Catholic leaders remain open-minded about leveraging technology as a way to meet the diverse needs and preferences of their community in today’s digital era. Livestreaming Mass is one of the top tools leveraged among parishes who believe technology is important in fulfilling the Church’s mission, with 75% of parishes currently offering in-person and online worship services. When asked to speculate whether they plan to offer hybrid worship, in-person only, online only, or metaverse in twelve months, a majority selected hybrid. This signals that parishes have a clear plan to leverage both in-person and digital opportunities to strengthen connection now and into the future.
“Our parish’s game plan this year is simple—faith sharing, Sunday Mass, and being together as a community. Using technology to organize our small groups, promote events, build relationships, and keep track of our progress helps us to be accountable to our mission, allowing us to achieve our ultimate goal of bringing more people into a relationship with Jesus,” said Father
Significant differences from last year’s report include an increase in mobile and online giving adoption, and a strengthened emphasis on IT security and data protection. A staggering 94% of churches are leveraging digital giving, nearly a 15% increase from last year (82% in 2023). Moreso, 98% of leaders believe in the importance of IT security and data protection, up from the 87% who indicated the same in 2023 (a 12%+ increase), signaling that in the wake of church security breaches, parish leaders are taking measures to protect their flock. Additional key findings of the 2024 Catholic State of Church Technology report include:
- 94% believe technology is critical to helping them achieve their mission, which is similar to last year. However, 96% of parish leaders believe that leveraging technology to engage parishioners beyond Sunday is important.
- 47% indicated they felt ‘anxious’ when making technology purchase decisions for their parish, and another 6% felt ‘completely unprepared,’ signaling that evaluating new digital tools is unfamiliar territory and an overwhelming task for many parish leaders.
- 93% of Catholic churches now use a Church Management Systems (ChMS) or Donor Management software, an 8% increase compared to last year. Also there was a decrease in the number of digital tools, indicating a shift away from one-off solutions.
- 15% of parishes are currently utilizing AI, and 28% are planning to incorporate it in the next two to three years.
- 15% are using metaverse and VR, with 25% planning to explore its potential further to engage young people, facilitate small group activities, and services.
- 63% indicated they believe mobile church apps will be strategically important in the next 2-3 years, a 26% increase in significance from 2023 (50%). The most popular app uses today are for calendaring, financial giving, and content.
- More than half (52%) allocated less than 10% of their annual operating budget to technology, and 44% of parishes surveyed operate on an annual budget of over
$1 million . - Cost continues to be the primary barrier to adopting new technology, up 36% year-over-year. However, when asked to identify important factors when considering new technology purchases, easy-to-use is the most important factor, not price.
“While there may have been caution about mixing faith and technology previously, we are seeing a positive shift in how technology is perceived in the
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2024 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source