Churches use the latest technology to spread “the word”
There are no Bibles or hymnals in the pews at Eagle Brook Church in Lino Lakes. In fact, there are no pews. Instead, worshippers settle into theater-style chairs in the 2,100-seat sanctuary and gaze upon three giant video screens ticking off a digital countdown to the 6PM Saturday service.
Clad in jeans and toting cups of coffee, they are not just there for an hour of Christian song and prayer. They are part of a technological revolution that’s changing how churches across the country express their faith and reach their congregations.
That’s because Eagle Brook’s weekly service will resonate far beyond its walls. It will get digitized and downloaded, rebroadcast on the Internet and iPods, e-mailed and blogged about.
Churches nationwide are introducing podcasts, posting sermons on the Internet, offering virtual tours and opening online stores. Many also are relying on e-mail to communicate with members. The number of church Web sites has nearly doubled in the last five years.
Meanwhile, services such as FaithMobile are allowing the devout to carry God in their pocket, offering cell-phone ring-tones for $1.99 a month (choose from “Amazing Grace, “Jesus Loves Me” and other favorites) and daily Bible verses for a few dollars more.
Some traditionalists may be upset or uneasy with the emerging cyber-church, but they’re in the minority, said George Barna, president of the Barna Group, a California consulting firm that does surveys on the subject of religion.
Churches, he said, have a long and successful history of using new technology to spread spiritual messages.
“Look at the printing press. That was the new technology of its day,” Barna said. “And what was it known for? Printing the Bible.”
When the clock hits zero at Eagle Brook Church, a six-piece band kicks in with a Christian rock song. Close-ups of the musicians flash on the screens, mixed with song lyrics and still shots of doves, clouds and mountains.
Backstage, eight people work the control booth, where a video wall displays six live camera shots and 18 other feeds from computer servers.
“Too hot, too hot!” the director barked into a headset. “Move in on four. Good. And … roll video.”
The hourlong service is as tightly scripted as a television show — and essentially, that’s what it is. But it’s only one example of how Eagle Brook delivers its message across a variety of new media outlets.
On Sundays, Eagle Brook rebroadcasts the Saturday service twice at its White Bear Lake campus. Within days, the Rev. Bob Merritt’s sermon — or message, as he calls it — gets posted on the church’s Web site, available as an audio file that can be downloaded.
The Web site also has e-mail addresses for Merritt and the rest of Eagle Brook’s 75-member staff. There’s a secure link for donating money online and a link to send requests to the church’s prayer team.
“Today’s culture is very media-driven,” said Amy Anderson, Eagle Brook’s executive director of worship ministries. “We don’t want our delivery to be out of touch with the world.”
Evangelical Christian congregations are at the forefront of adopting the latest technology, much as they led the way a generation ago in using TV and satellites to expand their ministries. But other churches are not far behind.
The Web site of Eckankar, “the religion of the light and sound of God,” offers a panoramic tour of its temple in Chanhassen. At the online home of Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, an e-Torah is only a click away.
Surf the Web site of the Masjid Al-Huda Center in Minneapolis, and you’ll find podcasts of Islamic messages in English and Arabic, a list of daily prayer times and a button for donations through PayPal.
“In 10 years, having a Web site went from being cutting edge to being a good idea — to now, you’re hurting yourself if you don’t have one,” said Robby Richardson of Gospel Communications, an outreach group in Michigan that helps churches plan their Web strategies.
Podcasting, the delivery of audio files to portable players such as iPods, is also a fast-growing area, said Bishop Sally Dyck of the United Methodist Church in Minnesota.
“They can be a good tool to hook younger people into listening to good sermons and Bible studies,” said Dyck, whom colleagues jokingly refer to as the “iPod queen.”
On Dyck’s iPod: Minnesota Public Radio’s “Speaking of Faith,” which she listens to on her Friday morning run.
Interest in Web-related topics is “high, high, high,” said Victoria Rebeck, a United Methodist spokeswoman and a member of the Religion Communicators Council, a professional group. Its Twin Cities chapter recently held a workshop on Web sites, she said, “and it was the best-attended session we’ve had in years.”
The statewide United Methodist Conference just spent $6,000 on a software package for Web conferences, allowing members of far-flung congregations to get together without driving hours to a meeting place.
Technology enthusiasts downplay the notion that computers, e-mail and video cameras are making the religious experience less personal.
“I think it actually enhances the likelihood that they are going to show up for worship or small groups,” Rebeck said. “A lot of people will share things in an e-mail that they might be uncomfortable sharing in a face-to-face discussion.
“Then they’ll have the desire to come to church and meet those people they’ve been having a conversation with.”
In Barna’s view, using new technologies to deliver age-old church messages is very much in tune with God’s wishes.
“The mandate of most religious organizations is to reach as many people as possible with what they perceive to be the truth,” Barna said. “So if you have tools at your disposal that allow you to impact people’s lives, I think a lot of us would look at it as almost sinful not to use those tools.” Via wcco
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