1 of 2

There are four common misconceptions about computer use that need to be addressed by church policies:

1 We're a church. A church is a publicly supported ministry, the thinking goes, so we collectively own the computer system, which means we should all be able to use it. But churches need to be as efficient as reasonably possible, and need to be good managers of their resources. Letting those without a church-related need use church computers often leads to higher support needs and costs because people will naively change things that hinder the staff from doing their work. One church staff member recently encountered computer problems. As it turned out, some of those emerged due to unauthorized use of her computer, which included the installation of new mouse pointers, screen savers, and more.

A policy that limits use to those with a church-related need will help your staff work more productively, and will help minimize support costs.

Another policy should provide guidelines for personal use on church computers by those authorized to use them for church-related tasks. It's important to set a reasonable guideline because prohibiting all personal use isn't realistic. We suggest stating that church computers may be used for personal tasks by those authorized to use them for church-related purposes, but only on personal time, to a small degree, and never in a way that costs the church money or efficiency. This approach is similar to one commonly used for the personal use of company phones.

2 We should model openness and allow full access to information and data. Information on the church system is an asset. It needs to be protected by everyone who has access to it in the same way they would protect any other church asset. That includes giving copies of mailing lists or directories, which should only go to members of the congregation and should include a statement that they may only be used for fostering the fellowship and ministry of the church (never for commercial purposes).

Some data must be guarded to protect people's privacy. Consider, for instance, the harm that could be done to someone if their Social Security number, checking account routing information, credit card, or counseling notes were made public. Policies need to be in place to provide extra protection for sensitive data.

3 If we find something online we want to use, we can use it how ever we'd like. It would be nice if that were true, but copyright laws say that copyright holders must consent to the use of their works with very few exceptions. The fact that you're a church is not one of the exceptions!

There are licensing agencies that can ease the use of some types of works (like worship music, videos, and so on), but it's important to tell all users of church computers that nothing may be used without the prior express written permission of the copyright holder. This does not apply to works created by church staff (unless there is a special written agreement in place) because those are considered works made for hire and the church owns the copyright.

next page... |  1 of 2

share this page