In a recent episode of Playback, Jason Lee, the executive pastor at Oakbrook Church in Central Indiana, discusses the significance of innovation within church communities.
Embrace change.
Because churches have deep-rooted tradition, they often time solely rely on historical convention and practices. However, Jason argues that is the reason why innovation is so important and incorporating it can bolster the strength of the message with the community.
“We carry a message that's thousands of years old that's been, the message hasn't been changed but the methods of presenting it and interacting with it has dramatically changed,” said Jason.
Jason encourages church communities to experiment and find creative and unique ways to support their mission. One way he suggests starting this process is by taking a moment to reflect on what makes the community uniquely individual, and focus on how that has the potential to be highlighted.
Don’t neglect consistency.
When it comes to innovation, consistency is key. This starts with communication and ensuring that all members affected by change or new technology are all on the same page.
Consistency also comes into play when curriculum needs to be implemented across multiple different locations at various scales. One way to incorporate innovative technology that utilizes innovation is delivering video curriculum and content across Playlister platforms. This helps ensure consistent messaging, branding, and experience no matter the playing field.
“What Playlister's enabled us to do [...], is basically in real time, we can push the presentation curriculum and make changes and then at each location I know they're going through the same presentation. It just helps me control the brand, our communication, and how we talk about these kind of things.”
Use technology to simplify the process.
“One of the things I will just speak to in that is one of my favorite things about technology is when it kind of presses into the background. It just executes flawlessly and you don't even really notice it.”
When done right, technology is like a perfect symphony. This sort of seamless coalescence empowers the volunteers, the children, and even the teachers. Not only does it enhance the curriculum and what is being taught, but it avoids appearing clunky, overused, or distracting. Streamlining the technological process helps those presenting are able to focus on their message rather than any tech-related frustrations.
“The volunteers can come in and the technology just works for them. It’s a button that they click and it just works. They don’t have to think about that, but it serves them and what they’re doing and helps them have a greater impact.”
Want to learn more about Jason’s use of innovative technology? Click here to listen to the full podcast.