Technology & The Church

A friend of mine serves a church where all communication is through electronic means like e-mail newsletters.  They are a much younger congregation than most United Methodist churches which is why they have gone this direction, plus it saves a lot of mailing costs for the church.

We provide an option for church members where people can receive it electronically or by postal mail.  Some people like to receive both. 

The latest United Methodist technology survey (see below) offers a breakdown of age groupings within our denomination and technology preferences.  As you would expect, the younger the generation, the more likely they are wanting electronic forms of communication, but the use of technology continues to increase among all age groupings which poses exciting opportunities as well as challenges for the church.

Even with these findings, it's easy to stumble across exceptions to the rule.  I was sitting next to a 96 year old lady during a church luncheon and she was telling me about her family members, many of whom live outside of the area.  They bought her an I-Pad so that she can stay in communication with them.  In additions to their visits, she receives photos and messages from them on a daily/weekly basis to help her keep stay in touch.  She is probably our oldest member who is on our church's Facebook page!  She went on to tell me that she enjoys playing crossword puzzles on her I-Pad to keep her mind sharp.  Good for her!

This past Saturday, during our annual Eggstravaganza Easter Egg hunt, hundreds of children gathered in our Crossroads facility to watch our magic ministry team offer a performance on the good news of the resurrection story and the empty tomb.  As I watched this awesome presentation, I whispered a prayer of gratitude to God for these new ways of communicating to the children and families of our community, many of whom are unchurched.

Technology is a tool that we can use in many different ways to help us in living out our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. 

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United Methodist Emerging Technology Survey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 20, 2012

United Methodist Emerging Technology Survey

Nashville, Tenn.: While most younger people in the church are immersed in new technology, many older members are also jumping on the bandwagon. That’s according to a new study conducted by United Methodist Communications that tracks how United Methodists are adopting and using new technology.

The purpose of the United Methodist Emerging Technology Survey was to help determine the need to broaden the use of certain new technologies in order to reach members and seekers. The survey found younger members are busy texting, watching videos and socializing online, and older members are making progress in technology use, though they still have some catching up to do before the same digital tools are integrated into their daily lives.

According to the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications, the survey reveals a different conversation going on between younger digital natives and older digital immigrants.“We inhabit different worlds depending on when we came to the digital terrain,” Hollon said. “Digital immigrants are people like me who were born before the Internet, while digital natives are younger persons who have experienced broadband access and cell phone use as a part of their everyday life from birth.”

Findings from the survey include:

• The old and young are fans of Facebook. In the last two years, Facebook use among United Methodist members went from 43 to 63 percent among older members. Among 25-34 year-olds, its usage increased from 83 to 95 percent, and 84 percent of 35-44 year-olds, up from 65 percent.
• Older adults are discovering that texting is a pretty handy means of communications. Usage of texting by adults 35 and older increased from 49 percent in 2009 to 63 percent. Other than the use of apps, which was just beginning at the time of the earlier study, texting and Facebook are the only new technologies garnering increased usage by older adults.
• Younger adults in the church are still way ahead on technologies like mobile apps, Twitter, Yammer, blogging and YouTube. Responses from adults over 35 show little or no growth in the use of Twitter, blogging and YouTube.
• Owning smartphones also seem to be a function of age. Among adults 25-34, 82 percent own a smartphone compared to the 66 percent of those 35-44 and 44 percent of older United Methodists.

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