Let’s take a moment to talk about why we hired IT4Causes, what we’ve been working on together, and how this work is positioning Tabernacle for the future. At Tabernacle, we’ve always placed a high value on people. We want everyone who comes into our physical and virtual spaces to feel seen, heard, welcomed, and cared for, while also making those spaces as safe as possible and protecting the private information they entrust to us.
To live out these values, the systems we rely on—our technology, infrastructure, and access to our physical and virtual spaces—must be equipped to support, protect, and mobilize people. Over time, however, these systems have become piecemealed together. They’re harder to navigate and outdated, making them incompatible with the tools we need today and increasing the risk of security vulnerabilities.
This strain is deeply felt by both staff and volunteers. Outdated systems make basic tasks frustrating, time-consuming, and inefficient. These challenges impact how we spend our time, with too much energy focused on navigating technology instead of the ministry we’re here to do. Without tools that are simple enough for others to step in and use, we also risk burnout and gaps when people can no longer fill their roles.
Why We Hired IT4Causes
Tabernacle has always been blessed with individuals willing to use their unique skills to build and support our technology systems. During the pandemic lockdown, volunteers and paid staff offered sacrificial availability, ensuring our technology supported ministry during a critical time. We’re deeply grateful for all they gave during that season.
As time has passed, life has naturally shifted for many of those individuals. Some have moved on to new opportunities, while others have needed to step back as their circumstances changed. At the same time, technology has continued to evolve, and the complexity of our systems has grown. We still have a few individuals with the skills and willingness to serve in this area, but no one can do it all. That’s why we partnered with IT4Causes: to stabilize our systems, address critical gaps, and ensure we’re no longer relying on a few individuals to shoulder such enormous responsibilities.
What We’ve Accomplished and What’s in Progress
Since partnering with IT4Causes, we’ve made significant progress while laying the groundwork for what’s to come. Here’s a snapshot of some of our main projects:
- Enhanced security: We’ve implemented tools to protect our network and email from malware and phishing attacks. IT4Causes is monitoring our network for security breaches and can troubleshoot issues remotely, minimizing disruptions.
- Reliable internet: Internet upgrades are nearly complete, supported by the purchase of brand-new hardware to replace outdated equipment. Our previous hardware was no longer supported, leaving it vulnerable to security breaches and limiting reliable connectivity. These upgrades ensure consistent and secure internet access across both buildings, even with challenges like thick walls.
- Email migration: We successfully transitioned our email system to a supported, reliable server, ensuring better functionality and reliability.
- Phone system design (in progress): IT4Causes is helping us explore and design a phone system and plan that meets the complex challenges of this moment, particularly in the context of inner-city ministry.
- Copy machine collaboration (in progress): Just one month before the pandemic began, we signed a long-term lease for a copy machine, which was shared between the church, ExCell, and the Child Care Center Ministry. That lease wasn’t designed for the current level of sharing, and the congregation was producing much higher volumes of copies at the time. Now that the lease has ended, we’re working together to lease a new machine designed to meet all three groups’ needs while saving money through better resource sharing.
- Historical record preservation (in progress): We’re working to securely store, back up, and manage access to 130+ years of church records. This includes ensuring sensitive information is only accessible to the appropriate leaders.
- Collaborative tools (beginning stages): We’ve introduced Microsoft 365 to help us communicate, organize, and collaborate more effectively. The next step is to establish an official church calendar and begin using shared documents with leaders and staff.
An Invitation to Trust
This is hard work, and it takes time, focus, and resources. But we’ve done hard things together before. And we can do them again.
This investment is about more than fixing systems.
It’s about freeing up staff and volunteers to focus on the work they’re uniquely equipped to do. It’s about making sure that when new staff, volunteers, or leaders join us,
they can step in with confidence, using tools that are easy to learn and simple to navigate.
By equipping people well from the start, we can build continuity and keep ministry moving forward, even in times of transition. It’s also about positioning Tabernacle for the future, giving us the systems we need to be effective, to serve people well, and to live out the mission God has called us to.
Thank you for your time, trust, and prayers as we continue this journey together.
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