"Church size was the primary factor in technology reliance, according to the latest study from Ellison Research": Study finds big technology gap between large and small churches
"The study queried a representative sample of 700 Protestant church ministers nationwide and found nine out of 10 Protestant clergy have Internet access they can use for church business, but only about half of all Protestant churches maintain a Web site."(my emphasis)
According to the survey, having a Web site varies dramatically by church size:88 percent of larger churches (those with 200 or more people attending worship services during a typical weekend) 60 percent of mid-size churches (100 to 199 people in worship each weekend) 28 percent of small churches
Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, said the technology gap may be a budget or volunteer issue for smaller churches.
"Small churches often don't have the budget to pay for technology, or the staff or volunteers to implement it. The increased use of technology in churches has a real potential to widen the gap even further between small churches and medium or large congregations ."
My background in denominational work (in a former life) tells me that Mr Sellers is on the right track but that there is probably more to this story. The math tells me that larger churches are more likely to have the (extra) financial and human resources to support technology. My instincts tell me that a combination of church size and age of pastor/staff might provide a better overall barometer of who integrates technology into their particular ministries. At the two extremes, an older pastor in a small congration would be less likely to make technology a priority, compared to a young pastor with a large congregation. The conflict in that line of thought is that most younger pastors are working in smaller churches and older pastors are leading larger churches.
If nothing else, this article gives an indication of the penetration (difussion) of technology into cultural arenas other than education and business...and that there is perhaps a cause and effect relationship to church size and potential for future growth.