1. What technology do I use in ministry that I would not want to be without and why?

The technology that has impacted our ministry the most has been implementing a WordPress site as an educational destination. I originally began emailing a daily thought or question to a class I was teaching at church. It eventually evolved into my personal blog, The DIP Shtick. It became a popular site for people in our church. Then, Pastor wanted to begin a series on the book of Hebrews. He wanted to incorporate a daily devotional, a weekly audio program and group study information, easily available to the congregation. I set up our Grace Learning Center site and every week, Pastor would speak on a chapter in Hebrews. I would write a daily devotional that was posted on the web and also emailed to subscribers. I could then post the audio of the message on the web to download. We also had someone prepare group study material that would cover the chapter more in depth. That series was very successful and and so we have replicated it on other teaching series. We don't do it for each series. I have tweaked the podcast production so I now include a song at the end of each one featuring a new christian artist. Eventually, we will feature original songs written and performed by our worship team.

2. What technology do I use that is sometimes more of a distraction and time-waster than an actual aid and why?

It is almost funny but just about every time we try to play a video clip over the projector, it messes up. It is most likely that we are overloading the computer. We use the same computer for recording audio, showing the PowerPoint slides and playing video. Sometimes it just doesn't all play nice together!

3. What is a new or emerging technology that is not being widely used for ministry that I (or someone else) may utilize in the near future?

One thing we wish more people would do is be more interactive with our website. We have tried to stimulate discussions online but haven't been very successful. As our website becomes more popular, we hope that the discussions will pick up. We would also like to start video podcasting. Another idea that we have discussed is to start posting the daily devotionals as short daily audio devotionals with a song or two. The possibilities are endless!

David Petersen
Communications Overseer
Grace Community Church
Omaha, NE
http://www.gracecommunitychurch.net
http://www.gracelearningcenter.com
http://www.dipshtick.com
 

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