QR codes are being used in ads and conferences; you can even get a personal QR code.
How can the church leverage this technology to advance the Gospel and grow the church?
Brad Miller, from Christian Computing Magazine, had some great ideas for QR code use:
- In a bulletin
- Send users to an online poll
- Push users to an online sign-up page for volunteer opportunities
- Online donations
- Download sermon notes and discussion questions
- Online event calendars – with ICS (calendar) you can download or subscribe via your smartphone and it can be updated by the church
These are some great ideas.
The idea of dropping a QR code into a church bulletin has a huge potential. Considering this can launch users into online content, the QR destination is unlimited. Let your imagination run wild with that idea.
I also like the idea of linking to polls, sermon notes and discussion questions. Imagine starting a sermon or talk with a QR poll question, and giving the results following or during the presentation. This would certainly add a new dynamic to preaching and teaching.
I know of many churches that are fighting smartphones. They ask everyone to please turn-off all devices to “focus on the Lord”. What they really mean is, “focus on the person”. I get it. I understand the motivation behind this request. They want the audience to focus on the message. Let’s not confuse staring with listening. Why not embrace smartphone use instead of fighting it?
WWJD?
When Jesus was teaching the masses, those attending the service had their devices interrupting the service. Mind you, they all had their devices on vibrate, so it wasn’t a distracting for those around them, necessarily, but it was certainly interrupting the audiences focus: The message.
So, what did Jesus do?
He worked a miracle and fed them. Their stomaches had been periodically vibrating, and need to be tended to. Jesus enhanced His ministry by embracing their nagging hunger. Churches, today, have the potential to enhance their ministry by embracing the technology surrounding them.
This analogy is a tad of a stretch, I suppose, comparing smartphone use with hunger; however, I believe the church would make a lot more progress in teaching and spreading the Gospel by using technology instead of fighting it.
Speak your mind...