Churches in Nigeria these days are now moving to the next level in ICT, church members are more used to media in the church for easy access to many things, like writing sermons, songs etc. churches use software like easy-worship and other applications.
Church ICT infrastructures for growth include:
VSAT: Short for Very Small Aperture Terminal, an earthbound station used in satellite communications of data, voice and video signals, excluding broadcast television. A VSAT consists of two parts, a transceiver that is placed outdoors in direct line of sight to the satellite and a device that is placed indoors to interface the transceiver with the end user's communications device, such as a PC. The transceiver receives or sends a signal to a satellite transponder in the sky. The satellite sends and receives signals from a ground station computer that acts as a hub for the system. Each end user is interconnected with the hub station via the satellite, forming a star topology. The hub controls the entire operation of the network. For one end user to communicate with another, each transmission has to first go to the hub station that then retransmits it via the satellite to the other end user's VSAT. (The second component of VSAT earth station is the indoor unit (IDU). The indoor unit is a small desktop box or PC that contains receiver and transmitter boards and an interface to communicate with the user's existing in-house equipment - LANs, servers, PCs, TVs, kiosks, etc. The indoor unit is connected to the outdoor unit with a pair of cables.)
TV station or TV production: Some denominations are already having TV stations. It helps in delivering the Christian message of hope around the globe via television, internet and mobile devices.
Computers: Through this several of church information can be manipulated and kept for future generations.
Bulk SMS: SMS means Short Message Service. Bulk SMS is simply a way of sending simple text messages to numerous contacts at once using the internet instead of your cell phone and you need not go through your telecom service provider.
Internet bandwidth: Internet bandwidth can be thought of as an electronic byway that connects the Internet to your computer. Increasing bandwidth (widening the lane) allows more traffic to flow, increasing speed. Having a little or a lot of Internet bandwidth available makes the difference between watching a graphic-intensive Web page load in phases over a period of several minutes, or having it pop into your window like a flash of lightening. The more bandwidth your connection has, the faster it will load and the more time you will save.
Internet bandwidth test meters are available online to test your connection speed. The hosting site will upload blocks of data recording the amount of time it takes to complete the transfers. Speed is a measurement of how much data can be transferred from the Internet to your computer per second. A graph will reveal the results, allowing you to see if your connection is performing as expected. Close unnecessary background processes and programs before you start, and take several bandwidth tests from several sites to establish an average, true speed.
Local Area Network (within church buildings): A local area network (LAN) supplies networking capability to a group of computers in close proximity to each other such as in an office building, a school, or a home. A LAN is useful for sharing resources like files, printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects to other LANs, and to the Internet or other WAN. Most local area networks are built with relatively inexpensive hardware such as Ethernet cables, network adapters, and hubs. Wireless LAN and other more advanced LAN hardware options also exist.
Wireless Network Infrastructure: Church members, staff and guests will have shared access to wireless network resources to support the Church’s mission of teaching, research, and outreach. Anyone who wishes to connect to the Church network with a laptop or other wireless device must use wireless network infrastructure devices that are owned by and centrally managed by the church to ensure integrity, security, and availability for appropriate educational and spiritual activities. Any wireless network device that would extend the church network, and is not managed by the church network, will be considered a rogue device (A wireless network device that spoofs or interferes with the day to day legitimate operation of central wireless services.), and will be subject to detection and immediate removal from the network.
Optical Fiber Cabling: A fiber optic cable is a network cable that contains strands of glass fibers inside an insulated casing. These cables are designed for long distance and very high bandwidth (gigabit speed) network communications. Fiber optic cables carry communication signals using pulses of light. While expensive, these cables are increasingly being used instead of traditional copper cables, because fiber offers more capacity and is less susceptible to electrical interference.
Call Centre or Help Desk: It is meant to communicate and relate to people both in person and via phone/email. It is a team sort of ministry. Those that are involved in this section of church ministry are creative problem solvers and passionate Christ-follower with a clear calling to support ministry. Those that are in this section of ministry should know how to troubleshoot PCs. They should be able to provide one-on-one support for end-users. They should be able to support the technology needs of the church with global impact.
Church Internet Domain: This is the internet address of the church where the mission, the vision and the ministry of the church is spelt out and with the aim of encountering souls for Christ daily.
ICT Resource Centre: The ICT Resource Centre is a place that is equipped with modern Personal Computers for one-on-one learning opportunities to the students.
CD/DVD production studio: We have all been to services where we wish we could go back again and watch it all over again. Many churches record their service in audio format to make available to its members or anyone else for that matter. CD/DVD recordings add another level to this by letting the viewer see what is actually going on. The CD/DVD production studio is another means through which church programme and pastor message can be kept. It can also be of help to produce CD/DVD for church members and outsiders that are saddled with one ministry or the other to their generation.
Printing Press or Publishing House: Print media is the oldest mass media and is one of the most useful instruments for Christian ministry of today. Some believe that literature is the most effective and far reaching, and is used by all churches or missions to spread the news. In print media we can include devices like newsletters, newspapers, booklets, tracts, magazines, books, and other information letters, which are very commonly used by today’s church organizations. Some of them work like a channel for information and inspiration, some like a signal which are delivered by the people of other places, some printed media act as missionary that spread the sermons, articles, songs and other writings about the word of God. People can be imparted and informed through these writings by which they could see the reality of life and words of Jesus Christ.
Projector
Photocopy machine
Public Address System –
And many others… stay connected.
1 comments:
Very helpful
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