This is an open letter.
An open letter to all of those that are Church IT, or what I like to call, Church Technologists.
- When the Church needs to fix or install an LAN, you are there.
- When the Church needs a projection system installed, you are there.
- When the Church needs anything done that requires more knowledge than programming a VCR (yes, plenty of Churches still have VCRs), you are there.
Dear Church Technologists, ChurchMag is here for you!
As I began to stack-up the posts for ChurchMag, today, Church IT was heavy on my mind.
- What is really helpful for these under appreciated labors of Christ?
- What does the Church Technologist of a typical, non-mega-Church find useful?
- What is the greatest need?
- What is the biggest obstacle?
I could ask one or some of those I know personally, but I would like a broader picture. A deeper look.
So then, please tell me:
What is your greatest need?
What is your biggest obstacle?
[Image via lastbeats]
George says
I have to say funding… they want everything but don’t want to pay for 🙂
IT just does happen for pennies…
Eric Dye says
I hear this a lot. :-/
James Cooper says
Oh ‘Church Technologist’ – like that. I’m normally ‘the church geek’!
I guess the biggest thing for me is that I’m the only person in the church who get’s the call… Having another church geek would be a real help.
On the good side, simple tools like dropbox have really changed how the church leadership works, which is cool! I’m trying to get them using yammer next 🙂
Eric Dye says
That’s awesome!
I know what you mean, it’s nice to have a team of Church Technologists, instead of having to run solo.
Jerry McNamara says
Biggest Need?? Wow, Where To Start?
1) Reviews comparing tech side by side–church presentation products including new SAAS offering from Logos (a nice starter project) would be awesome. My time is so limited, I’d like to speed up evaluation.
2) Tips for training team members–are there online resources, etc. Some of us have been “doing” so long, we aren’t necessarily the best trainers because we just do it.
3) Do a case study once in a while. Church X had systems a, c, e in three ministry areas of youth, children’s and main sanctuary; here’s how we go them integrated.
4) Cheap(er) solutions for some tech problems that could help start-ups or those trying to extend tech to new ministry areas. Example: show me, Mr. mid-church tech guy, inexpensive ways that I could use online video conferencing for training of say, small group leaders. I would love to not have to invent or research everything. I certainly can’t read every blog, so maybe have a weekly post of aggregating tips and shortcuts you find.
Eric Dye says
Great stuff!!!
Michael E. says
Honestly, at this moment, demystifying the the 40 boZILLION server models and configurations would be great. I think I know what software I want to use (Server Essentials 2011), but trying to actually get it on a box that isn’t going to cost me 5K is super difficult.
Run it on a Mac mini server under Boot Camp, go with an unknown like Acers new AC100, or go with one of the old standbys of the PC realm (HP, Dell), still wanting you to put together a server with dedicated 24/7 support staff, which we all know a church doesn’t have? It’s enough to make me drink my Kool-Aid with a little something extra in it.
Eric Dye says
Word.
It sounds like a outsourced solution might be a good idea?
Peter says
Those are some really great questions Eric and I’m glad that you posed it to the community here at Churchm.ag. Here is my humble opinion, coming from an IT Manager of what many define as a “Mega Church”:
What is the greatest need?
We need more Spirit-filled followers of Christ who are willing to do what the Lord is calling them to do. Even with the size of a congregation that has thousands of people, you would think that there wouldn’t be a lack of volunteers. However, there is a huge need for people to serve the Kingdom of God and to be obedient to the Lord’s calling in their life.
Many are called but few are chosen. The work of the ministry unfortunately is carried out by a select group of disciples who have been touched by God and want to give back to Him while many others continue to sit in the pew and are mere spectators.
What’s the solution?
In my opinion, I think that we need to preach more on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When we give people an opportunity to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (which is a whole other topic in itself), then they will be moved and empowered to do the work that the Lord is calling them to do.
Eric Dye says
Thanks for sharing, Peter. Great stuff, here.
Mark says
My biggest challenge is firewalls.
I’m the unpaid volunteer who does all the IT. I had the pleasure of re-designing the whole IT infrastructure which involved stripping it all back for the move in to our new building!
The big plan was to do away with the crappy slow and expensive servers we used before. I moved us over to Google Apps thus doing away with the mail server and the file server was replaced with the simplicity of dropbox and a NAS.
There are only 3 paid members of staff but we’ve rigged the building with 4 Wireless Access points and here starts the prob.
I know that with our firewall I can create a virtual network for the office thus allowing the congregation access to the web through the Access Points without accessing the office network. Sadly I have absolutely no idea how to configure the thing for this.
I just managed to set it up to pass the internet traffic through but that was a challenge.
Firelwalls are a monster in their own right!
Eric Dye says
I love hearing this nitty-gritty, stuff. If you have helpful stuff you would like to share with the ChurchMag community, don’t hesitate to guest post for us!