The results of the latest Your Church survey reveal whether you're technologically a step ahead or behind in the church-office environment. After the telephone, the most common means of outside communication for churches is the fax machine. Our study shows that two-thirds of all churches have purchased one. Cellular phones have become very popular communication devices, especially with large-church staffers.
Pagers are useful to church staffers because they're easy to use and cost very little to operate.
Less than 10 percent of small-church staffers carry a pager, however. Digital copiers can be found in only 6 percent of small churches. In addition to making copies, some churches need to dispose of sensitive documents in the office. The surveys for this study were mailed in February 1999. A total of 1,000 surveys were mailed and 400 were returned, for a response rate of 40 percent.