TECH-savvy Pershore Baptist Church is celebrating receiving a £500 donation from Baptist Insurance.
In April the specialist insurer invited Baptist places of worship to submit their Tales of Technology – stories showcasing how they have been using technology to benefit their mission, their congregation and their community.
Entries were submitted from across the country, with churches sharing how they had moved services and meetings online, installed automated heating systems to reduce costs and even embraced the world of TikTok.
Judges had the unenviable task of selecting regional winners from the wonderful and inspirational stories with 13 regional winners selected from across the UK and each receiving a £500 donation.
Pershore Baptist Church started filming services when the pandemic hit using a mobile phone to share with followers. In October 2020 they purchased a video camera to start live streaming to the church’s congregation.
The church updated its website, Facebook and YouTube pages to share the videos to a wider audience and the church’s videos have attracted viewers from the other side of the world in Australia.
They have also started using Zoom to host meetings and coffee mornings.
Lydia Martin, church volunteer and wife of minister Rev James Martin, said: “We are over the moon to have been named one of the winners – it was a great initiative from Baptist Insurance.
“When we had recovered from the shock of lockdown starting we immediately decided to film our sermons. During the start of the pandemic, we filmed everything on a mobile phone but in October 2020 we purchased a video camera and started to live stream.
“We are so proud of our ability to embrace technology and use it to reach our church and wider community.”
David Lane, chief executive at Baptist Insurance, said: “I’d like to congratulate all of our winners of the Tales of Technology competition, each of whom will receive vital funds to support their work.
“We heard some amazing stories about how churches progressed their mission and benefitted the local community using technology.
“Pershore Baptist Church’s entry absolutely summed up the impact that technology has had in providing for its local community and I am delighted to announce them as worthy winners of the regional prize.”
Visit the website at www.baptist-insurance.co.uk/churchcomp for more.
