March 21, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
Few Catholic churches are providing the online information and interactivity their parishioners want, says a new study.
A team of researchers from the Center for the Study of Church Management — part of the Villanova School of Business — looked at 250 parish Web sites and found that most of them included basic information such as Mass times (96 percent) and weekly bulletins (75 percent).
But relatively few sites provide more detailed information or offer interactive features. For example, only one in six church Web sites allows people to make online donations.
“Younger people are accustomed to paying almost all of their bills electronically,” says Charles Zech, the center’s director. “If churches want folks to contribute at the level they would like them to maintain their stewardship, they’re going to have to give them that option.”
Churches want to do better, says Mr. Zech. Last month, 200 people attended an all-day seminar the center held on church technology use. It had only expected 100 participants.
