Now That I Have The Chance, What Will I Say?
Posted on September 13, 2008
I have been writing this blog for nearly 4 years now, which is amazing to me. I didn’t start this with big ideas of having something that lasts. It was just kind of an experiment and I didn’t know of anyone else doing what I was doing in the church. I wanted to learn how to do church IT the right way because I didn’t know much about what I was doing. All I knew was God had given me a heart to equip the church to effectively use technology to reach people for Christ and I really didn’t have a clue beyond that on how to get this done.
Much of what I have done has been behind the scenes and under the radar and at times I have been so under the radar that people didn’t know there were problems and that they were fixed. Really, that’s a sweet place to be, keeping things moving forward and functioning without being noticed. But I have been so unnoticed that the role was not deemed as important or necessary.
Lately, at my current church, Fairview Christian Church, I have been in a much more visible place, overseeing the activities in the sound booth, primarily video, presentation and lighting. That’s fine, but in doing this, I have neglected some other things or just done things well enough to get by. Over the summer, I have wrestled with this and contemplated stepping back from the sound booth to allow me to focus my attention in other areas.
For now, here is what I have concluded, I am continuing my role on Sunday morning but stepping back slightly. I am shifting back to the IT side of things, which is specifically, the server, network and desktops. I need to give some attention to the many computers across the church and become more deliberate in equipping other leaders to use tech effectively. There are still some unanswered questions for me, but I have everything resolved enough to know where I need to be.
In this process of soul searching, I have concluded that the tech ministry does not get represented well or accurately to the church leadership. I decided I would like to present to the elders what the tech ministry is doing and the many ways we are impacting various ministries of the church, probably on a regular basis.
Last Sunday, I happened to be talking with one of the elders and I mentioned that I would love to have a chance to share some things in an elder meeting. He thought that was a great idea. The other day, I got a call from the pastor stating they could give me some time this next Monday evening to talk about the tech ministry, which is awesome.
Now, I’ve got to figure out what I want to say. I defintely want to give the many people involved a mention, some are not noticed or obvious. Beyond that, I need to figure out how to fill about 10-15 minutes. I don’t want to ramble and seem pointless and I want to make it known that it’s not just a few people playing around. I need to leave these men with a point and I want to walk out of there with them feeling like this really is a necessary and valuable ministry.
I feel like the point that I need to conclude with is the idea that I have lived with for over 4 years: Equipping the church to effectively use technology to reach people for Christ. Everything I say needs to point to that and the way I represent this ministry needs to conclude with the fact that the heart that I have and the way that I lead this ministry is to equip the church to effectively use technology.
The question is this: What tangible things can I offer to represent this ministry in the best possible light and end with a point that sticks? I was just listening to Andy Stanley from Catalyst last year, and he asked the question: What do you do when it dawns on you that you are the most important person in the room? That’s where I feel like I will be for those few minutes on Monday night.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas.
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5 Responses to “Now That I Have The Chance, What Will I Say?”
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I have though a lot about this subject. I run some of the basic tech for my church (servers/phone system/etc.) I have had thoughts to myself to building a real tech ministry at my church.
I think being in tech gives us a unique way to help others to Christ’s. The church I am going to has a purpose to show God’s love in a practical way, and that statement of theirs has resonated with me.
Here are some of the things I think a tech ministry can do (I hope this is some of what you are looking for):
The obvious — help maintain and suggest tech needs to the church. Keep up and building the abilities for other ministries to reach out.
Give classes, explain tech to church members, so they can make informed decisions about tech. To this end I tech begin computer classes explaining about computers. This includes basic operating system stuff, terminology (MB,GB, internet,networking,etc..), How to reach out, legal and not-legal coping of stuff on the net, etc.
Reach out to the poor. We can help train people to use computers and various basic programs which can help people get jobs or get better positions.
Donate refurbished tech, to those that need it. It is hard to get though school these days with out a computer.
Setup and support net gaming night for teens.
Can help setup computer/network with thin clients for schools.
I hope these ideas help, get practical about what you can do. We can spread God’s love with our talents.
If I have gone the wrong direction let me know and I can help brain storm in the direction that you want. This topic is dear to my heart.
1. Encourage people, as Jesus says: “Don’t be afraid” (to technology that runs so fast)
2. Encourage people to “Know more to love more”
3. Use the same tools used by satan bringing people to hell for sake of the Kingdom of God. The tools are neutral. But the sons of the darkness know more to utilize it.
If you want to make a point that sticks, try showing them “why” your minister is important. Get some techies together and orchestrate a meltdown at the beginning of your talk.
* Your powerpoint keeps flipping slides by itself.
* Your display screen starts out backwards then upside down then oddly tinted green.
* BSOD right in the middle of the intro!
Then reveal that everything was completely planned and that this is the reason tech ministry matters. If any of this happened during the middle of a service, your congregants would be completely distracted and your visitors would probably be first-time only.
One way or the other, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Just open your heart and let them know your passion!
–
Avery W. Krouse
Visual Worship Designer
GraceWorks Church, Chattanooga, TN
If I remember Andy’s talk correctly, the thing Jesus did was to serve those in the room. His physical/”social” act of sacrifice was just a prelude to the spiritual sacrifice he would communicate to them a few minutes later.
So how can you serve your elders?
Wow…what a great opportunity, and a daunting one at that.
I was thinking something similar to what Wayne listed above. In your talk/presentation, demonstrate how the Tech Ministry complements and serves the ministry needs of the church and church leadership. I am convinced that people will only support new ministries (or even slightly modified old ones) if they can see and understand exactly what that ministry is doing and accomplishing. Education is key. Perhaps the leaders need just that, an education (given with respect) on 3 basic points:
1. Where the ministry started from (history)
2. What the ministry is doing today (present)
3. What are the plans/vision for the ministry going forward (future)
I truly hope all these ideas help.