Many, if not most, readers of this newsletter would consider themselves church techies, and most church techies (including myself) often fall into the rut of getting trapped in the booth, and we tend to see that as our realm of ministry. But the truth is that every person who belongs to Christ is called to evangelize and disciple, and that requires us to get outside. So to that end, here's a short of list outreach ideas for techies:
Does your church have an outreach to an inner-city neighborhood? If so, tag along when they are in the neighborhood. Find a teenager that has audio-related interest, and ask him if he would be interested in learning how to run sound. Offer to pick him up and bring him to your next worship practice, and start teaching him. Get to know him and find out where he is coming from as you are driving back and forth. If he does not go to church, tell him you could use another guy on the sound crew and see if he wants to start coming on Sunday morning. In the meantime, you are finding out if he has any relationship with the Lord, and where you need to begin in the discipleship process.
Offer to start a media club at a local high school, teaching kids about sound, cameras, video editing, and lighting. Get them to the place that they can run tech for school events. In the meantime, again, get to know them and look for ways to expand your relationship with them. If you have decent camera guys and video editors, offer to make a short movie with them. Let them create the script, then use what they want to focus on to start a larger conversation.
Offer to run sound and/or projection for community events at no charge. It’s an easy way to use your gifts to love on your community, and it puts the church in the community in a highly visible way.
If your church is predominately of one ethnicity, try to form a relationship with the tech people at a new or small church that is predominately of a different ethnicity. Offer to help with tech training and sharing equipment that you are no longer using. Have your tech teams meet together to share ideas, and brainstorm possibilities of joint projects. Breaking down racial barriers in the body of Christ is, I believe, a critical component of our future effectiveness.
Host an outdoor movie night. This is the perfect time of year for this, when the nights are starting to get a little cooler. Set up your screen and projector and a good sound system, get any noise permits that you need to get and any licensing for the movie. Serve free popcorn or hot chocolate, and have blankets or chairs for people to sit on. It doesn’t have to be a movie with an overt salvation message, but you may want to consider having your pastor get up at the end and make a spiritual connection, and possibly even a salvation invitation, and invite people to your next church service.
Help your children’s pastor take their ministry into the community by offering tech support. Neighborhood parks are great places to set up kid’s ministry because you are going to where the kids are. But it can’t be done without the tech guys being involved. Sure, lugging sound stuff around is not fun, and you have to be careful about the wear and tear on the equipment. But there are so many neighborhoods out there where the kids are desperate for hope and attention, and they need to see that someone cares about them on a consistent basis. It will be worth the investment of your time and effort.
Document your church’s outreach efforts. If you have a video camera and can edit, go out and document what your church is doing around the city. Then bring the stories back and share them with your congregation. True stories about real impact encourage faith and inspire people to get involved, and being able to actually see real people that are being impacted makes a huge difference. One note of caution: Make sure that as you are videotaping, you are being discreet, and that you are respecting and honoring the people being helped. You never want them to feel like objects or feel used.
