Study results show a huge gap between large and small churches in the use of technology
(Original release date: January 4, 2005) Research results being released for the first time in the January/February edition of Facts & Trends magazine show nine out of 10 Protestant clergy have Internet access they can use for church business, but only about half of all Protestant churches maintain a Web site.
The study, conducted by Ellison Research among a representative sample of 700 Protestant church ministers nationwide, queried pastors about their current use of technology, as well as how technology fits into the near-term future of their church’s ministry. The study shows some very large gaps in technology reliance according to the size of churches.
Ninety-one percent of Protestant clergy have Internet access they can use for church business (either at the church or personally). The vast majority of all types of pastors (e.g. different ages, different church sizes, different denominations) have Internet access.
However, only 52% say their church maintains a Web site of any kind. This varies dramatically by church size: 88% of larger churches (those with 200 or more people attending worship services during a typical weekend) have a Web site, compared to 60% of mid-size churches (100 to 199 people in worship each weekend), and just 28% of small churches.
The presence of a church Web site also varies by the pastor’s age. Among ministers under 60 years old, 56% are at a church with a Web site; among pastors 60 or older, just 35% are leading a church with a Web site.
While nine out of 10 ministers are online, only a third of those online have a content filter at the church. (A content filter makes it difficult or impossible to access objectionable sites on the Internet.) Baptist and Pentecostal churches are most likely to have a content filter of some type, while Methodist churches are least likely to employ a content filter.
The study also asked ministers to rate the importance of a number of different uses of technology in their church’s ministry over the next five years, using a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 5 (extremely important). The importance of these various types of technology varies some by denomination, but much more so by the size of the church.
Of the nine uses of technology tested in the study, the one that is extremely important to the greatest number of ministers is doing research on the Internet. Thirty-four percent feel this will be extremely important to the work of their church over the next five years.
A number of other uses of technology will also be extremely important to about one out of every four churches. These include using Bible study software (28%), building or maintaining a church Web site (27%), using PowerPoint or other types of graphic presentations in worship services (27%), being able to show DVDs or videos (26%), and using e-mail to communicate with members of the congregation (25%).
Two other uses of technology will be extremely important to a somewhat smaller proportion of churches: using technology to connect with missionaries (20%), and advertising in the media (such as radio or newspapers) (19%).
Of the tested uses of technology, the one of least importance to ministers in the near future is having their sermons available on their church’s Web site – only 9% feel this will be extremely important to the work of their church over the next five years.
What really stands out, however, is not the relative importance of each of these technologies to ministers, but the significant differences by church size. For instance, building and maintaining a Web site will be extremely important to 49% of large churches, but only 16% of small churches. Many other uses of technology show similar gaps, including communicating with the congregation via e-mail (42% in large churches, 13% in small churches), using graphics in worship (36% to 16%), being able to show DVDs or videos (39% to 16%), and doing research on the Internet (42% to 26%).
The only consistent difference by denomination is that Lutherans tend to be somewhat less convinced of the importance of a number of these technologies. Using graphic presentations in worship, being able to show DVDs or videos, using Bible study software, and using technology to connect with missionaries are all significantly less important to Lutherans than to other denominations.
Other denominational differences are mainly seen with individual uses of technology. For instance, Methodist ministers are particularly impressed with the importance of using e-mail to communicate with their congregations and with using the Internet for research, while Pentecostal ministers are especially likely to feel Bible study software will be important to their work, but less likely than average to want to communicate with their congregation via e-mail.
Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, noted that small churches often already are struggling with things such as inadequate budgets and few volunteers. “As the American public becomes more and more reliant on technology in everyday life, they will logically expect churches to have things such as Web sites, streaming audio or video on the site, or study materials on video or computer software,” Sellers said. “Small churches often don’t have the budget to pay for technology, or the staff or volunteers to implement it. The increased use of technology in churches has a real potential to widen the gap even further between small churches and medium or large congregations.”
Sellers also noted that churches may need to take a harder look at how technology can impact their ministry, as well as what members or visitors may expect today. “Some technology is not appropriate for all churches; a PowerPoint presentation in morning services wouldn’t fit with the worship styles of many congregations, for instance,” he said. “But pastors need to take a hard look at where technology might no longer be a matter of style or a luxury for the congregation, but an expectation. For example, with the majority of Americans using the Internet, it’s amazing that over one out of four medium and large churches don’t have any presence on the Web – particularly with many churches trying to figure out ways of attracting younger people, who are particularly likely to use the Internet to gather information and explore their options.”
Facts & Trends, where this study is being published, is designed to assist pastors, church staff and denominational leaders in their roles of ministry by informing them about LifeWay resources and how they relate to current issues in Christian ministry. It is published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. For information about Facts & Trends, contact Chris Turner at 615-251-2307.
The study was conducted by Ellison Research, a marketing research company located in Phoenix, Arizona. The sample of 700 Protestant ministers included only those who are actively leading churches. The study’s total sample is accurate to within ±3.6 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level with a 50 percent response distribution.
The study was conducted in all 50 states, using a representative sample of pastors from all Protestant denominations. Respondents’ geography, church size, and denomination were carefully tracked to ensure appropriate representation and accuracy.
Current and future use of technology (By church size)| Uses of Technology | All Churches | Small (<100) | Medium (100 - 199) | Large (200+) |
| Pastor currently has Internet access | 91% | 86% | 94% | 97% |
| Church has a content filter (among those on the Web) | 32 | 27 | 36 | 37 |
| Church maintains a Web site | 52 | 28 | 60 | 88 |
| Rate each of the following as extremely important in the next five years: | ||||
|
27 | 16 | 28 | 49 |
|
9 | 4 | 8 | 18 |
|
25 | 13 | 30 | 42 |
|
27 | 16 | 36 | 36 |
|
26 | 16 | 34 | 39 |
|
19 | 15 | 22 | 23 |
|
20 | 18 | 20 | 26 |
|
28 | 26 | 24 | 36 |
|
34 | 26 | 38 | 42 |
Whether or not your church currently has each ability listed below, how important do you feel each of these items will be in the work of your church over the next five years?
| Uses of Technology | 1 - Not at All Important | 2 | 3 | 4 |
5 - Extremely Important |
| Building or maintaining a church Web site | 11% | 15% | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| Having your sermons available on the church Web site | 19 | 26 | 30 | 15 | 9 |
| Communicating to the congregation with e-mail | 10 | 11 | 24 | 30 | 25 |
| PowerPoint or other graphic presentations in worship | 18 | 13 | 20 | 23 | 27 |
| Being able to show DVDs or videos | 13 | 12 | 20 | 29 | 26 |
| Advertising in the media (radio, newspaper, etc.) | 9 | 17 | 29 | 26 | 19 |
| Using technology to connect with missionaries | 9 | 16 | 27 | 28 | 20 |
| Bible study software | 9 | 13 | 25 | 26 | 28 |
| Doing research on the Internet | 6 | 10 | 19 | 31 | 34 |
How important do you feel each of these items will be in the work of your church over the next five years? (By denomination - percentages reflect "extremely important")
| Uses of Technology | All Pastors | Southern Baptist | Other Baptist | Methodist | Lutheran | Pentecostal | All Others |
| Building or maintaining a church Web site | 27% | 24% | 20% | 28% | 34% | 28% | 30% |
| Sermons available on the church Web site | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
| Communicating to the congregation with e-mail | 25 | 25 | 15 | 34 | 30 | 16 | 30 |
| PowerPoint or other graphic presentations in worship | 27 | 30 | 22 | 28 | 13 | 34 | 27 |
| Being able to show DVDs or videos | 26 | 30 | 23 | 30 | 13 | 32 | 26 |
| Advertising in the media | 19 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 18 |
| Using technology to connect with missionaries | 20 | 19 | 26 | 18 | 11 | 19 | 21 |
| Bible study software | 28 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 12 | 41 | 27 |
| Doing research on the Internet | 34 | 30 | 32 | 43 | 30 | 29 | 34 |
Numbers may not add to exactly 100% due to rounding. "Don't know" responses are not shown. The survey included all Protestant denominations, but the groups shown separately in the table above were the only ones with large-enough subsamples to examine separately.
