Over the years, churches have become more than places of worship. As they’ve grown, they have continued to evolve. Many are now community hubs where the aim is the meet the practical needs of the community as well as the spiritual. There are feeding centers, voting registration sites, counseling services, job placement assistance, places for young people to hang out and the list goes on.
As church memberships grow, its needs grow with it- including the need to communicate. More members mean that measures have be taken to ensure the safety and security of all present. The premises have to be monitored and protected. On Sundays, in particular, there is a constant stream of moving parts that must be coordinated.
This need to be on top of things can greatly be served by two-way radios. These radios allow for instant communication when information needs to get from point A to point B quickly. To this end, below are five jobs at the church that can greatly benefit from the use of two-way radios.
1. Pastoral Aides
Busy pastors are pulled in many directions. Someone needs something from him. Someone wants him to pray for his family. Someone wants to know if he can baptize her child. He needs to know where his documents are. Trying to answer all the questions that come his way and do everything by himself is not possible. This is why he has aides, sometimes referred to as armor bearers. They do the legwork for the pastor. They convey information to him and give answers to those who inquire. Aides are stationed in in different places within and without the church, and can use two-way radios to make sure the pastor is well taken care of and that he gets what he needs swiftly. If there is ever an emergency, they can coordinate a response quickly with the help of two-way radios.
2. Parking Lot Attendants
In churches with hundreds of members, parking can be a logistical challenge. These attendants not only manage traffic in the street, but simultaneously direct incoming traffic as well as outgoing vehicles leaving service. Two-way radios allow the attendants to manage the dual emergent and departing flow of traffic in a coordinated fashion.
3. Ushers
Ushers direct human traffic predominantly inside the church. As parishioners fill up the seats, it becomes their job to seat them and keep an eye out for available seats between them. As available seats become limited, ushers can check in with their ministry head to convey how many seats are still available in their sections. With the help of two-way radios, this movement of parishioners can better be managed.
4. Security
Perhaps one of the biggest ways in which churches can benefit from two-way radios is in securing the church’s premises, personnel and parishioners. Long gone are the days that the church was a safe haven impervious to external attacks. To the contrary, some high-profile disturbances have made international headlines, thereby irrevocably destroying that sense of security.
For famous, prominent pastors, the need for security is even greater. Two-way radios ensure that security personnel can seamlessly keep in touch with each other to make certain that all irregularities can be swiftly investigated. Or, respond to a security threat in a timely manner. If there is an emergency, they can send out a message to make sure the appropriate action is taken quickly.
5. Maintenance
There is routine cleaning, but emergency situations arise and must be cared for immediately. When the need occurs, the maintenance supervisor can use the two-say radio to call for the appropriate staff person to handle the situation.
Two-way radios are the path forward for growing churches. It allows the leaders of ministry departments to call for help quickly when it is needed. Thus, the worth of a two-way radio is not found in the price tag: it is in the ability to get things done and problems solved in a timely manner where its value lie.
