God's Got an App for That

Yesterday I had an interview with a local newspaper about technology in the church. How are you using technology and why do you use it? As we talked I realized that I have always utilized some type of technology at The Landing. We have podcasts that folks subscribe to and PDF sheets of the messages that are downloaded for our weekly C4 groups(Community Cell Church Connections). When you walk into the foyer there is a television monitor that will play through a powerpoint presentation of the monthly events. Continuing in the worship center you find a huge screen doing the same until service times: when it becomes a lyric sheet for worship and a chalkboard for the teaching.

I remember when we were just beginning and leasing a space at the local technology center. I was using powerpoint presentations then and when our website was created, the first thing I had on it was a sermon player. I wanted people to be able to find ministry 24/7 at The Landing so we began making the audio files available from the start. And it was interesting to find out that people would listen from all over the world! Imagine that, a small church in Tulsa being listened to by a family in Tokyo! Today we are able to take our messages with us. On our website we have a spot called Joe on the Go which takes people to the player and then allows them to download the mp3 file to their mobile device. We are also getting poised to release our very own Iphone app!

Why all the technology stuff? Besides the fact that I love gadgets, I think the best way to get God's message into the hearts of people is to find something they are used to and already being instructed by. It's why churches today have satellite campuses where the people watch a preacher on a video screen instead of in person. It's a sight and sound generation. The important thing is feeding the people faith. My little dog will occasionally need medicine which is in pill shaped form. In order to make him take it I have to wrap it up in a piece of turkey or cheese. So if I wrap it up in something he likes, I can give him something he needs. That's why we use technology in the house of God. We wrap up the Word in a media format that folks like because it is the Word that they need. Fact is, no matter what the difficulty and trial, God has an app for that!

Take advantage of the modern technology today in order to keep His message flowing into the lives of the people you are connected to. Wrap His Word up in something people like because they need it.
If you are living a bit defeated and need some encouragement,
go to The Landing site and click on Joe on the Go and take a cup of joe with you today!

NOTE: The image on this blog is the book cover of a soon to be released book by Camden House.