very nice set of electronic keyboards for l/1000th the price of a pipe organ.
Projectors are also dropping in price, with $300 projectors out later this year with 100,000 hour lifespans. It's getting cheaper to have one than a few dozen hymnals available in the pews.
And to mention pews, it's cheaper to have a set of folding chairs, and it makes the room functional for other occasions.
People complain about technology in church, but much of the time, the old way has become the more expensive way. Better to save money with new tech than to spend millions to give people that "old-time" feel.
Aw, c'mon now, you know we need those organs to sing the hymns. You know the "music that God likes."
And yes, I've heard it described that way.
And in full disclosure, I love the hymns and lament the fact that they're not sung very often.
The church wasn't that "old-time" feeling church. It was the "old times" in itself.
There was a little talk about each frame and when it beeped, you would move it ahead one frame and hear about that picture.
Ah, that makes more sense.
“churches that say they are theologically conservative are more likely to have large screens (68 percent) than churches described by their pastor as having “liberal theology” (43 percent).”
THIS IS NOT BELIEVABLE,JUST LOOKING AT THE WARREN;OLSTEEN,SHULLER AND TRINITY BROADCAST TYPES
,JUST NO WAY!
I would suspect that by Barna standards the churches you list would be considered “theologically conservative.”
It’s likely more based on social conservatism than a strict adherence to doctrine.
Just my $0.02.
True, you must have someone capable of using the technology once you buy it.
Over half the churches that have a big screen use it to show movie clips or other video segments during their services and events.
I can't stand that. If you can't say it in flat ASCII, work on it until you can.
Large screen TV is a "new technology?"
***I spent twenty-two years in the Air Force and can make PowerPoint presentations that will bring tears to your eyes.***
Is that so? I’ve been in the Army for 21 years and can make PowerPoint slides that will make your eyes bleed.
I retired after 20 active years (24 total) and I still have Ppt shakes every time I get on a computer.
Do you think I can turn it into a disability rating.....Post-PPt STress Disorder (PPSD)...something like that?
“I would think a better question would be “What kind of technology does Jesus use today to spread His word?”
Excellent answer. And there is no other proper response than yours.
Our charge from Jesus, is to spread the gospel to everyone and every nation.
Church is not a social club that we go to and try to make it feel like it is 1955.
I personally find discussions which seem to find fault with the proper application of technology, to be foolish.
The only proper line of reasoning to those who want to limit the proper use of technology (meaning the technology enhances the message and doesn’t distract from it); is that churches should be exactly like they were in 32 A.D.
People should be dressed as they were in 32 A.D., we would have animal skin parchments to read from (or whatever they would have used), we would come dressed as shepherds to church, cars would banned, etc...
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