Adoption and use of information and communication technologies by Pentecostal churches in Ibadan,Nigeria

ICT adoption and use in churches

Churches have been found to provide a compelling entry point for understanding how ICTs are adopted for religious purposes because they are undergoing dramatic changes facilitated, in part, by ICTs. Grinter et al. (2011) found that churches and their ministers chose to experiment with ICTs because of the ability to sustain, reinforce and grow their church community. Sample (1998) indicates that ICTs such as projected photographs, computer graphics and feature film clips, have become standard features in many Christian churches. Likewise, the Internet is providing Christians with alternative ways to learn about and practise their faith (Brasher, 2004; Dawson and Cowan, 2004; Højsgaard and Warburg, 2005). Most churches have websites where members can send prayer requests, receive daily devotionals and download sermons but these changes are more evident in large churches than small ones. Wyche et al. (2006) present empirical results of how Pastors use technologies to support their own and their laity’s spiritual formation. They found that Pastors have incorporated technology into three broad areas of their ministerial work: research and reflection, sermons and pastoral care.

Findings from the FACT 2010 survey of 11,077 congregations reveal that from 2000 to 2010, the use of both websites and email by congregations had more than doubled and technologically-powered projection screens in worship and member databases are increasingly present in American’s congregations (Hadaway, 2010; Thumma, 2011). ICTs such as Internet, Facebook, blogs, texting and streaming media are transforming the ways religious groups interact and enhance their sense of community and help denominations reach out to and recruit members who are put off by traditional church worship.

In Nigeria, the use of ICTs among religious bodies differs among congregations, but the Pentecostal churches in Nigeria are at the forefront. The majority of Pentecostal churches in Nigeria are large churches (megachurches) with congregations above 3000, spread across the country and even beyond. Studies have actually shown that the most growth in church attendance has been experienced by megachurches which are aggressive users of ICTs (Bolu, 2012; Twitchell, 2005). Small churches are also following the path of megachurches. Pentecostal churches such as the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Deeper Life Church, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Winners Chapel, Christ Life Church, Christ Embassy, among others, now make global broadcasts of their programmes through national and international television stations and the Internet.

Osaghae and Suberu (2005) confirm the fact that Pentecostal churches are growing in popularity all over the world and are defining worship practices and religious activities through their use of ICTs. They state that Pentecostal denominations in Nigeria have witnessed a rapid growth in number with many adherents, especially young people, crossing over from other older and more traditional denominations. In addition, Nigerian Pentecostal churches have devised innovative ways of recruiting new members, raising funds and advertising themselves through the use of ICTs. One such way is through their websites. Most of the churches have websites where they post activities of the church and pictures of events as well as audio and video recordings of sermons and programmes. The Internet is also being used as a channel to pray for people and to solicit offerings and donations. As a result, Pentecostal churches in Nigeria are contributing to the globalization of Pentecostalism. For example, the church is becoming impersonal because one can join a church in one’s house through the computer. One can be prayed for through telephone, watch religious programmes on television or listen to religious programmes on radio (Gaiya, 2002). In fact some people have testified to receiving miracles or healing through watching religious programmes on TV/Internet, listening to radio or being prayed for through the telephone.

Religious individuals and groups have also adopted the use of ICTs to network with people from the same faith. ICT adoption and use in churches support the propagation of the gospel recruitment of new members, preaching, sending and receiving prayers and the Internet has been a useful tool that has made this possible. Online Bible schools/seminaries/theological centres now use the Internet, email and chat room technologies to teach future ministers (Graham, 2002). Helland (2007) highlights another use of ICTs in religion, which is to support faith practices that are difficult or impossible to practise in the person’s current physical setting (e.g. being banned by the State). An example of this is found in the north-eastern part of Nigeria where there is religious crisis and insurgency. ICTs in worship centres are also helpful in administrative functions such as rendering of reports.

Factors affecting adoption and use of ICTs by churches

Generally speaking, there are several factors influencing the adoption and use of ICTs. Some of these factors identified by Manueli et al. (2007) are organizational characteristics (such as organizational ICT readiness), external pressure to adopt (the influence of subjective norms) and structural sophistication of the business (size, status and information intensity). In line with Manueli et al. (2007), factors that influence ICT adoption in churches could be grouped into two: church and owner characteristics. Church characteristics are size of the church, church ICT readiness, external pressure, status, income, doctrine, as well as culture. For example, income and size have been described as primary factors in ICT use because income has a direct relationship with the size of the congregation. Thumma (2011: 4) mentions that ‘the size of a congregation is the primary factor in its level of technology use’. Thumma also notes that a church with a larger congregation has the ability to generate greater income and is invariably more likely to employ technology. ICT readiness refers to the current level of technology use in the church administration. Little or no technology use reflects low ICT readiness and strong reluctance to adopt ICT. External pressure may come from members of the congregation or nearby (competing) churches, whereby a church joins the ICT bandwagon to ensure its continuous survival. A church could also adopt the use of ICTs to boost its image among its contemporaries.

Owner/minister characteristics that could influence the adoption and use of ICTs include age, gender and educational qualification. Thumma (2011) suggests that age has a profound influence on the use of technology; the older the pastor of a church, the less likely it would be to embrace technology. In essence, senior leadership could affect a congregation’s embrace of technology. Owner characteristics also include owner’s perceived benefits from ICT adoption, as well as the ICT skills of the owner/minister.

General observations

It was observed that the majority of the churches used ICT to attract new members and to communicate to the congregation about upcoming services and events. Many offered a downloadable Bible, newsletter, prayer points, church mission and vision statements, etc. in addition to offering the documents in hard copies. Some provided phone numbers and email addresses of the Pastors and administrators, so that the church members and non-members could contact them. Some churches produced audio and video versions of the sermons and some other church activities like drama, special services, etc. These items are offered for sale to interested members at subsidized prices. A few of the churches had official blogs and podcast a variety of media, including sermons. At most of the churches, it was observed that programmes/activities, announcements, Bible passages, key points of the sermon (rather than spoken only sermons) and lyrics of songs were projected. The observation visit also gave the opportunity of watching live streamed programmes from some of the churches.

Profile of churches and respondents

Of the 24 surveyed churches 18 were located in the central areas of the city, while six were in the semi-urban areas. The church structure shows that the small churches had between 10 and 15 branches, the medium churches had between 50 and 100 branches while the megachurches had more than 500 branches. The church structure shows that the average church size in a branch of a church was 700 for the large churches, 400 for the medium churches and 250 for small churches (comprising both adults and children). Youth population was between 40 to 50%; child population about 20 to 30%; while the aged population was less than 15%. This means that majority of church attendees were children and youth. The results also showed that females were generally higher in number in all the churches. The average age of the Pastors was 55 while the average age of the administrators was 32. All the Pastors were male, while nine out of the administrators were female. All the Pastors had at least a Higher National Diploma degree. The least educated of all the administrators had completed secondary level education. The churches sampled used a variety of ICTs to support a range of different religious activities. The Pastors and church administrators who participated in interviews all agreed that they knew how to operate most of the ICTs that were available in the churches.

The results of the correlation of age of church with variety in use of ICTs revealed that the age of the churches appeared not to have an influence on varieties of ICTs adopted by the churches. This differed from past studies which found that age had a profound influence on the use of technology (Thumma, 2011). For example, the FACT 2010 survey revealed that technology use was diminished if the Pastor or primary clergyperson was older, and even if the church itself was older, that is, the longer ago the church was founded the less likely it was to embrace technology. But the results of this current study showed that ICT adoption and use did vary with the size of the churches. The megachurches used more ICT than the smaller churches. In addition, neither the education level of the Pastors and administrators nor the location of the churches (urban versus semi-urban) had a significant effect on their ICT adoption and use.

Types of ICTs adopted and used by the churches

The Pastors and church administrators were asked about the types of ICTs they used in the churches. Their responses revealed a list of many types of ICTs which included desktop computer, laptop, microphone, mixer, scanner, telephone (mobile and desktop), fax machine, radio, television, projector, photocopier, printer, electronic drum sets, keyboards and Internet. The majority of the churches also had ICT infrastructure such as VSAT, TV Station, Web portal, email server, local area network (within the church building), ICT resource centre, Information help desk, CD/DVD production studio, printing press and publishing house. Crowley (2007) and Sample (1998) unequivocally state that ICTs including computers, TVs, radios, Internet, projectors, etc. have become a standard part of many Christian churches’ worship services.

When the Pastors and administrators were asked how the churches acquired these ICTs, some responded that the local churches purchased them from church money while some responded that they were sent to them from the headquarter churches. Some revealed that they acquired them through donations from church members and philanthropists. Some even said that the ICTs were donated by some groups in the church to commemorate their anniversaries.

What are ICTs used for?

The respondents mentioned that they used ICTs for a lot of activities ranging from singing, preaching, praying, follow-up, counselling, evangelism and preparation of reports. Almost all the churches (98%) had computers and projectors that they used to project programme activities, lyrics of hymns and songs, Bible passages and key points of sermons. Likewise all the churches sent information to members’ phone numbers and emails. Information about the churches was posted on the websites and social media pages to communicate with them and evangelize/recruit new members. For specific examples, ICTs were used to make calls to members, send emails and bulk SMS, audio and video record programmes and play musical instruments. ICTs were also used to produce periodic reports. Some of the church ministers mentioned that they used ICTs to render periodic returns to their headquarters. This, they said, was made convenient and faster through the deployment of ICTs. Some mentioned that they sent hard copies of these reports, while some said they only forwarded the soft copies to the relevant authorities through emails.

ICTs are also deployed in some of the churches to collect offerings, tithes and some other donations. For example, five of the churches had POS machines that were used to collect offerings on Sundays. This was also noted in the churches during the observation period where some members of the churches paid their offerings using their ATM cards on the church’s POS machine. This practice ensures the church does not have too much cash to handle in case of armed bandits. One Pastor said that there was a time that armed robbers came to the church during the service and carried away a huge sum of money. This incident prompted them to adopt POS to collect the offering and their members were encouraged to pay their offerings and tithes through this means. Through this, the volume of physical cash they received during services had reduced.

With the rise and tremendous success of social media applications, it was found that a majority (95%) of the churches had Facebook accounts where information about the churches and their programmes was posted. But it was interesting to know that just 10% of the churches were on Twitter even though more than 50% of the church ministers and administrators had individual Twitter accounts. Only three of the churches had blogs. But a subsequent browsing of a sample of the churches’ Facebook accounts revealed that just about 40% updated their Facebook pages regularly. One of the administrators mentioned that part of his duties was to update the Facebook page of the church on a daily or weekly basis, to send information to members and also allow members to post comments. About 74% of the churches also had websites where information about the churches was posted and where members of congregation sent prayer requests, received daily devotionals and downloaded sermons.

Reasons for ICT adoption and use in the churches

As revealed by this study, ICTs have been harnessed to drive most activities of the churches. Various reasons were gathered from the interviews as to why the churches were using ICTs. All the respondents mentioned that evangelism was the focus of their religion and so, in order to be able to propagate the good news as demanded of them, they needed to adopt ICTs to reach the whole world. As noted by one Pastor in a headquarter church:

The mandate given to Christians is to preach the gospel to the whole world as stated in Matthew 28: 19–20. And in order for us to reach the world (for example, people living in other continents), we had to adopt the use of ICTs. We have branches that are scattered all over and ICTs are used to be in touch with them. Our members are also all over the world. We can minister to them wherever they are. We do this through telephone calls, sending of SMS and emails. We also post our activities on our websites for members and prospective members. We just finished our monthly fasting and praying and we posted prayer points on our website for those that will not be available in church to break their fast. In fact I have some members abroad that I pray for every day. I believe it is ICT that has made it possible.

Another reason mentioned by the respondents was that the church also needed to move along as the world is moving towards ICTs. The respondents emphasized that ICTs have brought remarkable development to every area of human life and the increasing importance of ICT usage cannot be overlooked in the church. Some of the churches also mentioned that they adopted ICTs in order to boost the image of the church as non-use of ICT is deemed old-fashioned these days. Some other reasons given were for effective communication between the church and its members, to make the church environment more interesting and conducive to worship, and to advertise the church to prospective members. ICTs are also adopted so the congregation can be carried along through the projection of the lyrics of songs, Bible passage and announcements, among others, during the service. Some of the respondents stated that their church members encouraged them to adopt ICTs. One church minister said that:

The majority of my members are youth and children who are technology savvy. They come to church with their phones, IPads and tablets. They read Bible on these ICTs. Some of them in the choir came to me one day and asked me why the church was not thinking towards acquiring a computer and projector to project songs, Bible passages and other information as it was being done in other nearby churches. I tabled this request before the church committee and it was approved. That is how we were able to bring computers into our worship.

Previous research supports these assertions. For example, Grinter et al. (2011) mention evangelism as one of the major reasons why churches have adopted ICTs more aggressively than other world faiths, such as Islam and Judaism. Schroeder et al. (1998) also state that ICTs are adopted because they support the growth of new and existing religious faiths and their practices, while Dawson and Cowan (2004) note that churches adopt and use ICTs to replicate prayer. Thumma and Travis (2007) opine that one of the reasons why ICTs have been adopted is to help denominations reach out to and recruit members who are put off by traditional church worship. The result of this study also supports the work of Wyche et al. (2006) who mention that Pentecostal churches see ICTs as opportunities to grow their faith by spreading the gospel broadly.

Effect of ICT adoption and use on church activities

The adoption of ICTs by Pentecostal churches has no doubt brought remarkable growth to the church both physically and spiritually. All the respondents agreed that the use of ICTs had helped grow the church as it was easier now than before to reach out to new comers, as well as irregular church members. Pastors could easily reach out to members that were not at service to inquire why this was so. The members also had the opportunity to call the ministers at any time though ICTs. One church administrator stated that:

When new members join the church, they are given welcome cards which they are requested to fill to provide some of their personal information. The information usually requested includes the member’s phone number and email address. This makes it easier for the follow up team in the church to contact these new members and follow them up. In addition, messages are regularly sent to the members’ phone numbers and email addresses to encourage them, intimate and remind them of the church programmes. ICT adoption by the church is particularly useful to me as administrator because it is the practice in my church to send information about the church weekly programmes to all members every week. We also have an attendance register we ask the members to fill when they come for services. This enables us have the contact information of members. We input this data into the church computer and so we have up-to-date information of our members. I use the information to communicate with members by sending bulk SMS and email which is cheaper and more convenient for me. ICTs use also speeds up the dissemination of information. If I had to visit members at home to disseminate information, this would take time and a lot of effort but I can easily send information to them within a few minutes and with less efforts and stress.

The respondents also mentioned that the spiritual growth of members had also been improved with the adoption of ICTs. For example, most congregation members read the Bible online through their phones and computers which is more convenient than carrying the hard copy. During the observation visits, most of the members of the churches read Bibles on their phones, IPad and Galaxy tablets. Some members also sang hymns from the downloaded hymns on their phones and tablets. The opportunity of also having many versions of the Bible was also presented by the ministers. Instead of having to buy so many versions of the Bible (such as King James, New King James, Amplified, Good News, etc.), the downloaded versions of the Bible from the Internet provided the opportunity of having many versions. This has also made it easier for the ministers when they are preaching as they can project many versions of the Bible passage to explain their sermons.

In addition, many of the churches have daily devotionals that are available to members both in print and soft copies that can be downloaded from the churches’ websites. The opportunity of portability that these soft copies offer and the convenience of having access to them at any time and from any location were highlighted by the ministers as one of the advantages ICTs have brought to the church. A minister also highlighted the advantage of having the church programmes recorded on CD and VCD. This allowed the church members have the opportunity of listening or watching the church programmes again and even those that were unable to come for the programmes had the opportunity of catching up with what was done when they were away from the church. Some churches also have live streaming of special programmes. For example, the RCCG provide live streaming of their monthly Holy Ghost service which affords members who are unable to attend the programme the opportunity to watch in their homes. As one minister of the RCCG said:

We project live the monthly Holy Ghost services that are held at our Redemption camp here in the church every first Friday of each month. Members who are unable to make it to the camp come to the church to watch the programme in church at no cost.

One minister pointed out the effect of using PowerPoint presentation in conducting services and delivering their sermons. A Pastor shared his view:

Projection of the service helps carry the congregation along as it is believed that things that are seen are more easily remembered than things heard. Before I started using PowerPoint, some of the congregation used to sleep while delivering my sermon. But this has greatly reduced since I started using PowerPoint. It makes my sermon lively and interesting. The congregation has the opportunity of jotting down sermons and Bible passages that are displayed. They also have the opportunity of knowing the lyrics of hymns and songs because they are displayed through the projectors.

One Pastor also said that PowerPoint gave him the flexibility to package his message in a way that would carry the congregation along. It afforded him the opportunity to use texts, figures, images and pictures to deliver his sermon. The minister also added that he sometimes downloaded videos from YouTube to get his message across. And this, he said, always received applause from his congregation. This was corroborated by Grinter et al. (2011) who state that the use of multimedia allows ministers to tailor their contents toward what they thought their audience would prefer and also allows them to refine and craft their theological messages, by writing them to align with their values. ICTs allow ministers to preach messages with great ease by simply downloading messages from the Internet, omitting portions or changing them appropriately to communicate. Grinter et al. (2011) also mention that editing religious text gives ministers a very high degree of control over their message.

It was also gathered from the respondents that ICTs play an important role in the administration and management of the church compared to when ICTs had not been adopted. ICTs are used to support the reporting of church activities, e.g. financial data and periodic reports to various authorities. For example, some churches send monthly reports from the local churches to the headquarters by emails. One church administrator said that:

reports generation has been made faster and more convenient than before. Financial reports of the church are sent to the emails of members for their information and comments before church in conference meetings that are done every quarter.

Some ministers also mentioned the opportunity that ICT adoption had brought to the members that were living in areas where there was religious unrest. One Pastor of a church said that:

Some of our church branches in the Northern part of Nigeria have been the target of insurgents lately. In fact many churches have been burnt down and this has made it difficult for our members in that region to converge for service on Sundays. But our General Overseer makes available audio and video tapes of messages which are sent to individual families and which they can play and listen to in their respective homes on Sundays. We also provide live streaming of special programmes on TV and Internet for them to watch at home. In as much as we know that this cannot suffice for a communal fellowship, but we don’t want to create a spiritual vacuum. As soon as the insurgency is over, we will build another church for them.

To summarize, ICT adoption is having a positive influence on church activities and the numerical as well as spiritual growth of members. It may not be unconnected with this reality that Osaghae and Suberu (2005) stated that the Pentecostal body has witnessed a rapid growth in number with many members crossing over from other older generational or traditional denominations because of the modernization that has come into these churches.

Challenges to ICT adoption and use in the churches

The majority of the Pastors and administrators agreed that ICT adoption has its challenges. Some of the challenges mentioned were the cost of acquiring and maintaining the ICTs, cost of Internet bandwidth which is very high in Nigeria, the occasional unavailability of Internet access, digital divides between the ICT skilled and unskilled, cost of hiring IT personnel to operate and maintain the ICTs, erosion of personal relationships, among others. The high cost of Internet access and erratic supply of electricity in Nigeria were challenges common to all the churches. The churches had to buy generating plants to provide an alternative power supply. The majority of the respondents agreed that the size of their churches actually influenced their adoption of ICT but that the money needed to procure and maintain the equipment was a challenge. Some said they had to levy the congregation members and solicited donations from outside the church before they could procure some of the equipment. Some mentioned that the cost of maintenance (cost of hiring IT skilled personnel, repairs and maintenance) was a challenge. This challenge was mentioned by the small churches. The medium and megachurches did not mention financial constraints in procuring ICT equipment because they generate income through offerings, tithes and donations.

The respondents also mentioned that ICT adoption in worship was gradually eroding face-to-face contact/relationships. Some of the ministers thought it was not good enough to replace the physical service with virtual service. They believed the two should complement each other rather than the virtual eroding the physical. The face-to-face contact during service cannot be replaced with watching the service on TV/Internet or listening to radio. Some of them were of the opinion that ICT adoption brought isolation. One Pastor expressed his fear thus:

I am worried about what may happen in future with the advancement we are experiencing in ICTs and modernization. Some members may not come to church again for worship if they are able to join the service from their homes. So I am of the opinion that in as much as ICTs have brought convenience to our world, it should not replace our coming together as brethren.

In essence, even though the Pastors agreed that adoption and use of ICTs in religion had so many benefits, the importance of physical contact and coming together of ‘brethren’ was emphasized. One Pastor in a church said:

ICTs should complement worship and not erode physical contacts. It should not eliminate the coming together of people under the same roof to worship God. It should not erode physical contact and relationships.

Thumma (2011) equally suggests a hybrid congregation, in which part will be physical and part virtual. Religious leaders who recognized this would have a distinct advantage.

Some ministers were also of the opinion that ICTs in worship centres had turned the sacred house to a sort of entertainment house. Some said the adoption of ICTs had brought foreign doctrine and culture to the church, such as secular music, wearing of trousers and non-covering of hair by women, wearing of earrings by men, etc. These habits, some believed, were alien to Nigerian culture and against the dictates of the Bible. Some also pointed out the reluctance of some members of the church (especially the older ones) to embrace ICTs. This, they said, resulted from the fact that some of the older members did not have the opportunity to use ICTs when they were young. As a result, most of them did not have the skill to use ICTs. This gap was however bridged by making information available in print copy so they could also be carried along in the church activities. One administrator pointed out that:

In my church, we are not unmindful of the fact that some people are not ICT-savvy. It is my duty as the administrator to send information about church activities and programmes to members’ email addresses and phone numbers. We send the schedule of activities ahead of the programmes so members can plan toward the activities. But we also make print copies that we distribute to members as they come for programmes so as to carry members that don’t have emails and phones along. In addition, some members may not have the opportunity to check their mails due to workload or unavailability of Internet access. We can’t afford to keep them out of touch with what is happening in the church.

Despite these challenges, all the respondents agreed to continue the use of ICTs in worship for all their upsides (the benefits) and manage the downsides (the challenges). They believed that despite the challenges, the rewards that ICT adoption and use offered far outweighed these challenges.