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There was a time when running a church office was simple.
Weekly single-page bulletins listing page and hymn numbers, along with a few announcements, were typed up and mimeographed or photocopied. A monthly church newsletter was distributed to members, and a bulletin board in the narthex kept everyone current on upcoming events and signups for volunteer activities and potluck meals. A part-time paid or volunteer church secretary kept up these publications in a few hours a week, and checked the church answering machine for messages. The pastor kept office hours so people could reach them, or the church phone also rang in the parsonage.

I remember those days.
In my first call in 1999, we didn’t have cell phone reception in our rural Minnesota community. We still used Setting 1 in the Lutheran Book of Worship every Sunday. Every member had a mailbox in the church entryway, and most checked it regularly. Internet access was by dialup modem, and most people didn’t have email, let alone social media.

What a different world we live in now!
In my last call before I retired, I served four rural and small town congregations in a cooperative ministry. Nearly everyone had cell phones, and 24/7 access meant I didn’t need to keep office hours in order for people to reach me. Our four congregations used bulletins created on sundaysandseasons.com and had access to three hymnals, which allowed greater flexibility in worship planning, but also required some serious computer skills to put together a polished and user-friendly Sunday service folder. A couple of the congregations still published printed newsletters, but a cooperative Facebook page and email updates were more effective ways to communicate with everyone. The church bulletin board was supplemented by options to sign up by email, text, or online. Group chats for specific ministries and Zoom meetings were replacing in-person committee and board meetings. The global pandemic meant we had to figure out online worship, and one congregation continued to offer that as an outreach to our homebound members and the community.

I loved most of the changes that technology brought to my ministry.
But while many people in 1999 could type a page of text or run a photocopier, not everyone has the technical skills to run a modern church office in 2026. That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of this work does not need to be done from a physical church office. What I offer is virtual church office solutions that allow your congregation to have great printed and online communication resources, no matter your size or location. Let me help your congregation tackle the challenges of 21st century ministry!

Pastor Robin Owen