A Unique Way To Increase Your Tech Budget

“How do I get more budget for technology we need?” is a question I get from church tech arts leaders. My answer includes ways to budget but also shines a light onto an area most haven’t considered as being part of the budgeting equation: cleanliness.

Maybe this scenario will hit close to home:

White sugar donut powder coats EQ knobs. Coffee cup rings leave sticky circles next to equipment. Cables are left strewn on any nearby horizontal surface. Labels are mysteriously missing from most connectors. Dust is layered on top of equipment and clogs the filters and fans of electronics. In short: it’s a mess.

Maybe it’s because media people would rather plug in cables than label them, or maybe it’s that we have a tendency to do things quickly to “make it work” but don’t take the time to “make it right”. I’m not sure there’s a singular reason, but many churches tech areas are very messy.

I can tell you what not to do because I, too, have been guilty of letting the tyranny of the urgent keep me from taking the time to organize and clean. I also want to share what has worked and how you can learn from those experiences as well.

You have not because you clean not

OK, that’s not exactly what John 16:24 says, but I’m convinced that tech arts sometimes don’t get new equipment because the leadership doesn’t see them taking care of what they currently own.

When I first started at my third church staff position, I inherited a young assistant named Daniel. This quiet young man and I had spent less than a week together before I had to leave and teach at a conference. Before departing, I had toured the entire campus and looked at everything (Audio/Video/Lighting) that we were responsible for and had made the announcement that we were going to clean up and organize those areas. My rationale was for three reasons:

1) I was new to the church and wanted to have a complete inventory list of every piece of equipment;
2) I wanted each tech area to be organized so we could easily operate and repair the equipment;
3) I knew that the business administrator and executive pastor would appreciate our new list for both insurance purposes and for a fresh start towards excellence in our ministry.

Daniel took the lead and pulled together staff and volunteers to do some major cleaning, organization and labeling. When I returned four days later, he and his team had it completed!

Now beyond the moral of the story (get it done and do it right) is a great ending: when I was able to show the church leadership what equipment we could re-use and what needed replacing (instead of expensive repair for outdated items), getting a P.O. signed for needed upgrades was a piece of cake!

Your leadership wants you to have the right tools

I know some of you wont believe that statement, but I submit that if you show that you’re using what you have to the best of your ability and you research and document the cost for replacement vs. repair, the money will show up.

People don’t give money to need – they give money to vision.

When you show that you’re taking responsibility for what you do have and you create a vision for what should be, people and resources will show up. Every time.

Get it right. Keep it right.

There are plenty of reasons to not spend time cleaning, organizing and documenting:

• It’s a daunting task to chase cables (hundreds of them), test them and label them. All of them.
• It’s not quick or easy to create start-up and shutdown checklists for every position in every venue.
• It’s hard to change sloppy habits.
• It’s hard to take time to do the detail work when “urgent” things are keeping you busy.
• It’s not fun (at least to me) to clean.

However, we’re not being honest with our leadership when we ask for upgrades or new equipment if we’re not being good stewards of what we currently oversee.

There is a Biblical principle behind this helpful admonishment:

Luke 16:10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

I hope you are encouraged to look at all of the technical systems you oversee. Will you be trustworthy with what you have so you can be trusted with more?

For further encouragement, check out the before and after pictures from Mike Sessler and read his blog post about this project.

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Technology and Personal Ministry

From the Winter 2011 issue of MinistryToday Magazine, pp 88

Ministry and community are a huge part of what the local church is and should be about. But in the age of the multicampus megachurch, how can the pastors, church staff and members realistically maintain authentic community and effectively minister to thousands of members?

If you’re in a church of 200 to 500 people and John Doe (one of 15 volunteers on Sunday morning) doesn’t show up for his shift of handing out bulletins and welcoming people, chances are that someone knows why he isn’t there. This is because in smaller congregations, personal connections happen organically due to family ties, long-standing friendships and social interaction inside and outside the church.

Now, if the same situation arises in a church of 1,500 or 15,000 attendees, it becomes much more difficult to maintain that personal level of ministry. If John Doe (now one of 200 volunteers on Sunday morning) doesn’t show up for his shift, it becomes much less likely that his absence will be noticed – and knowing the reason for his absence becomes even less likely.

A personal level of ministry is just as important to Christians attending megachurches as it is to those who go to smaller churches. The challenge is attaining essential information in order to be able to effectively implement personal ministry. With such high volumes of attendance, it’s imperative to be extremely intentional about making personal connections.

This is where church management software, such as Fellowship One comes into play. It is possible to have the same level of personal ministry in large churches as it is in small ones. As membership numbers grow, this ministry-facilitating software allows church staff to know who in their congregation needs help and how to help them.

Something as simple as each of our ministries keeping current information about their connections with people translates into key moments of ministry. Essentially, a small amount of organizational effort yields vast opportunities to serve people, create community and provide personal ministry.

For example, with good church management software, you can use digital check-in for children and adult activities, so tracking attendance is automated, allowing staff to provide follow-up for those who attended and for those who didn’t. This intentionality allows your leaders to know how someone is involved within your church and proactively reach out to those who may have missed as a way to make sure everything is OK. This data gives staff the ability to identify trends that may be early indicators of trouble and reach out to a family and try to meet a need.

I’m sure some readers will bristle as the mere mention of “software” in churches. Because after all, you’re a church, not a corporation, right? Your goal is helping people; not spending money on computer programs.

But think of this: A program such as Fellowship One allows church leadership to access real-time reports that provide detailed analysis of how each ministry interacts with their volunteers and people in their span of care. The numbers and data you get aren’t numbers for the sake of numbers. Each number and piece of data represents a ministry opportunity.

“What pastors need to see past is the idea that this cold piece of software is standing between them and doing ministry,” says Allan Kelsey, pastor of staff development at Gateway Church. “A program like Fellowship One is a partner who, when you include it in what you’re doing, will feed you what you need to effectively do ministry.”

From targeted email communication to volunteer management and following up with first-time visitors, you can place a premium on having as many touch-points as possible in an effort to connect with people and provide timely, pertinent information and personalized care.

This kind of sophisticated software will keep you from missing ministry opportunities and give you the ability within your church to make sure you can give a name to each “John Doe” as well as ensure that he feels at home, valued and care for.

(Disclaimer: I wrote this article at the request of Gateway Church, where I attend and serve, for MinistryToday Magazine. Also, I work for Fellowship Technologies, makers of Fellowship One, which Gateway Church uses as their church management software.)

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State-of-Your-Art

When did being state-of-the-art become a priority for churches? It’s something I’ve wondered when I receive questions like the one below from church techies:

“The Lord has placed me in a church that is starting a new building with 300 seats. I’m a self-taught tech guy and am all they have. Pastor and I share a vision for state-of-the-art. Help!?”

You know, this is actually not an uncommon question for me to get from churches that see other (usually large) churches doing “state-of-the-art” and want to follow suit. It’s natural to want to use the best technology to achieve amazing results. That being the case, I thought I’d tackle this question with relevant, practical advice.

Before you go state-of-the-art, know the state-of-your-art.

(more…)

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