Igniting a Digital Revolution

Can you think back 20, 30, or maybe 40 years and recall when your church was drastically different than it is now? Do you remember packed pews and what seemed like hundreds of children invading the church? Do you remember when your church bus was used for more than decorating the parking lot? Over the past 40 years, church attendance in America has dropped by 50% and 3,500-4,000 churches close their doors each year (Source: Keeping God in America). Many churches are struggling, dying, or dead.

Recently, we've discussed why your church may need a digital revolution to help bring the life back. I want to offer two quick suggestions on how to go digital now. Both of these topics have already been covered in previous weeks. This is where we put it all together.

Now it's time to act.


Sermon Downloads
The easiest, by far, is adding your sermons to a digital download website. Sermon Audio, Sermon Central, and Sermon Cloud are all great options. Chances are that you already record your sermons each week. If you don't, check out this simple guide for recording your sermons. From there, it's not too difficult to upload your sermons to the internet. I already covered how to upload your sermons a few weeks ago.

It's quick, it's simple, and can nearly double your ministry. While this alone may not bring the life back to your actual church, informing your congregation about this new ministry can be exciting. Especially if you give them a monthly wrap-up letting them know in which of the various countries your church messages have been downloaded.

Service Powerpoints
This is the best way to improve your services digitally. It increases attention during the sermon, it enhances retention after the sermon, and it entertains before the service (with trivia questions or something to look at). There is no reason why you shouldn't be using Powerpoint in your services. Finances are not an excuse. Trust me, it will be the best investment your church ever made.

We've discussed setup, what to do, how to do it, and even provided you with some starter slides free for download. Using Powerpoint is guaranteed to create excitement, enhance Biblical understanding, and (probably) increase visitor returns. I say probably on the last one because I haven't been able to study it yet, but I know the first two are tried and tested guaranteed results (speaking from personal experience).


Summary
What I can reassure you about church attendance is that if your people are excited about your services they will tell other people about it. When they tell people, more people will visit. If visitors like what they see, chances are they'll return.

Will the excitement last? If you mean brimming at the top, jumping up and down excitement over Powerpoint or sermon downloads, then no. It will be exciting the first few months, and then they'll get used to it. But if you mean happiness, enjoyment, and, best of all, greater learning, then yes, the excitement will last. Did you follow all my commas in that last sentence? I'm not even sure I did, and I wrote it.

Is this even your problem solver? As I discussed in Monday's article, lack of digital technology may not be the only problem you need to work through, but it will certainly not hurt your situation. Unless you consider greater understanding of your sermons harmful. Did I mention that enough?

Bottom Line: Technology, when used properly, will boost Biblical understanding.


You can't afford to let another week slip by without beginning to act on this. I'm not telling you to have everything setup by Sunday. But at least get a plan of action started as soon as possible. Purpose to start uploading your sermons to the internet within two weeks and to have a projector within a month.

Not a pastor? Share this with your pastor, tell him you think this would be a good idea, even, dare I say it, volunteer to help set it all up for him. Your pastor has too much to do as it is, help him out and get the wheels turning today.

Posted in: Identity