How Holston's Growing Churches Employ Technology - Part 5
(Part 1) statistics on general technology use in churches.
(Part 2) statistics on local demographics.
(Part 3) senior pastor demographics.
(Part 4) senior pastor use of e-mail.
We continue this report on technology/Internet use among our conference's growing churches. Dr. Brian Burch completed his dissertation this past year with
a focus on technology/Internet use in Holston. 85.7% of our highest growth churches responded to his survey.
Wednesday on the Web continues this series to introduce findings from Dr. Burch's research. What do these statistics mean for your outreach to potential members?
This week covers senior pastor use of the Internet in our high growth churches.
In the last six months, have you gone online?
13.6% No
86.4% Yes
Have you personally used the Internet to find faith-related or spiritual resources in the last six months?
72.0% Resources for use in worship services
65.2% Devotional resources
61.4% Information on the Bible
59.1% Resources for use in educational programs
47.0% Information on matters of faith
42.4% Information on matters of doctrine
41.7% Information about discipleship opportunities
38.6% Information related to other denominations or faiths
29.5% Prayer resources
11.4% Discussion groups or other online faith communities
How often do you go online?
7.0% Once a week or less
12.2% 1-2 days a week
13.0% 3-5 days a week
25.2% About once a day
42.6% Several times a day
What have you used the Internet for in the last six months?
78.6% News
78.6% Internet Search
55.7% Buy a product
51.9% Just for fun
38.2% Financial Information
45.0% Hobby information
42.0% Health Information
22.1% Instant Message
8.4% Job research
4.6% Chat/Bulletin Board
Next time we'll look at the final installment regarding local church web sites.
Dr. Burch is pastor of Rural Retreat UMC and Mt Olive UMC in the Wytheville District.
