Technology can accelerate the speed of relationships. Instead of missing a choir director’s birthday or forgetting an usher had surgery, technology puts that information at your fingertips. This enables you to extend your reach and alleviate headaches. What do we mean by that? Glad you asked. According to the latest resource, Managing Relationships with Technology, by putting information in one place, your team has access to what’s going on. It’s like having an up-to-date pulse on people you care about in your congregation/small group/Sunday school class, etc. So you can then be ready to talk, listen, serve, engage, and disciple.
Reach more people with fewer people.
Technology is a massive asset for teams. It’s like a 24/7/365 staff member managing and delivering key information when you need it. A strong tech system means you can better build more relationships with a smaller staff. No more having to remember what happened to who and when.
No one feels left out.
Church should feel like home for everyone. One way this happens is by celebrating with people on special days. And then also grieving and walking through life together in the tough moments. By using a tool like a ChMS to manage all of this information, you ensure everyone feels connected and is engaged.
You build a stronger community.
Community is the result of connections. Focus on relationships and community growth. Tech assists by managing the details so you focus more on the people. As the sense of community grows, your church gets stronger.
Here’s the thing, when you have a lot of people walking into your church this fall and for the holidays, your heart and the intent of your congregation is to get to know them, embrace them, love them, disciple them, challenge them, and do life with them. Pew research reports that “Most online worshippers say that after COVID-19 has passed, they plan to revert to their pre-pandemic habits. Or watch online less often than they did before the outbreak. ” So people do intend on gathering face to face again, and we need to be prepared for How to Get People to Come to Church After the Pandemic on every front. The formula to help you do this, and to do it well, is to utilize your technology so that you can engage and build a relationship with them.
One way to do this was featured in a previous blog, Managing Relationships With Technology- Connecting With People, “Your ChMS tool should allow flexibility to customize profiles” and this is critical as you want to be able to stay in the know with your people. Who they are? Who they’re kin to? And how they’re involved in the life of the church. This one thing can alleviate a ton of headaches and the embarrassing need to insert a foot into the mouth.
We’ve all been there. Being able to access the information so readily found in our hands, thanks to technology, enables us to speak to people with confidence as the data is current, and with the right ChMS you can even add notes after your encounter. Furthermore, Managing Relationships With Technology- Using it Effectively called us into direct accountability with this statement, “We are called to be world changers, which means we are transforming and this evolving also needs to include the tools we use to reach and engage people.”
So let’s let that sink in for a minute. Life is constantly changing and we are rising to the occasion over and again. The Gospel Message hasn’t changed, as the work on the Cross and the Resurrection is finished. How we are able to share the Good News has changed. How we can forge relationships in the church to be stronger is also changing with the power of technology.
For a little technology perspective and example, our son is the enthusiastic type who waits in line for hours (and even overnight!) for the new phone and will research the ins and outs of the technology and software to share with the family. My wife, on the other hand, is not a fan of updating the software on her phone or even purchasing a new one. She absolutely dreads familiarizing herself with the “new way” and updating all the apps and passwords etc.. Not because she doesn’t appreciate the latest and greatest, but because it takes time away from doing something else. Alas, she does update and/or trade-up as she knows it’s the next best decision to make her communications more effective. Aand she wants to remain engaged with those in whom she’s invested.
I’d like to encourage us all to be a bit more like our son out of the gate- he’s eager and enthusiastic about communication and views the technology in hand to be a building block. As a church, we are compelled to share the Message with those we meet. Let us be equally driven to build a relationship with them in new ways that may appear to some as cold or distant, but are in fact warming us up to be connected. An electric lamp may look pretty on the end table. But it doesn’t fulfill its true mission unless it’s plugged in… and look at how it shines when it’s activated! Let’s choose to plug in, connect and shine!
Relationships are critical to a healthy church. In larger churches, though, it’s hard to stay connected. Technology can accelerate the speed of lasting relationships. This new resource, Managing Relationships with Technology, demonstrates how technology is your best team member for managing more relationships. And, to make it even easier and so you don’t miss any of our Church Growth Resources, you can also receive our ministry blog posts straight to your inbox!
As the Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Robert provides strategic vision and leads the team that designs, develops, and maintains products for our ministry partners. He has led product development and engineering in multiple industries. Robert has also worked in operations and business development, which keeps him focused on understanding and solving clients’ problems. With over 30 years of experience, Robert is excited to combine his faith and career at ACS Technologies. Robert and his family are active members of Aldersgate UMC in Greenville, SC.
