I currently work for one of the world’s top 10 (but high up that list) outsourcing companies and I still struggle to see – other than cost savings – why any compnay would go for it.

As to ministries …. and here I’m thinking church, then no, it’s a bad idea.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by churchinfotech: Posted Earlier: Offshoring Ministry IT Services? http://dlvr.it/KpWT...

Call me old school, but I think there needs to be a general understanding of the local picture. (And, sorry, but India isn’t the same as Anytown, USA.)

There’s a place for this type of thing, but I think the local church would benefit more from local IT than ulta-long distance.

I’ve personally used several outsourcing platforms to find freelancers to do work:
http://www.essistme.com/2009/12/07/outsource-your-work-with-freelancers/

Even a virtual assistant is easy to find using these marketplaces — bonus is when you find Xtian freelancers to help you with the Kingdom work!

I’ve also been in a church where offshore freelancers were used to follow-up with hundreds of volunteers in executing events – reminders, notices, post-event calls, and more.

One of my latest neat little projects — I found an eastern european coder to help me build out this little project: http://godvertiser.com/2009/12/10/stop-searching-the-bible-go-straight-to-the-truth/

It’s not strictly a church project, just one of my own, but related nonetheless.

Kenny Jahng
http://www.Godvertiser.com

p.s. I want to challenge your label for “off shore” — there’s tons of “domestic” freelancers out there ready, willing and able to compete in the same marketplace. Many times, finding a domestic freelancer can provide legal benefits, reduce friction based on language / communication issues, cultural understanding for nuances, especially regarding design, writing projects, etc.