My Thoughts on Computers in the Church

As a local church pastor I have been a career long advocate for the use of technology in the local church. From the inception of my ministry, I have used computers. At first, it was just to print bulletins each Sunday. However, as the years passed by and the computers and software continued to improve, I found more and more ways that I could wed my vocation with my fascination with technology.

Here’s a run down of the computers I have purchased for my own use over the years:

• Commodore 64
• Commodore 128
• PC based XT with 16 KB RAM and 10 MB hard drive
• PC Based 486 SX with 32 KB RAM and a 20 MB Hard Drive
• PC Based Pentium 2 733 Mhz with 128 kb RAM and a 40 GB Hard Drive
• PC based Celeron D with  256 kb RAm and 80 GB Hard Drive
• PC Based Celron D with 512 kb RAM and 120 GB Hard Drive
• I have also purchased various other systems for churches I have served.

As you can see, there has been a progression of size and speed over the years. You might also note that none of these machines have been top of the line machines that would amaze avid computer enthusiasts. Most local church boards are not impressed with avid computer enthusiasts. They simply want a work horse that will get the job done and don’t want a lot of extra bells and whistles. Similarly, on a pastor’s salary, purchasing the top of the line system is not something that has been possible.

What I have discovered, though, is that I can more effectively utilize my time if I use the technology that is available. For instance, for pastors that do not have a secretary, and in my ministry that has been the case, the mundane week to week task of bulltin creation can become a mjor time consumer if you have to use a typewriter. With a computer and a word processor, it’s simply a matter of bringing up a copy of last week’s bulletin, changing the elements such as hymns, scriptures, sermon title, etc. and then hitting the print button. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel each and every week!

This web site is designed to help pastors and churches think about technology and its place in the local church. From hearing my stories, maybe you will be inspired to try something of a similar nature in your local church. If you read about something that you need more information on, then please contact me.

This entry was posted on November 6, 2006 at 10:25 am and is filed under The Pastor's View. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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