By RJ Walters, Editor
This is the first article in a two-part series on the process of considering vital technology upgrades to keep the church relevant and modern in the 21st century. In the June issue the Reporter will focus on Smart Room technology, improving audio devices for the hearing impaired and using cost-effective gadgets like Flip Cams and podcasting to communicate the message of the United Methodist Church.
New technology is often reckoned to be the Great Divide between thriving and dying churches, but Rev. Ed Mohr is adamant that congregations of every size and locale can evolve into tech-savvy churches of the 21st century with basic upgrades that will increase their connectional power without irking the finance committee.
Mohr, the pastor at Gobles UMC and Kendall UMC, was a computer programmer and network
administrator in his previous career.
He said there are plenty of churches, especially more rural ones, who remain resistant to new technology, but he points to the Bible for an example of using cultural progress to communicate God’s word.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, we don’t want technology in the church,’ but they just don’t understand that your pews, your pianos, your organs — all that stuff is technology,” he said. “I mean the roads even…when Paul was setting out to spread the gospel he used Roman roads, so he used the technology of the day and we shouldn’t be afraid to use it today.”Mohr is just one of many leaders of the Michigan Area who are taking it upon themselves to show churches how they can enhance worship and possibly gain new members and visitors with some essential renovations.
An Internet presence
“If your church is not on the Internet, people who are seeking a church are not going to find you because they don’t use a telephone book anymore,” Mohr said. “People say, ‘Well we’re in the newspaper or we’re in the telephone book,’ but people don’t get the newspaper anymore and they don’t look at their telephone books.”
Mohr serves as a technology consultant for the West Michigan Conference and helps build user-friendly websites for churches on the side.
He recently he even re-made the Albion District website (www.albiondistrict.org), as shown on his online portfolio at www.abouthimwebsolutions.com.
Using the publishing platform Wordpress he creates websites for “a nominal fee” that can be updated with relevant information and pictures by “anyone who understands the basics of Microsoft Word,” he said.
Even though both of his churches are home to less than 50 members, he said the websites he built for them get new hits from “unique visitors” nearly every day.
When purchasing a domain name (the web address) and hosting site (the place where website content is stored on the Internet) he recommends a company called 2M, which costs less than $45 a year for the package he uses.
West Michigan Director of Communications Mark Doyal agrees people want website software that is “easy to use and makes sense” and that’s part of the reason he likes Clover Sites (www.cloversites.com), whose tagline is “Websites made for people, not programmers.”
For a one-time fee of $1,000 plus a monthly fee of $20 a church can get a website that easily translates onto mobile devices and can showcase videos, without being difficult for local church members to update.
“The Internet is (inexpensive), it reaches a young demographic and it connects people,” Doyal said. “If you can get people engaged throughout the week by using social media and updating a website it’s going to be good.”
E-zekiel (www.e-zekiel.com) and OurChurch.com are other highly regarded web design companies that develop virtual spaces for churches.
Audio and video upgrades
After building an engaging website to gain click-throughs from the online audience, Mohr said audio and video equipment runs a close second on the technology food chain.
He said even very traditional church services are enhanced when people can read the customary call to worship and their favorite hymns in large font on televisions or video screens, without having to squint or quickly locate a page number.
“People who are going to like this best are seniors because they won’t have to fumble with a book, they don’t have to worry about if they shake and all the words will be up on the screen,” he said. “All of our young adults and middle-age adults have grown up with television and movies, so this is standard fare for them.”
Audio equipment can include new speakers and/or amplifiers for praise teams, sermons and more — all depending on a church’s budget.
“We put in a new sound system at Kendall UMC and we put up a screen with a projector, computer, software and everything we needed and we did that for $2,800,” Mohr said. “And in Gobles UMC we put in a new sound system and screen and everything else, but they had it professionally done and it was a little better quality and better set up and it was $12,500. So there’s a big range, it all depends on what you want.”
Affordable laptops are also a major part of new audiovisual setups, providing the capability to show PowerPoints of ministry in action and play songs or videos to accompany a message.
Audiovisual companies that have specialized in working with churches over the past several decades in Michigan include: Automation Design and Entertainment (www.automation-design.com) in Portage, Sound Planning Communications (www.soundplanning.net) in Redford, Roth Electric Sound (www.rothsound.com) in Mt. Pleasant and Eclectic Communications (www.eclecticcom.info) in Flint.
Mohr said one of the greatest resources a congregation has during these times of transitions is often “experts” in the pews.
“There are lots of handy people out there, many with experience doing electrical work, who can at least offer some tips or help get a conversation started for your church,” he said.
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