1. What seemed to work and what didn’t?
The particular church I visited and evaluated seemed to be quite simple in terms of a 21st century church. So what worked? The obvious of what worked was the projector and screen. There were no problems with it at all, and it wasn't distracting either. I noticed that the lighting seemed to work very well too. Although the lighting was nothing more than lights on the ceiling that were controlled by knobs in the back and lights behind the stage that pointed up, it seemed to be very easily managed and created a relaxing atmosphere that didn't seem to be overproduced at all. Another technology I noticed that worked well was the seating. The seats were very comfortable and again added to the relaxing atmosphere that seemed to be very intentional.
So what didn't work? The sound was very outdated and mediocre in my opinion. There 2 small speakers mounted to the ceiling in the front that were not very high quality. I also noticed that there was no subwoofer in the room, which I found very odd for this day in age. In addition to this, I moseyed to the back where the sound board was and took a glance at it and could immediately tell that it was outdated. I could without a doubt notice there were sound issues as the vocals were hard to hear during the worship. Overall though, there was a simplicity about the service and the technology that I personally enjoyed (even though I would work on a few things).
2. Did technology ever get
in the way?
Again, the sound problem got in the way a few times. As I mentioned earlier, the vocals during worship were a bit rough to hear along with the pastor if you were to sit in the very back of the church (even though it was a quite small church). Also, there was no offering basket passed around, there was only a simple wooden box placed by the door in the back of the sanctuary. I believe that this could potentially get in the way of people giving to the church through tithe. Other than that though, I didn't really notice anything else getting in the way.
3. How effective is the
church’s website as a communication medium? Was it current, helpful and
appealing, or outdated and unappealing?
The website was by far the worst part of the church in my opinion. It was very outdated, unappealing and quite boring to look at. It also seemed like it hadn't been updated in many areas such as staff and pictures. I also went and visited their facebook page, which had a few recent posts, but again had very outdated photos.
4. Recommendations I would give to this church’s leadership about their use of technology.
As I mentioned, there were a few things that were distractions and a few issues I would fix/work on. First, the sound issue needs to be addressed. Better quality should be expected from a church and I would definitely look into buying a subwoofer if not buying a brand new sound system and sound board. Secondly, is the offering issue. I would consider passing around an offering basket or something of that sort during the service (but that is a decision that isn't necessarily a huge problem, just a suggestion). Finally, I would suggest either hiring someone to redo the church website, or finding someone in the church that is capable and able to keep up with it. In addition to that, I would make it a point to post on the church's website on a fairly regular basis, just so the people that like the page see that there is activity going on and don't dismiss the church all together.
To end on a positive note though, I enjoyed the simplistic atmosphere of the service and the lovingness of the people during my visit.
