Technology advice for Unitarian Universalist churches

1. Is Your Congregation
Technologically Literate?
Ohio-Meadville and St. Lawrence Joint District Assembly
March 28 2015 ● Niagara Falls NY
Mark Tomlinson ● Allegheny UU Church, Pittsburgh PA

2. Today’s Agenda
• Personal Tech
• Trends Impacting Us
• Websites and Social Media
• Office
• Groups
• Mobility
• Tools
• Questions
Mark

3. Why Are We Talking About This?
Technological literacy is important because technology can help us
work better and accomplish more. It can make our staff and volunteers
happier and more efficient. It can help us learn from the past and
collaborate today. It can enable us to do more mission and more
ministry. It can make our churches more vital and help them grow.

4. Tech We Use
• Smartphones?
• Operating systems?
• Conduct church meetings online?
• Keep personal data in the cloud?
• Tweet? Read tweets?
• Use an electronic device during a worship service?
• Are you responsible for “technology” at your church?

5. The Big Picture
• Perpetual innovation is changing technology rapidly and this will
continue
• Windows still dominates and runs 3 of every 4 computers
• Tablets will outsell desktops and laptops combined in 2015
• Form factors are changing
• Smartphones are the most widely used devices

6. Rise of the Smartphones
• What is a smartphone?
• 1.3 billion smartphones were sold worldwide last year
• Android and iOS are the leading smartphone operating systems
• 70% of the US population uses a smartphone., up from 20% in 2010
• For Millenials (~15-35), around 85% use a smartphone
• Smartphones are personal and more personalized than any previous
device - “my phone gets me”

7. SRSLY?
Credit: Mashable.com

8. Technology and Church
• Technology can enable communication and community
• Technology can broaden and improve ministry
• Does everywhere mean church too?
• Traditional vs new ways
• We’re all volunteers which makes admin and oversight challenging

9. Things to Think About
• Personal use vs institutional use

10. Things to Think About
• Personal use vs institutional use
• Agnosticism re devices and OS’es. Agnostic = we don't know. Be a
welcoming congregation to all!

11. Things to Think About
• Personal use vs institutional use
• Agnosticism re devices and OS’es. Agnostic = we don't know. Be a
welcoming congregation to all!
• Demographics and differences by OS. Are values in this equation?

12. Things to Think About
• Personal use vs institutional use
• Agnosticism re devices and OS’es. Agnostic = we don't know. Be a
welcoming congregation to all!
• Demographics and differences by OS. Are values in this equation?
• Internet access as utility. Is the “Digital Divide” still around? Is
connectivity required in today’s world? Is that good or bad? Are the
costs or benefits greater?

16. Websites
The World Wide Web is akin to the printing press in enabling one-to-
many communications – a really big deal!
• Every church should have a GOOD website
• Websites are NOT just a technology project
• A poor website will cause people to not come
• You will miss stewardship opportunities without online giving
• Your website should be mobile-friendly
• Sometimes you get what you pay for

17. Money Talks
From a congregational self-assessment used by the Rocky Mountain
Conference of the United Church of Christ for strategic planning:
Web Site Work – How much time and money is spent on maintaining
an interactive web site? How does it compare to what is spent on
building and grounds?
□ Less than 10% □ Less than 25% □ Less than 50% □ Equivalent

18. Improving Your Website
• Is your domain memorable, meaningful?
• Avoid acronyms as much as possible! (alleghenyuu not auuc)
• Web is visual so good design is essential. Hire and/or use themes
• Content is core, seek out the writers in your congregation!
• Find your voice, speak authentically, and always simplify
• Align to audience…potential visitors vs existing community
• Imitation is flattery…look around and find things you like
• Refresh consistently

20. The New Front Door
Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh, the UUA’s Outreach Associate for Digital
Ministries, writes on the UUA’s Growing Unitarian Universalism blog:
“Our websites are where we tell the world who we are, what we do,
and why it matters. Let’s look at our sites with “outreach glasses”…
What are the people like? Could they be my people?
Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church, a small congregation in
Pittsburgh, shows their personality and values throughout the site,
presenting themselves as engaged, warm, friendly, bold, and edgy.”

22. Social Media
• Every church should have a curated social media presence
• Facebook – In US 60% of us use once a month, but does not reach
everyone. Average visit 20 min. Traffic spikes 20% on Thurs & Fri. Ages
25-34 heaviest users . Likes. Pages vs groups
• Twitter – 140 characters. Links! Fast. Followers. Re-tweets. Mobile-
centric
• Connect website and social media accounts

23. Office
For most of our congregations the church office remains the hub where
much of the work of running the church happens. Technology can help
here. It can also get in the way. Talk with staff and volunteers, discuss
workflows and processes, and explore tools and solutions. Would you
want to work here?

24. Setting the Stage for Success
“People are a function of environment.
If you put people in world-class
environments, they'll give you world-
class behavior to go along with it. We
put fresh flowers in the halls and offices
daily. And all these little things that you
don't think amount to a whole lot, well,
what they do is create an attitude and
an environment — and it actually
changes behavior.“
Bill Strickland, Founder and CEO of
Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild

25. Equipping the Office
• When to buy new computers? Budget for every 3-4 years. Buy
business systems with a long warranty. OS and hardware on aging
computers can be upgraded to extend life
• Solid State Drives (SSD’s) have replaced mechanical hard drives
• Use big monitors and multiple monitors to increase productivity
• Laser Printers are best for daily printing
• Windows 10 arrives in Summer 2015 and will be a free upgrade
• Ergonomics! Suggest wireless keyboards and mice, standing desks

26. Groups
The frequently collaborative nature of church work requires tools
designed for that scenario. How can a committee all be able to read or
edit the latest version of a document? This year’s board wants access
to what last year’s board worked on. How does a task force with folks
who live an hour from each other meet regularly?

27. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix

29. Case Study: Organizing Worship Ministry
At Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church the Worship Ministry was
struggling to effectively organize information and planning for Sunday
worship services. Using Backpack and Google Docs we now provide a
centralized, always up-to-date, always accessible place for this process
to live.

32. Mobility
Our staff and volunteers need to be able to use technology tools away
from the church
• Work from home, home visits, coffee shops
• Ministry in the community – public spaces, events, prisons, etc
• Enabled by smartphones, tablets, lightweight laptops
• Web and cloud services provide access to files from anywhere
• Mobile versions of websites improve small screen experience

33. Credo House Coffee Shop, Edmond, OK
“Religious time and space can
happen in any location” - First
Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

34. Tools We Like for Websites & the Web
• Dreamhost for website hosting
• Wordpress for theme-based website creation and maintenance
• Microblogging: Postach.io + Evernote, Pen.io
• Website apps: Youtube for video, UpTo for calendar
• Link shorteners: Bit.ly, tinyurl, t.co, etc

35. Tools We Like for Office, Groups, & Mobility
• Microsoft Office & Office 365
• Google Apps for Nonprofits
• Backpack/Basecamp info managers
• Cloud storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive
• Google groups for aliases and email lists (prez@, house@, Pride@)
• Skype, Google Hangouts, Free Conference Call
• Video chat via WebRTC: Appear.in, Firefox Hello, browser, plugin
• New stuff: Office Sway, Office Touch on tablets

36. Wrapping Up
Pay attention to technology trends that may impact you and implement
emerging technologies that solve problems or create opportunities.
Use Appreciative Inquiry and ask “What if?”

37. Wrapping Up
Think strategically about technology, don’t wait until things fail. Don’t
be surprised when technology changes are difficult

38. Wrapping Up
Websites and social media are our new front doors – use them well

39. Wrapping Up
Create a work environment for staff and volunteers that fosters
excellence. People and time are our most valuable resources. Use
technology to remove barriers whenever possible

40. Wrapping Up
Church works gets done by groups – help people work together. Be
prepared to help groups and individuals learn new technologies. Don’t
expect everyone to get it or buy in

41. Wrapping Up
We work from many places and on varied devices – support mobility

42. Thank you!
techforuu.postach.io
mark@alleghenyuu.org