How is Mobile Technology Changing the church and the Non-Profit Sector? | Unfolding Neurons

11/09/2014 15:41

Unfolding Neurons

How is Mobile Technology Changing the church and the Non-Profit Sector?
Posted on June 30, 2010 by Darren
The title of this post is taken from a question posed over at ChurchDrop a while ago (along with an iPhone giveaway
– great way of generating comments on the subject!) and I left a comment there so good I thought I’d repost it here
[tongue in cheek] and add to it. Actually, there’s a lot of great comments over at the original post, feel free to add to the conversation there, or here! So here’s what I wrote:
Mobile technology is changing the church and non-profit sector in the following ways:
1. R E AL- T IM E CO M M U NI CAT ION

People react quicker to what they are experiencing. (especially applicable to multi-site discussions -> see tony morgan’s observations) This also applies to the reporting of people on the field (i.e. missionaries, short term missions trips etc). It can be easier to communicate via mobile than any other technology from a user standpoint and this means that the message gets out and is widely distributed in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or days. Sometimes whether we want it to or not.
Therefore, the real-time nature of mobile communication means that there must be an even greater awareness on the part of the church or non-profit to what message they are communicating in everything they say and do (even the unintended messages must be considered). It has become (or will become depending on your context) increasingly difficult to change your message or modify it before it goes “public” because mobile makes everything public. 2. HO W T HI NGS GET COMMUNICAT ED .

With the increasing penetration of mobile devices consideration needs to be given to how churches and non-profits communicate in ways that fully capitalize on the way people use those devices. In my opinion, any church/nonprofit that DOESN’T take this into consideration is at risk of losing a valuable avenue of communication for their constituency (granted this does depend on the particular penetration of mobile technology in the reach of the organization). For much of the non-western world mobile IS the way to communicate. North America is starting to catch up and the advent of smartphones means that more and more people are connected to the online grid 24/7. http://unfoldingneurons.com/2010/how-is-mobile-technology-changing-the-church-and-the-non-profit-sector Page 1 of 3

How is Mobile Technology Changing the church and the Non-Profit Sector? | Unfolding Neurons

11/09/2014 15:41

Which brings me to the next point…
3. SO C IAL M E DI A U SE .

In my eyes you can’t talk about mobile technology without including social media in the discussion (I think the rise of social media and mobile are connected). It is really social media that has made mobile go from a tool used to connect with a few trusted friends and family to being a portal to online community. The question then is what is the church or non-profit doing to connect and engage with this online-community?
4. G IVI N G

This has only in the past year started to gain traction but the Haiti earthquake has a lot to teach on the ability of mobile technology to facilitate a quick and legitimate way of raising funds. Check out a few articles on this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/technology/15mobile.html http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2010/02/c5727.html