One of the most important aspects of a church’s successful implementation of new technology is having leadership invested in the process.
Why?
Because oftentimes, people respond to change with skepticism or fear. Leaders provide others with the security and confidence to face change. Think of when Facebook rolls out any changes; people go berserk, but Mark Zuckerberg sticks with it because he’s seen the entire strategy process from start to finish. And eventually, everyone adapts and enjoys the benefits.
The same resistance to change happens within churches. Therefore, the best way to get people to trust and utilize a new church technological system is to make sure your leadership team, specifically the head pastor, support the decision and have the information needed to calm any fears.
There are three primary reasons leadership is needed when implementing new technology:
- It builds cohesion within your various teams.
Getting everyone on board is tough. For pastors to get the various leadership teams, ministries, and committees to agree upon and adopt a new technology is a huge task. It’s the leader who has to grab the wheel and drive the church into adopting the new technology in unity. - It keeps everyone focused.
Sometimes people lose sight of the task ahead simply because they get busy working on other things. It’s the leader’s job to make sure deadlines are met and decisions are made on time. I don’t mean that the leader should micromanage the process, but he or she should be there to point back to the vision when needed. - It helps people choose what’s best for the church.
A few weeks ago, Bryan Miles shared a post titled “Mother Hen Syndrome” about an issue that affects churches around the country. Just when the decision makers agree to pursue a more cohesive and integrated environment and you choose your technology, the finance team vetoes the whole endeavor because they don't want to change the current system. This moment takes a strong leader to encourage everyone to be more concerned about what’s best for the church than what’s easiest for each team.
If you’re responsible for technology systems at your church, how do you get your senior leadership on board? In what ways has solid leadership made implementing new technology easier?