Survey Finds Many Churches Under-Utilizing Internet Technology
by Allie Martin
January 12, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A new survey shows that roughly one fourth of U.S. churches have no Internet presence. The research, conducted by Phoenix, Arizona-based Ellison Research, looked at how churches use web technology and found that even churches with access to the Internet are not using it to the fullest. Among the survey's findings is that 58 percent of all churches provide Internet access for their staffs, half provide staff with e-mail, and just under half maintain a website. The study also showed a growing "technology gap" between larger and smaller churches.
Ellison Research president Ron Sellers notes that sometimes the technology issue is a human resources issue. "In many churches, there's nobody on staff who has any particular experience with or expertise with the Internet, so they have to rely on somebody within their congregation," he says.
"Unless a person steps forward or unless the congregation has somebody who is capable of these things," Sellers continues, "the church is really going to be scrambling to try and figure out how do we incorporate the Internet into our work and into our ministry."
Churches with more members might seem to have an advantage under these circumstances, since smaller churches simply do not have the resources to exploit the Internet fully or to have an effective web presence. However, the Ellison Research spokesman points out that even large churches often do not take advantage of the numerous ways the Internet can enhance their ministries and communication.
"A lot of churches out there don't think through the use of the Internet as a strategic tool," Sellers notes. "They simply think, 'We need an Internet site -- put something up.' So that, I think, really lends itself to an incomplete use of what the Internet does have to offer."
Ellison Research's recent study found that most churches that maintain websites provide content that is more or less "static," such as a map or directions to the sanctuary, a calendar of upcoming events, belief statements, or information about various church departments. Only a minority of the larger congregations using the web provide website visitors with, for instance, the ability to interact with one another, get Bible study help, learn more about the pastor, or join a small group.
Sellers says congregations that want to make use of Internet technology increasingly need to decide whether they want to have an online site or an online ministry. Presently, he says most churches have only the former, if that.
Ellison Research's survey on churches' use of web technology was published in the January/February 2006 edition of Facts & Trends magazine [PDF], which is published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
