Technology’s Modernizing the Church Experience says AT&T Survey

For hundreds of years, the Black church consisted of people of color congregating in a reasonably-sized building, listening to a large church choir sing old hymns, and glancing at the Good Book while listening to the preacher. Sunday services of today have completely transformed from that of yesteryear, and that’s all thanks to technology.

Walking into a modern church today is a drastically different experience from even 10 years ago. Many places of worship are deemed ‘mega-churches’ due to their enormous size and ability to carry tens of thousands of worshipers. Other churches have coffee bars; flat-screen televisions that display Bible verses, church information, and a live view of the preacher; and smaller church choirs that sing contemporary Christian songs.

AT&T’s Inspired Mobility Research Report indicates that technology is affecting the church experience in an even bigger way. The corporation’s recent survey found that 41 percent of participants said they connect with faith-based organizations or inspirational websites using their cellphones, laptops or tablets — compared to 32 percent who said they attend church regularly, and 25 percent who said using a mobile device is a part of their regular worship experience. Black worshipers were found to be most likely to use tech items for religious purposes, with 57 percent using this method.

No one would understand this shift from traditional worship to nontraditional better than tech expert Jason Caston. He launched The iChurch Method, a platform that helps churches keep their followers connected through digital means, whether it be streaming church services or viewing information and encouraging words on Facebook and other social media sites. Caston has gained additional knowledge on this subject as the digital lead at T.D. Jakes’ megachurch, The Potter’s House.

“Here at The Potter’s House, we’re looking at it like this: there’s a message, and there’s a method,” said Caston, who has worked with about 2,500 churches on building their digital platform. “We know the message that the pastor’s preaching is timeless and it stays the same. But the method is continually evolving. So we know the pastor’s not preaching from stone tablets or parchments or scrolls and stuff. If you’re trying to get your message to as many people as possible, you have to have a diversified method in the way you’re presenting that.”

Click here to read the rest of the article by Kacie Whaley on Rolling Out

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