Chipping Away at Technology

Newport Lutheran Church received a Gleaning From the Harvest grant from the synod for technology. We were and still are working on a lot of pieces of the tech world puzzle. This grant has been a blessing and we are using the money as fiscally responsible as possible. The goal has been to have our congregation catch up with technology especially post-COVID. We have had some things in place like recording worship but know that we can do better.

We have been doing our best at getting our technology updates moving. We have a timeline that we haven’t be able to follow as we have hoped. “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) Our struggle has been getting a technology group together. With our aging congregation and our busy families, it has been difficult to get that group formed. Also, with summer in Minnesota being so short many families are busy with camps, vacation, and family events.

Our pastor and I have met with four tech agencies to see how they can support us and help us with enhancing our Wi-Fi and recording. So, we continue to move forward and are currently researching the best fit and most cost-effective group. We have contacted the internet company and they had ideas for us, too. In addition, we have been collecting feedback from guests and council on what they see. Fresh eyes are very important as we move forward.

In our experience so far, we have found that tech support really varies in cost and our younger congregants have been very helpful in this process. We currently have a middle schooler helping us with recording. This has been a blessing for us. She was nervous at first but with encouragement she figured it out in two minutes. She stated “that it is pretty easy” and she is doing a great job. We have found that we need more time to conduct research and get things in place. Next week we have someone coming to see how we run Wi-Fi enhancements to our classrooms and to give us a quote on how much that will cost.

Our eyes have opened as a church with the realization that things have changed dramatically after COVID. Many families have chosen not to come back to church. We have found that many enjoy watching church on their own time. With sports, school, work, and household responsibilities many families are over extended. We as a church are working on getting out in the community to invite others. This is very important piece to our technology because we need people to know they can join us in other ways then coming on a Sunday morning. We also need to grow our church to continue to share our faith.

The big picture is right there, and we continue to chip away at our technology needs. We have found that things are a little more expensive than we had hoped and some things are monthly fees so we need to make sure we can financially support it on a continuous basis. The vision of updating technology and growing our church is closer every day!

 What We Have Put in Place:

• Purchased an iPad for recording
• Contacted companies to help with our Wi-Fi and recording issues
• We have had two people step forward to help with recording
• Researching to purchase Bluetooth speaker with microphones

What We are Still Praying for:

• People to step forward for a tech committee
• Affordable tech support

Sara Korpi, Office Administrator

Newport Lutheran Church, Newport

Click here to see the full list of Gleaning From the Harvest grant recipients.