How to buy a church computer

The computer age has arrived. Some churches have jumped in with both feet, only to find the water deeper than they thought. Others are still waiting on the shore. How can you decide whether or not your church needs a computer? And how can you select the right hardware and software? You'II find good answers here.

Michael R. Tucker is senior minister of Bethany Community Church, Tempe, Arizona.

John Naisbitt in his best-seller Megatrends warns, "By one estimate, 75 percent of all jobs by 1985 will involve computers in some way—and people who don't know how to use them will be at a disadvantage."1 It is already true that churches without computers are at a disadvantage. If you haven't already purchased a computer for your church, you probably have wondered whether you should.

But there are inherent problems with churches popping into the world of computers: most pastors are trained in the social rather than physical sciences; churches tend to view themselves as the last bulwark against an impersonal, technological society; pastors and church staff consider themselves far too busy to experiment (i.e., "play") on a computer. While many church staffers can visualize themselves using a computer, few see themselves as qualified to be involved in the actual purchase of one. But buying the right equipment is really not as difficult as it might seem.

Get acquainted

The first thing a pastor considering purchase of a computer must do is get acquainted with the "miracle machines." If the pastor has no working knowledge of computer capabilities, it is unlikely that the church will get a computer or that it will properly utilize one if it does. By "working knowledge" I do not mean that the pastor must understand "computerese." Knowing the difference between a byte and a hex code isn't really necessary at the beginning. But talking to a friend who has a computer at home, discussing the possibilities with a salesperson or two, and seeking the advice of pastors who already have computers can be very enlightening. One thing you will learn is that computers are not really miracle machines at all. In fact, they are actually quite stupid. They can do only what they are told to do. They can follow directions precisely and quickly, but they can do nothing more or less than the operator instructs.

After talking to several people about computers, I read several nontechnical books.2 Then I went to a couple of seminars and tried some very simple hands-on experiments. At most of these events I felt that I was probably the least knowledgeable person attending. But I had fun.

Decide what you want

The second step is for the pastor to write down what he would like for a computer to do. Here is my list:

POSSIBLE USES FOR A COMPUTER

1. Data retrieval

List the 450 family units

  • by name (each person in each family)
  • by birthday
  • by address for mailing list
  • by skills, experience for service

Keep weekly attendance record

Record keeping

2. Word processing

Type weekly newsletter and church bulletin

Type articles and book manuscripts

3. Scheduling

Use of all church facilities

Use of all gym activities during the week

Use of all rooms used by outside groups

Use of rooms used for weddings

4. Financial records

Keep entire accounts receivable and payable

This list proved very helpful when I actually started shopping for a computer. In fact, every time I went into a store and the salesperson discovered that I had such a list, he or she asked for a copy.

How to purchase

The third step is a don't. Don't form a committee to purchase a computer! I have talked with many churches and Christian organizations during the past three years who (1) are hopelessly bogged down in the process of purchasing a computer or (2) bought the wrong equipment, because they formed a committee. Now don't misunderstand; I'm not against committees. I am a pastor, and I know the value of committees. I don't like those corny jabs such as "A camel is a horse put together by a committee." But for this task a committee is a bad idea. Committees discuss, give advice, and consent. This is a task that requires one or two people to do the research, shop, and make a decision. Of course, you may need ultimate authority from a committee or board, but that is different from inviting the whole group to be part of the process. It is the kind of decision with which there will be disagreement. I can almost guarantee that no matter what you eventually buy, someone (probably several "someones") will disagree.

The best way to shop for a computer is to take along one or two people who are knowledgeable about computers and, preferably, about the church you serve. You as the pastor should have in mind what you want the computer to do. Your companions should know how to ask the right technical questions.

Although you do not need to know technical language, you do need to know the difference between hardware and software. Hardware is the stuff you can see and touch: keyboard, screen, plastic box, electronic circuits, disk drives, printer. Software is the program: the instructions, the rules, that tell the hardware what to do. Your television is hardware. The programs you watch (60 Minutes, Diff rent Strokes) are, roughly speaking in this analogy, software. Got it?

Shop for software first

The fourth step is to shop for software—what you want a computer to do for you. Once you discover the proper software, you can easily find hardware to run it.

At this point you also need to remember to be very cautious about accepting a computer as a gift. For years churches have been dumping grounds for old couches, tables, typewriters, and mimeograph machines. Now people who want to upgrade their equipment are dumping their old computers on churches. If you accept a gift computer you will have to make do with whatever software it will run. When you want to expand or upgrade, you will have to do exactly what the last owner of that computer did—find an unwitting charitable organization that will accept it.

When looking for software for a church, you have three alternatives. You can purchase a package that is specifically designed for churches. The advantage is that you don't need to adapt very much to your own situation. The disadvantage is that it is often nearly impossible to program such a package (change the software to your needs). In other words, you have to take the whole package as it is. You pay for the parts of the package you can use, and you pay for the parts of the package you can't use in your particular situation. For instance, most church financial packages have a pledge feature. That is, the package will keep track of how much a person pledges to give and how he is doing with that commitment. Some packages even offer periodic reminders to those who pledge a certain amount of money and have not met their pledge. Our church does not use the pledge system at all. So if we bought a church financial package with that feature, we would pay for something we could not use.

Another choice is to write all your own programs. That usually is not practical for churches. Such a task requires a much larger commitment of time and personnel than it might seem.

Many churches will choose basic, generic software that has many built-in features but will also allow some simple adaptations to suit their own needs. For instance, a word-processing package will allow you to do all your typing (letters, church bulletins, newsletters, etc.) on a computer. (Be sure your word processor is capable of handling multicolumn material.) A standard data-base package will allow you to select what information you want to keep on each member. You may wish to keep a list of parishioners that includes everyone's birthday but does not include attendance. You may wish to include other items unique to your church or denomination.

Be sure that the computer you purchase has a large enough capacity to handle new uses you will develop as you learn more about computers and their possibilities. When I first started looking at computers I thought we had about 450 family units in our church. But after we started using the computer and our record keeping became more accurate I learned that we had many more family units who attended our church occasionally. Now, two and a half years later, we have 2,463 on our records. Already we have doubled the amount of storage space on the computer we originally purchased. Most churches probably should start with a computer that uses a hard disk (ask the salesperson to explain that) rather than only floppy disks.

At the time you purchase your computer you will also need a printer. There are two basic kinds: dot matrix and letter quality. Most dot-matrix printers give the kind of fuzzy print that looks computer-produced. There are some new models, however, that offer the speed and versatility of dot-matrix printers without sacrificing much print quality. But they usually do not offer the possibility of printing with ribbons of different colors. Letter-quality printers are slower and more expensive but produce clearer print.

Where to buy

The fifth step is to make the purchase from someone who can give you adequate support. You will be able to purchase both software and hardware from catalogs at cheaper prices than from retail stores. But you won't get the help you need when you have a question or a problem. At the beginning it is important to have that help! Yesterday I talked with my friend Tom, who owns the racquetball club where I play. His computer was not working, and he could not find anyone to repair it. It is not a major brand, and the store where he purchased it is now out of business.

When I returned to my office I read a letter from a fellow pastor in town who had purchased a little-known brand of computer a year ago and is now giving it away because it just won't do the job his growing church needs. In both cases the necessary support is not available, and those owners are now faced with several options, all of them unpleasant and time-consuming.

Be sure to shop around for the best prices from among those who will give you support. Prices are flexible in this market. You might be tempted to purchase part of your equipment from one store and part from another to save money. But remember that support is more important initially than saving a few dollars. If you buy your computer from one store and your printer from another, whom will you call if the two quit talking to each other? Recently we purchased a printer at a discount store that does not offer adequate support. But (1) we already have another printer exactly like it and (2) we do have some experience now.

Here are the five steps to happy computer ownership:

1. Gain an elementary knowledge of computers through reading, attending seminars, and asking questions.

2. Make a list of what you want a computer to do for you.

3. Don't form a committee to purchase a computer.

4. Shop for software.

5. Buy where you are guaranteed support.

Through the past few years I have also observed that churches that start with only a financial package make a mistake. Word-processing and data-base (the list of your parishioners, et cetera) uses are far more important than the financial package in most cases. The other problem with starting with only the financial package is that the pastor usually is not the person who keeps the financial records. It is important for the pastor to be one of the first people to learn how to use the computer. The pastor who wants a computer for the church secretary but does not ever intend to learn how to use it himself will severely limit its use. The creative and specific uses of a computer will often come from the pastor's head, but only if he is familiar with the machine and what it can do. Watching the church secretary is not good enough; he must learn to use it.

A computer won't do everything, but it will do a lot to help you in your ministry. It is just a machine, but who among us would try to operate our ministries efficiently without machines in today's world? Your church will own a computer (unless your church also opposes telephones and typewriters). The question is not if, but when.

1 John Naisbitt, Megatrends (New York: Warner
Books, 1982), p. 33.

2 Christopher Evans, The Micro Millennium
(New York: Viking Press, 1980).


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Michael R. Tucker is senior minister of Bethany Community Church, Tempe, Arizona.

March 1985

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