Harnessing Technology, Privacy & Taking the Nations
What do in-house research and online privacy have to do with growing a healthy church?
Turns out, a lot.
In a recent Future.Bible podcast, .BIBLE’s Kenny Jahng talked with Adam Smith, the chief evangelist of Hillsong Technology, about applying business practices to church leadership and how to make progress on Jesus’ mandate to make disciples of all nations.
A global church with dozens of campuses, the Australian-based Hillsong has managed to maintain their user experience even as they’ve reached across continents. The leadership is committed to finding the balance between individualization and consistency; to remove any friction points for visitors, the experience for each campus is constant, from the website to the welcome.
Is your website making a strong welcome? The Faithlife Blog can help.
Taking the Nations
Having researched in-house at the original campuses, what does Smith see as the greatest opportunities for the application of digital technology to church and Bible engagement? When churches are willing to interrelate based around honest data to further the mission, we can move forward with purpose.
“God told us throughout the Bible about taking nations and I really believe that the church is absolutely mandated to take nations … and I really believe that data is going to be central to that unified front.”
Smith illustrates his point by painting a picture of pastors who meet annually to contemplate the previous year’s successes and struggles and humbly plan on how to move forward. Instead of operating within our walls, we can learn from one another.
Speaking of taking the nations, check out the Disciple-Making Disciples episode at Future.Bible.
Future Focus
What should churches be focusing on over the next couple of years?
Privacy by design.
Smith encourages churches to put individual privacy in the hands of the people so they can control the data and information they’re sharing with your church or organization. In the long run, it will be a critical piece of building trust.
Listen to the podcast today and hear how he suggested getting to that point of user trust. (Hint: there’s no substitute for human connection.)
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How does your church maintain a human connection while embracing technology? Leave us a comment below and share your experience!