Church communication for everyone: helping members who aren’t online

In almost every congregation there is somebody who says, cheerfully and without apology, that they don’t do computers. There is often somebody else who would quite like to, but feels embarrassed to ask. And there is usually a steward or administrator somewhere in between, printing things out so that nobody misses anything.

As more of church life moves online, it is worth thinking carefully about both groups. The aim is not to get everybody on the internet. It is to make sure nobody is left out of the life of the church because of how they prefer to hear about it.

Paper is not a failure

The printed plan, the weekly notice sheet and the newsletter on the table at the back are not old-fashioned leftovers. For many members they are the main way they hear what is going on, and they deserve the same care as the website.

A good rule is that nothing important should only exist online. If the time of the harvest service has changed, it goes in the notices and is read out on Sunday as well as being posted. If there is a form to fill in, there is a paper copy too, with the name of somebody to hand it back to.

Ask, don’t assume

People’s circumstances change. Somebody who had no interest in email five years ago may now video-call their grandchildren every week. Somebody else may have given up the computer after a bereavement, because it was their husband or wife who used it.

When you next update the church contact list, add one simple question: how would you like us to keep in touch? Post, a phone call, email, text or WhatsApp. Respect the answer, and record it so the next person to hold the list can respect it too. If your circuit uses the Chrestos Database, this is exactly the sort of detail it can hold, visible only to the people who need it.

Helping those who want to learn

For members who would like to get started, the gentlest help is usually one person, one device and one task at a time.

• Start with something they want to do, such as watching last Sunday’s service or seeing photographs of the grandchildren, rather than something the church wants them to do.
• Sit beside them rather than taking the device out of their hands. They need to press the buttons themselves to remember how.
• Write the steps down in large print, in their own words, and leave the note with them.
• Keep sessions short and come back another week. Nobody learns everything in an afternoon.
• Make it sociable. A monthly ‘bring your phone’ morning with tea and cake has helped plenty of churches, and it often draws in neighbours as well as members.

Local libraries and Age UK groups often run free help sessions too, and pointing somebody towards one is a kindness in itself.

Make the website easy for everyone

A clear, simple website helps the less confident as much as anyone. Readable text, service times on the front page, a phone number as well as a contact form, and no jargon. If a member can find next Sunday’s service time on your website without asking for help, you have probably got most things right.

The telephone still works

For all the tools available now, a phone call remains the most reliable way to reach some people, and the most personal. Many churches keep a short ring-round list for urgent news: a cancelled service, a funeral, a snowy morning. It costs nothing, and it tells people they have been remembered.

We answer our own phones in the same spirit. If you are helping a member of your church who is struggling with something on your website, ring us on 01244 478727 and we will talk it through, however simple the question feels.

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