"The management level of enterprises in society has been upgraded several times, while the church is still managed in the most primitive way." Speaking of the original intention of the ministry, Brother M, who is in charge of a Christian information-based system ministry, sounded a little helpless. Brother M and his family are all Christians. He studied information technology-related majors at the university. After receiving his degree, he was astounded by the church's inefficient management style and made a commitment to help it using an information-based system.
The systems of the church in China can be roughly divided into management systems and pastoral systems (see the first episode "Exploration of Virtual Ministry in the Internet Era"). Management systems can be subdivided into internal church office management system and believer management system.
According to M, the obvious advantage of using the information management system is to improve work efficiency. There are many repetitive tasks in the church that are trivial and time-consuming. Therefore, modern technology can be used to simplify work and save time.
For example, a typical problem is reimbursement. Brother M mentioned that some people who have financial approval rights in the church may be part-time volunteers who have other jobs and are not always in the church. In the absence of an information management system, the people in the financial department need to get financial approval and the approver should make an appointment with each other. If something unexpected happens, another appointment is needed. Through an information-based system, one could just sign and click submit, and then the job was done. There are many similar problems, such as church records management, staff scheduling, information notification, etc.
The information management system will also help improve the church's management system, Brother M added. For the church that is weak in management, the information management system can promote the perfection of the church system. Brother M explained that when the church uses the system, it is also learning an administrative system and a management concept, and its management level will naturally improve accordingly. Then it will gradually explore a set of its own management systems.
In addition, information management can solve some difficult problems for the church. On this point, Brother M gave a specific explanation by taking visiting as an example. He learned from the churches he visited that some of his fellow visitors were having trouble serving. The church does not have a clear visiting system, so the believers need to call the volunteers of the visiting group directly, and the volunteers are even on call 24 hours a day. If one is having dinner or the time is late, if he or she goes to visit, his or her family may feel worried or even mad. If they do not go, the volunteers may feel that they have lost God's trust and feel uneasy. Moreover, the pastors of the church also teach that the more you work, the more you will be blessed.
Brother M believes that the cause of this dilemma lies in the imperfect visitation system of the church. If the visit demand is distributed through the information-based system, the system will automatically postpone the distribution to the next day if the demand is later than a specific time, and there will be no need to visit while it’s too late. Good institutions are themselves what theologian Paul Tillich calls "an effort to connect the forces of goodness."
In his years of service, Brother M inevitably felt frustrated. In his words, many grassroots churches are still in the stage of not understanding the benefits of information management, and the pastoral vision and the talent reserve of the church are extremely insufficient, but he is still full of hope for the future of the church. The church where he kept going while he grew up, which is the one that prompted him to start his ministry, now uses most of his systems.
Brother M's goal is to build a comprehensive information-based system for the church. Although few churches currently have access to such a system and his ministry has not reached such a level due to technical and financial constraints, he has been working on it.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
“社会上的企业，管理方式都升级了好几轮，教会还在用最原始的方式做管理。”说起事工建立的初衷，一家主内信息技术的负责人M弟兄语气中有点无奈。M弟兄全家都是基督徒，大学学习信息技术相关专业，毕业后有感于教会管理方式的落后，立志在信息技术方面服务教会。
教会用的系统可大略分为管理系统和牧养系统。管理系统可细分为教会内部办公管理系统和信徒管理系统。
M弟兄认为，使用信息化管理系统，显而易见的好处是提高工作效率。教会有诸多重复性的工作，琐碎耗时，完全可以借助现代化技术简化工作，节约时间。
比如财务报销，M弟兄提到，一些教会有财务审批权利的人可能是兼职义工，有另外的工作，并不总在教会。在没有信息化管理系统的情况下，需要得到财务审批的部门和审批人要互相约时间，若是临时有事，还需要另外再约。而在系统里，只是签字，点击提交就完成了。类似的事情不胜枚举，比如教会档案管理、侍奉人员排班、信息通知等等。
信息化管理系统还有利于完善教会的管理制度，他补充道。在管理方面比较欠缺的教会，信息化管理系统反而可以方向促成教会制度的完善。M弟兄解释道，教会在使用系统的同时，也是在学习一套行政制度、一种管理理念，管理水平自然也在相应提高，之后逐渐摸索出一套自己的管理体系。
此外，信息化管理能解决教会的一些“疑难问题”。关于这一点，M弟兄以探访为例做了具体的说明。他从所接触的教会了解到一些热心的探访组同工在服侍上遇到的难题。教会没有明确的探访制度，信徒有探访需要直接打给探访组义工，义工甚至于是24小时待命。若是遇到饭点或时间较晚，如果去探访，家人非常不理解；若是不去，义工心里觉得有负神的托付，心中不安，而且教会牧者也教导：多做工多蒙福。
M弟兄认为，产生这种困境，归根结底还是教会探访制度不完善。若是探访需求通过系统派发，晚于特定时间的探访需求，系统会自动顺延到第二天再派发，根本不会出现需要太晚出门探访的情况。好的制度本身就是神学家田立克所说的“一种连接善良力量的努力”。
M弟兄在多年的侍奉中不免有灰心的时刻，用他的话说，很多基层教会对信息化管理还处在不开窍的阶段，牧者的看见和教会人才储备都极为不足，但他依然对教会的未来充满盼望。他从小到大聚会的那间教会，促使他成立事工的那间教会，现在已经使用了他的大部分系统。
M弟兄的目标是为教会搭建综合性的系统。虽然目前很少有教会能用到这样的系统，同时由于技术、资金等方面的限制，他的事工还达不到这样的水平，但他一直在为此努力。
技术侍奉同工谈信息技术对教会管理的益处
"The management level of enterprises in society has been upgraded several times, while the church is still managed in the most primitive way." Speaking of the original intention of the ministry, Brother M, who is in charge of a Christian information-based system ministry, sounded a little helpless. Brother M and his family are all Christians. He studied information technology-related majors at the university. After receiving his degree, he was astounded by the church's inefficient management style and made a commitment to help it using an information-based system.
The systems of the church in China can be roughly divided into management systems and pastoral systems (see the first episode "Exploration of Virtual Ministry in the Internet Era"). Management systems can be subdivided into internal church office management system and believer management system.
According to M, the obvious advantage of using the information management system is to improve work efficiency. There are many repetitive tasks in the church that are trivial and time-consuming. Therefore, modern technology can be used to simplify work and save time.
For example, a typical problem is reimbursement. Brother M mentioned that some people who have financial approval rights in the church may be part-time volunteers who have other jobs and are not always in the church. In the absence of an information management system, the people in the financial department need to get financial approval and the approver should make an appointment with each other. If something unexpected happens, another appointment is needed. Through an information-based system, one could just sign and click submit, and then the job was done. There are many similar problems, such as church records management, staff scheduling, information notification, etc.
The information management system will also help improve the church's management system, Brother M added. For the church that is weak in management, the information management system can promote the perfection of the church system. Brother M explained that when the church uses the system, it is also learning an administrative system and a management concept, and its management level will naturally improve accordingly. Then it will gradually explore a set of its own management systems.
In addition, information management can solve some difficult problems for the church. On this point, Brother M gave a specific explanation by taking visiting as an example. He learned from the churches he visited that some of his fellow visitors were having trouble serving. The church does not have a clear visiting system, so the believers need to call the volunteers of the visiting group directly, and the volunteers are even on call 24 hours a day. If one is having dinner or the time is late, if he or she goes to visit, his or her family may feel worried or even mad. If they do not go, the volunteers may feel that they have lost God's trust and feel uneasy. Moreover, the pastors of the church also teach that the more you work, the more you will be blessed.
Brother M believes that the cause of this dilemma lies in the imperfect visitation system of the church. If the visit demand is distributed through the information-based system, the system will automatically postpone the distribution to the next day if the demand is later than a specific time, and there will be no need to visit while it’s too late. Good institutions are themselves what theologian Paul Tillich calls "an effort to connect the forces of goodness."
In his years of service, Brother M inevitably felt frustrated. In his words, many grassroots churches are still in the stage of not understanding the benefits of information management, and the pastoral vision and the talent reserve of the church are extremely insufficient, but he is still full of hope for the future of the church. The church where he kept going while he grew up, which is the one that prompted him to start his ministry, now uses most of his systems.
Brother M's goal is to build a comprehensive information-based system for the church. Although few churches currently have access to such a system and his ministry has not reached such a level due to technical and financial constraints, he has been working on it.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Ministry Tech Leader Says Church Can Benefit from Information Technology
