Technology in the Church on
a Shoestring Budget
Technology Church-Wide
Technology in the Church
• We used technology to save money in the
following areas:
• Administration – office matters & equipment
• Security – monitoring the church & its grounds
• Multimedia – getting the message out to
•
others
Communication with the congregation
Administrative Tools
• Remote Access – UltraVNC (free)
• Allows multiple access to the church’s
•
•
computer remotely
Allows office staff to work from home during
inclement weather
Good troubleshooting & training tool when
teaching someone a new application
Administrative Tools
• Church Calendar
• Google calendar (free)
• OpenOffice Software Package (free)
• Comparable to MS Office
• Membership software
• PowerChurch – member info
• Quickbooks – financial info
Security
• NextAlarm
• Significantly cheaper than other alarm
•
•
companies
Redirect calls to individuals, reducing the cost
of false alarms
Over 100 codes for individuals to have access
to church
Security
• Security cameras
• Monitoring software included
• Record activity outside of the church (video
•
•
only since audio recording is illegal in MD)
Software enhanced to create movie of motion
detected activity
Movies stored on our web hosting site
continuously (currently for 7 weeks)
Communicating with the Congregation
• Email lists for targeted groups in church (e.g.
•
•
•
•
members, leaders, men, women, ministries)
Website (Calendar, Forum, E-letter, Blog)
Information Line powered by Google Voice
Conference calls powered by Accutalk (free)
YouTube to deliver message when church
closed due to inclement weather
Multimedia
• Presentation
• Dual screen & presentation software
• Linked to sound system & projector
• Videos
• YouTube videos
• Other videos (with CVLI License)
• Music
• iTunes, Rhapsody, or Pandora
Multimedia
• Video
• Use camcorder instead of expensive camera
• Use DVR to archive services instead of DVDs
• Live Video streaming with Ustream.tv (free)
• Audio streaming with Shoutcast.com (free)
• Weekly sermon posted on web site (both
audio & video)
Web Hosting Considerations
• Select hosting company that include IP
•
address for free
Consider the following as features
• Email limits (no. of accounts & size of mailbox)
• Storage space allowance
• Upload/Download restrictions
• Cost
• Allowance of CGI/PERL scripts
• Web design capabilities
Tips to Reduce Costs
•
•
Printers
• Use printers that have a Continuous Ink Supply
System (CISS) [e.g., EPSON, HP, Canon, Brother]
to reduce the cost of cartridges/ink.
Copiers
• Evaluate printing needs, and if necessary,
•
•
purchase a color copier specific for your needs.
Lease with the option to buy back for $1 (3 yrs or
less)
Get service contract that includes supplies
Tips to Reduce Costs
• Phone Lines
• Evaluate how many lines are actually needed
• Combine lines to save money (e.g., fax & fire
alarm can be on same line)
Product Comparison
Item
Cost
Notes
Presentation
MediaShout
~ $400
Steep learning curve
Additional Monitor
Dual Head Video Card
< $100
$50
Allows on the spot editing
Video Archive
DVR
$100
2TB Hard Drive
Video Capture Card
< $100
$50 - $100
DVDs
$30/100
discs
Records 200 hrs; 250 GB storage; have to
purchase new one each year
Have to purchase annually; easy to store
Purchase once
Used to store specific portions of service (e.g.,
sermon)
Video Equipment
Camcorder
Pan/Tilt /Zoom (PTZ) Head
$250 $1,000
Video Camera
$2,000 $10,000
Make sure it has pan/tilt/zoom capability for your
space
Get if you have experience people & a specific
need (e.g., studio quality)
Product Comparison
Item
Cost
Notes
Printer Supplies
Ink Cartridges (all colors)
$50 - $80 (1/3 oz)
Reorders 12 times/year
CISS with Ink
Refill Ink (4-6 color sets)
$50 - $80
$20-$30/4 oz
Reorders 3 times/year
Alarm Monitoring
ADT;
$30/mo
Next Alarm
$12/mo
Security Camera
Panasonic Netcam
$225/camera
Include monitoring software
Church Calendar
MyChurchEvents.com
Google Calendar
$69/year
Free
Product Comparison
Item
Cost
Notes
Music Choices
iTunes
Rhapsody
Pandora
$0.99/song
30 songs free each month or $10/month
40 hrs free each month or $36/yr
Communication with Congregation
CallingPost Phone Tree
$0.06/call
Calls in ½ minute increments
VoiceShot Outbound
$0.12/call
Calls in 1 minute increments
Google Voice
Free
Membership Software
ACS
PowerChurch
$300
Purchase once
Quickbooks
$200
Purchase once
Links to Items Used at New Vision
• Video Streaming : Ustream.tv
• Audio Streaming: Shoutcast.com
• Alarm System: NextAlarm.com
• Remote Access: uvnc.com
• Virus Protection: clamwin.com
• Continuous Ink Supply System: cisinks.com
• Web Hosting Site: ixwebhosting.com
• Web Authoring Software: kompozer.net
Links to Free Software
• SnapFiles - http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/
• NoNags - http://www.nonags.com/
• FreshMeat - http://freshmeat.net/
For More Information …
• http://nvision.org/technology.htm