Church Production surveyed* its audience and found interesting trends on how technical ministries are responding to the coronavirus.
Streaming – 59% of churches surveyed were streaming prior to the coronavirus pandemic. However, of the 41% of churches who were NOT streaming, 84% said they are much more likely to start streaming as a result of the health crisis.
Giving vs. Spending – Data from the Church Production survey (March 17-23, 2020) indicates that churches expect to largely maintain their spending or investment in technology for the rest of 2020.
32% - Expect little or no drop in spending or investment in technology for the rest of 2020
47% - Expect a short-term drop, but none in the long term
21% - Expect a significant drop
Historical Look at Online Donation Patterns Proves Promising
Shortly after the end of the 2008/09 recession, the Washington Times (March 2010) published a report saying that while 29% of churches saw a drop in donations in 2008, another 47% saw an increase. Then, in 2009, 35% of churches reported a drop in donations, yet another 35% reported an increase in 2009, as well.
2008 2009
Churches reporting a decline in donations 29% 35%
Churches reporting an increase in donations 47% 35%
If church staff had been able to attend NAB, USITT and other similar events, here’s what they report they would’ve shopped for:
- 59% - Cameras
- 56% - Streaming Equipment/Systems
- 51% - Lighting
- 34% - Microphones
- 30% - Audio Mixing Consoles
- 28% - Video Editing Software/Systems
- 27% - Camera Accessories (tripods, batteries, etc.)
- 26% - Projection/IMAG Systems
- 18% - Intercoms
- 11% - Content Storage Systems
Caring for our families and our communities should be the #1 priority for the coming weeks. And encouragingly, many economists are predicting a V-shaped (fast) recovery from this devastating blow to the world.
In the interim, we hope the results of this research provides comforting and useful information to navigate through and move forward after the COVID-19 health crisis.
*16,147 surveys sent by email to subscribers of Church Production/churchproduction.com, 649 completed surveys. 4% response rate.
