These notes were part of a seminar I presented on the subject.
You can find a related article about creating a website for your church
at http://www.sundaysoftware.com/articles.html

Using the Internet to Enhance Your Ministry
Notes from a seminar, and additional material newly added

by Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software

The Internet is a means by which people in different geographical locations can connect in real-time or virtual time for many purposes. It is a communication medium well-suited to today's schedules and realities and can enhance our ministry.

The Internet can facilitate all four of the primary functions of the Church: Worship, Message, Community and Outreach. Most church groups are only using it to facilitate message --as a means of informing. The biggest contribution this technology has to make is in helping us stay connected with each other when we cannot be together.

The telephone is one example of the way technology can help members stay in touch with each other. But the telephone is not communal by nature (unless you regularly conference call). And the telephone requires both callers to be available at the same time! Email, message boards allow us to stay connected when real-time connection is impossible. Broadcasting worship across the Internet can allow those who are sick, shut-in, out of town, or out of time -share in the experience of worship, albeit, not quite as good as being there, but better than the alternative. The Internet is also a means of providing continuing education outside of the traditional timeslots and scheduling constraints.

In short: in today's world, Internet technology can be a blessing. But we are just at the beginning of this understanding, and the real-church examples of this technology are few and far between. One of the challenges is to get those churches already experimenting in this field to put their light on lampstands.

(It is important to note that using the Internet in your ministry should not be just a means for the church leaders to communicate with the church members. Instead, church leaders should be creating Internet-based opportunities for member-to-member sharing, nurturing and community. This subject is dealt with in greater detail in my article about church websites).

What the Internet can do for your ministry now:

Information
People have a need for information in a timely manner convenient to them. This may be at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, or 11 p.m. on Wednesday night from their homes or places where their work or travel has taken them. With the average home being inundated with paper (both through the mail and from the schools), our traditional printed communications are less likely to be read, or saved (at least in a place where you can find them when you need them!). On four of the websites which I support we have good tracking software. We know how many visitors are visiting our site, what pages they are looking at, and what time of the day they are visiting, --among other things. The number of visitors who visit late at night is surprising.

My church's website has a Worship schedule, Sunday School schedule, and copies of all our Sunday School lessons. It's a boon to those of us who lose paper.

Connecting
Increasingly folks are finding that the Internet is not so impersonal. In fact, it has resurrected the practice of lettering writing (email) both for personal and informational purposes. Those who regularly use email to stay in touch with others have found themselves sharing with each other in personal ways they never thought possible before. Indeed, many people will put in writing what they would never openly say, especially in the physical presence of a group (such as in Bible study). I find myself responding to the expressed personal needs of others, though their initial communication was originally for information purposes only. People are looking for ways to reach out and share.

UPDATE: The growth of "Instant Messaging" is particularly strong among young people. This simple free application let's others know when you're online and let's them send a message to you. When you create a "Buddy List" your instant messaging software immediately tells you which of your Buddies are online at that moment --and you can instantly type them a hello. Teens and elementary kids are all over this new technology. It's not uncommon in my household to see my youngest daughter "talking" with four or five friends on the screen. (It's not "chat" --only those with your address can connect with you). Sometimes they also have the phone going, and different groups of friends. One of my daughters has "created" a friendship with a girl from Sunday School whom she hardly knew, until they both learned each other's IM addresses. Sunday after church it's "I gotta get online and talk to Nikkie."

Several recent web and newspaper articles recently reported the phenomenon of middle aged women online playing Bingo. There are HUGE numbers of them doing it. While probably reticent to admit it, what this means is that GROWING NUMBERS of our older members are becoming Internet Fluent. This trend will continue.

Archiving
As an information and retrieval system, the Internet allows others to access information and files important to the operation of the church, as well as, the communication about the church. I regularly consult our Sunday morning lesson schedule which is posted at a website. I know I have that printed schedule "somewhere" in my stack of papers, but I know exactly where it is on the web.

Many pastors I know lament the "loss" of their sermons. They are preached and then discarded. Or they are printed in the newsletter only to get thrown away. A church website is an excellent place to post your "Best Of" sermons.

Ministry Resources
The Internet is the world's biggest library of information and source for products. Volunteers and staff involved in church work are bringing needed resource to each other's attention. Our church needed to buy an A-V cart. I emailed our C.E. chairperson a picture and details of the one I wanted to buy. We did not have to wait until Sunday to ask the pastor for a catalog.

The Internet is a burgeoning source of FREE ministry materials: articles on church growth, stewardship, mission opportunities, free Sunday School curriculum, sermon illustrations, clip-art, free mission resources, worship prayers, songs, and games, etc., etc. Take a look at www.rotation.org if you don't believe me. Or go to www.easumbandy.com and take in their articles on church change.

The Internet can help the church find local resources immediately. I recently went to our local Council on Aging's website after playing voicemail tag with their staff. I found what I needed and shared it with the family who needed it.

The Internet as a Place to Get Known in Your Community
 More and more, people are checking the Internet to investigate communities they are considering relocating to. They investigate the schools, read the local newspaper online, and look for "things to do" and places to worship online. Every church should have at least a one page website with a map and picture of smiling people. I've been asked why our church website lists the local movie theaters and links to the city and rubbish department. It's simple... people in ANY town often use the Internet to find local resources. For a very special article on developing a GOOD and inexpensive church website, visit www.sundaysoftware.com/webpage.htm

Spiritual Nurturing in a Busy World
Shepherds need ways to communicate and nurture their flock. Jesus sent out the 70 but had to wait until they came back to hear their report. Too bad he didn't have email, or a message board, -maybe he could have helped the disciples before they had to shake the dust from their sandals.

Written prayer requests, virtual prayer groups, daily or weekly virtual Bible studies –these are all worthy ways to supplement the congregation's needs when we are not gathered. It has been estimated by Barna Research that 20% of Internet searches/usage is of a spiritual nature. The people who are looking for answers won't always stop in the local church for them.

Now and in the near future, congregations will have greater numbers of Internet connected adults and young people who cannot get to church for worship and fellowship due to illness, travel, time constraints and physical limitations. The Internet can allow them to stay connected to the church through more than a pastor's weekly visit, phonecall or postcard. With the coming of broadband (and it's even feasible at 56k) members can participate in worship and study with us through an internet hook-up. All the church needs is a little know-how, $50 webcam, computer and net access and they can be "on the air." Rather than creating an impersonal distance, it can allow people to feel connected at a distance at a time in their life they need it most.

More than a third of all Americans who are connected to the Internet have used it to access religious and spiritual information, a recent Pew Research Center study shows. Moreover, there has been a significant increase in the daily use of the Internet to access religious information.

This compares with 40 percent of American Internet users who have searched the web for political information, and 66 percent who have sought health and medical data. But, while the number of these last two search categories increased 57 percent and 59 percent respectively between March 2000 and November 2002, what researchers call "religion surfers" almost doubled in number over the same period, from 18 million to 35 million -- an increase of 94 percent.

Expectations of the Current & Future Generation of Adults
Barna Research also indicates that over 50% of teens in the year 2000 use the Internet for personal communications between peers.  Each year the research indicates that people of all ages, but particularly those under 55 years of age, are using the Internet in increasing numbers as a communication and information tool. 91% of surveyed churches say email allows greater communications with their congregation; 63% say email helps them connect to their surrounding communities. (Pew Internet & American Life Project 2000)
(Update: The percentages continue to increase every year).

 

 Is this change good?

  • "The telephone has no direct practical application." --from an article appearing in The Telegrapher, the top technical journal of the late 1800's.
  • "IBM, RCA, and GE." --Three of the several companies which turned down Chester Carlton's invention of the photocopying machine.
  • "They're drunk on new wine." --What the nay-sayers said about the Disciples at Pentecost.
  • "Surely life was better in Egypt." --a former slave on the Exodus.

In every age the Church's challenge is to be open to new ways of speaking the old message (Acts 2)

 

Some things you can do right now to enhance your ministry with the Internet:
1. Create email directories so members can connect with each other. (Put it on the web)
2. Create email study/devotions that allow for feedback.
3. Create an email newsletter that reinforces but does not exactly repeat the church newsletter.
4. Create a simple website that archives essential documents: registration forms, worship schedules, teacher assignments, class schedules, committee meeting dates --and maintains an up-to-date calendar of activities (as far in the future as you can).
5. Provide links to all the mission programs your church is involved in.
6. Provide links to denominational and worthy ministry sites.
7. Put Bible study tools and recommendations on your website.
8. Create a message board for general use, committee use, to archive ideas, sermon feedback and solicit opinions.
9. Start a book club email list with link to your webpage about the select book (link to Amazon.com to buy it) and message board for people to respond to the leaders questions about it.
10. Create an online sermon group between pastors, or among your members. Collect their insights prior to writing the sermon.
11. Make part of your church website for non-members to learn more about your church and beliefs. Don't forget a map.
12. Start sending free Internet email greeting cards to your youth and children.
13. Start publishing interesting web links in your church newsletter about Christian ministries and articles on the web.

14. Sign up to get an Instant Messaging identity through either YahooMessenger or AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Ask the teens for their IM address and put it on your BUDDY LIST.

For those of you who don't know what a "Buddy List" is.... it's a list of other people's Instant Messenger identities that instantly tell you -via your IM software, that they are ONLINE when you are. If you're not sure what this is or how to do it, ask a teen to help you. You'll get message from youthgroup members (and maybe even adult members) who are online the same time you are.

14. Schedule Instant Messaging sessions. MANY teenagers "I.M." several times a week. It's become something of an obsession....but it's communication!
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 Youth Worker Magazine Interview Quentin Schulze (well-known author on the subject of the Internet and Christianity)

Youthworker's interview with Quentin Schulze © 2001 CCM Communications. Permission is granted to distribute Youthworker articles to other youth workers.

How do you see the growth of the Internet affecting youth ministry, specifically?

SCHULTZE: The Internet will have three major impacts on youth ministry:
First, in large cities, many youth workers meet regularly in network groups to discuss their work and to pray; but in medium-sized and smaller cities, youth workers tend to be less supported outside their own congregations because there are fewer peers around.
But with the ''Net, youth workers——who otherwise wouldn't be able to do so——are connecting across space and forging ministry-changing relationships with people they''ve never met——and that trend will increase. Also, with the Internet, new ministry techniques will travel more quickly from town to town and from country to country.

Second, youth workers are finding that the ''Net is the best imaginable source of information on youth culture trends. Before the Internet, there was essentially no place one could go to research the latest music or films or TV shows in a timely manner——and with some critical discourse. Most of the available cultural information was just one-way and consumer oriented.

But with the Internet, I think it''s far easier for youth workers to stay on top of youth culture. We still need companies like Youth Specialties, however, that organize directories to the best materials——that act as go-betweens. Because without intermediaries, the Web becomes overkill. There''s just too much information.

The final impact has seen the least development——but it has increasing potential: Youth workers will, more and more, organize communication among youth group members to facilitate discussion, prayer, and help——anytime of the day or night.

Most people know that youths are most active and open later in the evening and at night——after the hours that most adults would be awake! But most kids aren''t allowed to hang out with each other late into the night, every day of the week. However, with the Internet, this sort of activity is possible. In the future, youth group can be an around-the-clock activity——not at all like the contrived schedules of the church. For kids who''re part of these online youth groups, it will be almost as if they can live in a never-ending retreat——sharing and caring for each other in cyberspace. It''s a spiritual gold mine of opportunity!

In fact the ''Net has become a huge part of my ministry as a Christian college teacher. I''m communicating personally with students regarding life-changing matters every day. That doesn''t mean that I don''t meet face to face——but the ''Net does provide open doors to deeper connections. Kids will initiate online discussions that they''re too embarrassed to initiate in person.

So kids who are not as outgoing or gregarious might do better communicating on the Internet?

SCHULTZE: Yes, those who are a little shy——but possess some literary flair and a good sense of humor——can do well. For example, when I start a new class, I identify students who''re reluctant to speak and initiate online communication with them. Because if I encourage them online, they become more and more likely to participate in person.


Neil MacQueen is a Presbyterian minister and president of Sunday Software

Permission granted to use this article for non-commercial teaching and training purposes only provided its source is cited: www.sundaysoftware.com