It depends.

I just moved from the D.C. area where everyone had always-on, constant, immediate access to email. It was quite simply, the best way to reach nearly everybody. Even better than the phone. The only challenge there is that it’s easy to get misunderstood in emails, especially when you try to inject a little humor. People don’t see your tone of voice and body language and misunderstand you.

But now I live in a town where a great number of people don’t check their email very often at all, and some of them don’t have it or don’t use it.

So… it depends.

If you say that people in your church don’t have email or don’t use email....90% of the time you are making up excuses for not using it.  Email is used by more than 85% of Americans on a semi - regular basis according to recent statistics.  My mother who is above 80 uses it.  One of our choir people, who doesn’t have a computer, uses it (he goes to the public library every day for a few minutes). 

If as much as 25% of your congregation is between the ages of 10 and 60, you have to use email to communicate with them.  Most of my congregation in that age group will NOT even open a letter from the church.  But they will open and read an email.

If email is free why am I paying AOL?  Yes we may have internet access anyway, but we are paying.  We use email as much as possible, but in rural Iowa not everyone has email.  My congregation of 200+ is 60% over age 65.  Of those almost 40% do not have email (we have done surveys).  That amounts to 50 people, about 25% of total congregation without email.  We will continue to use email, but for us it is not the cure-all you make it out to be.

We use email as one of the many tools of communication in our tool box.  When trying to get out information to many people you really have to use every means at your disposal.  Email just happens to be a really good tool.
My experience has been that if it’s our mass email, broadcast weekly to everyone on our list...we keep it very specific and try to make sure that what we are communicating is clear.  Usually dealing with the upcoming weeks events or other information that needs to be put out or reenforced.
From there our emails are geared to specific groups or leaders.
All of our Key ministries have websites that they use in multiple ways.  Our Worship ministry uses this tool to communicate very effectively.  Music, word sheets, two weeks worth of planning and tons of info.  Each ministry uses these tools to what ever degree is effective for them.
We use technology on all levels as tools to help us be more effective in staying connected to people and so they can communicate with us in multiple ways.  Everything is always leading people to connect with others in real relationships.
Communication is everything.  Using every tool available is a key in helping to make sure that people feel loved and cared for and that we as ministries can stay connected with people in the cultural we live in.

We started using e-mail on a limited basis just recently in our church.  I also moved from an area where our church only half jokingly referred to the “membership” question from people with, “Do we have your e-mail?  You’re a member!” Now I’m in a much smaller community where half or less even have e-mail, and as others have mentioned - many don’t check it very frequently.  I work in the Children’s Ministry area, and had a survey of volunteers last year evaluating areas of the ministry which included a mutliple choice question, “What’s the best way(s) to communicate information about the ministry to you?” Phone, e-mail, postal mail, and other (fill in the blank) were the options.  The majority checked other and filled in an option I hadn’t even thought of putting in, “face to face” or “in person”.  We are a large church, and this isn’t feasible or practical for mass communications, but e-mail is perceived as even less effective in this context than in others, even by those who have it and check it regularly.  It’s not stopping me from using it, but definitely causing me to measure carefully where and why I use it.

I second the comment on “knowing your context”.

I have spent the last couple of years working with a church in a rural town of about 700.

It’s a church of about 120, and I would say that in those 120, there are about 50 that use e-mail on a regular basis. That means the majority of the congregation would be left in the dark.

Still, it is very useful, and I have used it regularly, but you must have other ways to contact people, especially in a context like this.

Beneath His Mercy,
Brian

http://brianburkett.blogspot.com

Josh,

You’re right on… I was very suprised that I didn’t see ANYTHING in Barna’s research about the use of blogs.  :(

Barna is so 2004. 

(Sorry George!)

Todd

I pastor a new church start (2 years old) in middle Georgia of a congregation made up of mostly 30 - 50 year olds. I e-mail at least once a week and have found that even this age group neglects checking their e-mail on a regular basis. I am amazed and have asked if they also neglect their post office mail box. It’s a different world out there, I wonder how many folks fought the telephone when it came along.
My suggestion is to use e-mail in your mix of communication with your church and know that this is a learning curve for many.

Just stay in touch with them!
Jimmy

The church is getting over-sexed with technology, what was Jesus email address anyway? I seem to have misplaced it.