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Thursday, May 15, 2008

WiFi at Church

While I met with my pastor Matt yesterday afternoon over coffee to talk about the church website, we drifted into a conversation about technology and the church. This is especially an interesting case at our church because we are primarily an "older" demographic (Nathan and I are by far the youngest married couple that attend regularly), we are small, we are very traditional, we are on the outskirts of the city. (Yes, that was all one sentence. Ha!) All of these things I love about our church - but one thing we touched on was the idea of offering a class, a seminar, or personal lessons on using the computer and the internet. I kept thinking about that last night and this morning, and it got me kind of excited. I think there is a huge technology-awareness and usage gap at our church - and everywhere, really - and I think even just a short lecture or something like that which explained using The Internet and Navigating Websites would be pretty cool. Maybe that's something I'll think about offering..I don't know. Thoughts?

We also talked about the possibility of opening up a WiFi lounge, say on Saturday mornings, at the church. Set up a room with some comfy chairs, coffee, and music, and have it available for a set time for members and the public. Obviously there are a lot of things to consider, but I think it could be really cool. I would go up to hang out on my laptop and drink some coffee...especially somewhere I could take my shoes off, unlike at Starbucks. We could patronize Lauren's, the little cafe/shop that opened up down the road, get some pastries, etcetera. It's not going to happen tomorrow, but I don't know - I'm stuck on it. Did some research on WiFi and the Church, found a few blog articles - I'll list them below. Do any of you go to churches where they offer WiFi?

Your Church, the WiFi Sharer
WiFi Sharing Poll Results
A Fount for Wi-fi
DIY WiFi Hotspot
Cardiff, U.K. Church Offers WiFi

2 comments:

  1. Shannon, I love your Saturday morning concept. We have used a 'Hotspot' here for a while here at the church I work at in Texas and many have enjoyed it. We have not done an internet cafe' type thing, but i love that idea. I'd only advise that you either have soemone there to keep people accountable or have a system that allows content filtering. Having people surf inappropriate sites would potentially damage your church's reputation. You refered to my blog post above(4th one down), thank you. I used a system called zoneCD. They offer a free version you can put together literally with spare parts. It is nice as it does filter and you can set a schedule for operating times as well. If you decide to use something like it let me know and I can advise from afar. Keep up the good work Shannon, drag your pastor into the new world of technology. BarryB

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  2. I don't have a problem with you taking your shoes off at Starbucks.

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