Church Technology Communicator Shares Challenges, Successes

Several weeks ago, I put a call out on Twitter to interview anyone who deals with church technology and communication at their church. My idea was to interview a “regular joe” so-to-speak who is managing the day-to-day technology and communication needs of a church.

That said, I had the pleasure of interviewing Will Lee, the director of Discipleship Ministries and Communication for Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church in Suffolk, Virginia. Perhaps you will find that you are not alone in some of your challenges and successes.

I would love to hear from more of my readers to find out what your unique challenges are and how my site can assist in expanding and improving what God has called you to do through technology.

That said, here’s what Will had to share with you all:

What are your biggest technology challenges?

For us, our biggest challenge is that we don't live in a high-tech area. We have to reach a community that is both very tech-savvy and not tech-savvy at all. Some of our members have iPads and iPhones and their own websites, while others don't even use email. Knowing how to reach them is one challenge; learning how to value one another is the other side of that coin as well.

What are the technology successes you've had so far in your ministry?

My first project as Director of  Communication two years ago was to redesign our church website. The original site was…let's just say it needed updating. I chose Gutensite to design and host our new site because of their beautiful custom designs, amazing CMS, and outstanding customer service. Not to mention, the price was very reasonable.

In addition to the site redesign, we've established a good Facebook presence and have experimented with some other technologies as well.

What type of church software do you use? Do you use this on a daily basis? How?

We currently use a desktop church management software solution, but we're considering a change. We're considering a move to a more cloud-based solution that is super user friendly.

Who manages your church's communication (email, text, mail, etc.) and church website?

As Director of Communication, I oversee all of our communication tools, including setting vision and strategy for communications. I have several volunteers that help out as well.

What is your church's overall philosophy for how it views technology as a way to further ministry?

We understand technology to be tools that we use and that shape us. Technology is not neutral; it is a very life and value shaping thing. We wrestle constantly with the tension between using the tools well and not being shaped in unhealthy ways by those tools. We want to be willing to embrace new technology without being ruled by it.

Thanks to Will for his candor about his church's technology use. I’m sure that each of you have specific challenges and can relate to what Will shared in some way.

If you’d like to take a moment to share with us what your unique challenges (or successes) are, we would love reading about your ministry! If you’d like to nominate yourself to be interviewed for a full article on ChurchTechToday, please email me: lauren@churchtechtoday.com.

Lauren Hunter is a freelance writer, church technology PR consultant (http://lhpr.net) and founder of the blog ChurchTechToday (https://churchtechtoday.com), Technology for Today’s Church.