3 technology trends for worship and parish data in 2024
The church has traditionally been cautious about integrating faith and technology, but more recently report This highlights the changes in this relationship.
More than 200 diocesan priests, staff and leaders attended the gathering. Catholic Edition of the 3rd Annual Church Technology Annual Report. This annual benchmarking survey reveals the church's digital trends and reveals the technology priorities, concerns, and expectations of U.S. dioceses. This provides leaders with insight into how other parishes are using technology to fulfill their missions.
“This report is more than just a collection of data points. It represents the work that dioceses across the country have invested in evangelization, outreach, and discipleship to achieve their ultimate goals. [of bringing more people into a relationship with Jesus]” wrote Fr. Brandon Macadaeg states in the foreword to the report: He leads his two cluster parishes and serves as vicar of the Cathedral of Christ of the Light in the Diocese of Auckland.
Hybrid worship does not reduce in-person worship attendance
As debate continues over the impact of livestreamed Masses on attendance, hybrid worship is emerging as a reliable strategy for parishes. Seventy-five percent currently offer these services and plan to continue doing so, with live streaming of the Mass emerging as a top tool for leaders who prioritize technology to fulfill their mission. Medium- and large-sized parishes continue to embrace and maintain hybrid services, demonstrating their ability to meet the needs of their broader communities.
protect the herd
Religious organizations have become frequent targets of cyberattacks in recent years. One parish I lost $1.75 million and another dollar. incident It involved unauthorized access to the diocese's charity database and affected 13,000 people.by report, despite concerns about security and data protection, leaders are not shying away from adopting digital tools. On the contrary, they are placing greater emphasis on security and taking a more proactive approach when evaluating new technologies.
Delay in implementation
While the pandemic has spurred the adoption of tools to connect with parishioners, updating technology is not a top priority. Comparing data points from the past three years in our report, dioceses are returning to old habits of viewing technology as a band-aid. 43% are evaluating technology only when necessary, indicating they continue to use outdated systems that compromise performance, quality, and security.
What are the barriers to adoption?
A consistent theme throughout the story study While it's clear that leaders want more technology to help them fulfill their missions, other data points suggest otherwise. The full report delves deeper into patterns that may explain why parishes keep hitting a wall. What is stopping them from taking the next step?
Download a copy of . The state of technology in the Catholic Church in 2024 We report and discover insights into what emerging technologies parish leaders across the country are exploring and how they are approaching digital tools to foster connections beyond Sunday Mass.
