From our smart watches to predictions of self-driving cars, we live in a brave new world of technology these days and the
church will not be left behind. If you think back over a three year period you can start to make your own list of ways your life has changed because of technology. Technology creeps into our daily routine almost unnoticed.
A recent survey published by the UM Daily Digest (February 5) reports that United Methodist clergy ranked high in their use of technology. Pastors and leaders match or exceed U.S. adoption rates on 8 of the 15 emerging technology categories tested, including viewing videos on YouTube, accessing the Internet on their mobile phones, using mobile apps, podcasts, LinkedIn, uploading videos to YouTube, using Pinterest and Twitter. 57 percent say they actually feel lost without their cell phones.
Our annual conference is also adapting and adopting new ways of using technology to close the gap between the local church and the conference. Some of this work, such as our weekly eNews, Facebook page and twitter account (@umcnic) are highly visible as our Director of Communications, Anne Marie Gerhardt works to keep us “in the know.”
Other uses of technology are less visible but equally important in our partnership. The 2015 church conference forms were transmitted electronically for the first time this past year and feedback has been good on the convenience and economy of this upgrade.
This winter, church pastors and staff were invited to update leadership information directly into the conference database through a portal, minimizing the risk of faulty data and creating a one-step process. This gave the church a hands-on role in providing important points of connection between the church and annual conference. Charge conference forms also were made available to fill in and submit through our website.
For a few years now local church statistical reports have been submitted online and if you go to www.UMData.org you can now view 10 years of statistics for any church in the United States, including all our Northern Illinois Conference congregations. The information you submit is utilized! This year we continue to perfect the online registration system for District and Conference events, making it more convenient for you to register.
So what’s on the horizon? Watch for details of coming shifts in our use of technology over the next year including clergy
umcnic.org email addresses and an electronic file system that will provide web based storage of files and provide easier access
to materials.
The UM Daily Digest survey went on to say that compared to 2013, church use of digital communications has become more universal. 79 percent have Facebook pages, 49 percent have mobile-enabled websites, 48 percent use text messaging, 40 percent use YouTube and 30 percent use Twitter. Approximately 30 percent of churches provide members with the ability to donate electronically. And 71 percent of pastors said their church uses computer projection equipment.
Technology is “creeping” into our daily lives and into the church world in ways that enhance our witness and expand
our mission.
(https://www.umcnic.org/did-you-know-technology-creeps/)