7 Ways Technology Supports Discipleship

Everyone believes that ministry is about people. However, the challenge for those naturally inclined to leverage and utilize technology is getting others to value the difference it can make in the way we reach people. The last time I checked, there were very few seminary classes on technology, especially how to use technology to make better ministry decisions.

The truth is that technology can make a difference in every area of your church, from children’s ministry to senior adults. Today, I wanted to highlight one specific area of ministry… discipleship.

Whether you’re a pastor trying to understand the difference technology can make or technology-minded church leader trying to communicate the impact technology can have on improving your ministry, here are seven ways that technology can support your church’s discipleship efforts:

1) It creates a system to inform or validate your ministry decisions.

Following your gut is not always the best strategy for success. Technology enables us to make better decisions about your ministry decisions because it enables leaders to find ways to measure what’s working and what isn’t.

2) It helps define and measure every level of member engagement.

You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Technology enables leaders to define the key areas of member engagement and measure the engagement levels of their members within each area.

3) It identifies the gifts of each member.

Technology enables you to easily record what you learn about your members. You can capture their interests and unique gifts, and find ways to build a relationship around the things which make them unique. This is the secret to “winning” with assimilation.

4) It tracks human interaction to deliver a personal touch.

Technology empowers leaders to see what we didn’t even know was there. It’s impossible for you to know everything that’s going on in your church, whether people are giving, volunteering, or leaving without having the right technology in place.

5) It captures the evidence of cultivation.

Technology gives church leaders the information they need to challenge others to take the next step of commitment. We can’t intuitively manage hundreds or thousands of members. We have to depend on the data we are (or should be) capturing through our technology.

6) It reveals historical data to advise future encounters.

Communication is absolutely critical to building community and fostering discipleship. Technology helps you identify the communication preference of each individual member, allowing you to get your message across more effectively.

7) It validates personnel and program investments through evaluated results.

Numbers, data, and research can change the game of ministry funding and ministry leadership. Technology gives us a tool to demonstrate a ministry “return on investment” to the member who decides to “invest” in your church.

You can learn more about how technology can enhance discipleship by downloading “Getting Disciple Making Right” offered by Church Community Builder and evaluating your church’s disciple-making strategy through the intensive questions in the eBook.