TECHNO-CHURCH

Three areas of ministry that technology is transforming.

The winds of technology are blowing through various ministries of the church:

Strategic planning. Randy Frazee, pastor of Pantego Bible Church in Arlington, Texas, and Tom Wilson (who, according to Frazee, "started off as church administrator, but has become like our chief information officer") are creating a computer program called Church Think, a ministry "flight simulator." It allows leaders to "put in several different variables and see how they play out … over a number of years, to see if that accelerates or decelerates your growth … and spiritual development."

Based on the systemic modeling techniques discussed in Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline, Church Think focuses on what Wilson and  Frazee call "the five Fs:" flows, funds, facilities, formation, and foundation. Most of us understand funds and facilities, but what of the other Fs? Wilson explains the other Fs stand for "people Flows or head count, ...