PHOENIX, Ariz. — Church size was the primary factor in technology reliance, according to the latest study from Ellison Research.

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.

This varies dramatically by church size: 88 percent of larger churches (those with 200 or more people attending worship services during a typical weekend) have a Web site, compared to 60 percent of mid-size churches (100 to 199 people in worship each weekend), and just 28 percent of small churches.

The study also asked ministers to rate the importance of a number of different uses of technology in their church's ministry over the next five years. The importance of these various types of technology varies some by denomination, but much more so by the size of the church.

For instance, building and maintaining a Web site will be extremely important to 49 percent of large churches, but only 16 percent of small churches.

Many other uses of technology show similar gaps, including communicating with the congregation via e-mail (42 percent in large churches, 13 percent in small churches), using graphics in worship (36 percent to 16 percent), being able to show DVDs or videos (39 percent to 16 percent), and doing research on the Internet (42 percent to 26 percent).

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."

Sellers also noted that churches may need to take a harder look at how technology can impact their ministry, as well as what members or visitors may expect today.

"As the American public becomes more and more reliant on technology in everyday life, they will logically expect churches to have things such as Web sites, streaming audio or video on the site, or study materials on video or computer software," Sellers said. He cited younger people as an example of a group that is particularly likely to use the Internet to interact with a church.

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