This Article is printed in the JulyAugust 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.
The Seventh-day Adventist church has always been on the cutting edge of technology. When radio began in the early 1900’s, the Adventist church was there producing religious programing with H.M.S. Richards on the Voice of Prophecy. When TV began in the 1940′s, the Adventist church was there producing the first religious programing in color with William Fagal on “Faith for Today”. Back during the Milleriate movement, Joshua Himes used technology in the form of charts and print media so effectively that people begin calling him “the Napoleon of the press”.
While attending Camp Meeting this July in the BC Conference, I had the privilege of talking with a pastor who, just like Joshua Himes, is on the cutting edge of technology. Michael Campbell, lead pastor of the Wichita Seventh-day Adventist Church, uses many forms of technology to communicate, share and interact with the congregation on a daily basis. He describes technology as a tool that multiplies his efforts to build community.
“I made a commitment to the church on my first Sabbath to communicate”, says Campbell, and he is aggressively following through with that commitment. On that first Sabbath, he asked members for their name, phone number and email address. Within a month, he collected approximately 90% of the congregations emails.
With that newly created list of emails, Campbell started sending out a weekly email newsletter that He describes as “one of the easiest, simplest ways to communicate”.
Campbell says one of the challenges he faces is how to meet the needs of the younger generation. He found that one of the best ways to do that is to engage them through another technology; texting. He regularly sends out text messages to individuals he did not see in church telling them that he missed them and hopes everything is going well. “It makes people feel more connected,” says Campbell.
During a sermon about Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector, he asked the congregation, “what would you do if Jesus came to your house today?” He put his cell phone number up on the screen and asked people to respond by texting their answers. He received about 30 responses including one from a 13 year old who said he would clean up his room and then bring Jesus in, make a root beer float and sit down to talk with Jesus about his spiritual life. On the way out of church he gave Campbell a high five.
“It was amazing to see people sitting forward, engaged and listening intently because they had contributed something to the sermon”, says Campbell.
Another cutting edge technology that Campbell has used during his sermon is a live poll. He displayed a question with multiple answers on the screen and had people text in their votes. “Texting provides a dynamic environment to engage the congregation with the church service,” he says.
The Wichita South Church actively uses social media. In fact, they have a church position called, Facebook Coordinator. Campbell says Facebook is a communication tool that his church regularly uses to send out notices of events and invites. He says it serves as a gentle reminder of what is going on and gives people an opportunity to respond to the invitation. Also, it gives you an idea of how many people are planning to attend the event. “We also use Facebook to post sermon topics, ask a question or get feedback from people,” he says.
The Wichita South Church also uses the social medium called Foursquare for members to check in at church. It acts as an online attendance tracker. People can check in at the keyaus in the lobby or on a mobile phone. The names of those who took the time to check in go into a draw for a price at the end of the service.
Campbell tells me they are currently working on a new design for the church website as well as an iphone app in the near future.
“God has used technology in the past, I’ve seen it. And He will continue to use it in the future,” says Campbell.
For more information about the Wichita South Seventh-day Adventist Church or to contact Pastor Campbell, visit their website at http://www.wichitaadventist.org.
