I’m continually amazed at how little the church is utilizing technology for the furtherance of the gospel. [On the flip side, this is going to be a BIG year for us as we launch numerous churches on the Ekklesia Systems platform. Further, we have a number of other surprises in store that we will be launching to help equip the church for the work of online ministry.]

According to a new study about Churches and the Internet conducted for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1 in 4 churches neglect the ministry potential of the Internet.

• One out of every four Protestant churches in the United States has virtually no involvement with the World Wide Web despite the emergence of the Internet as a leading communication medium in the 21st century
• Only half of all churches provide staff with e-mail, and just under half maintain a website.
• 23 percent of Protestant churches use e-mail prayer chains, 18 percent have an e-mail church newsletter and 4 percent have an online member directory.
• Among content less likely to appear on a church website are Bible study material or helps, sermon transcripts, upcoming sermon titles or topics, sermons available in streaming audio, a bulletin board, forum or chat room, sermons in streaming video, testimonies and a way to donate online.

View a chart of this…