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Wired for Religion
By Michael Robleto
 Pastor Francis Anfuso and his church, the Rock of Roseville, have been featured in the New York Times and Sacramento Bee, so I was naturally a little intimidated when I called to arrange for an interview. However, any trepidation I might have had was eliminated the instant I met Pastor Francis. I greatly enjoyed our informal conversation about the role of media and technology in his church. Starting in 2000, the Rock of Roseville became the first interactive church. Part of Pastor Francis' vision was that church attendees be able to respond during his sermon and thus give him the ability to tailor his sermon based on their responses. His own background includes a deep interest in the role of media in religion as well as extensive experience with integrating it into other churches in the past.
When his church first decided that it wanted to develop software to enable interaction with the congregation, it looked to local technology companies and found out that the recommended person was already a member of the church. They developed the software and installed two miles of cable and over 30,000 soldering connections. Now, members of the congregation can view a large video screen where multiple choice questions are displayed. Their answers are recorded when they push a button on the keypad beside each seat. The topic might be a family or social issue. This method allows members to register their responses anonymously, yet still be engaged and heard by the pastor. During services, the church also makes use of a variety of media, including PowerPoint presentations and excerpts from movies. At its Tower Theatre services on Sunday mornings, there are high-definition images 20 feet wide, along with two side screens. Pastor Francis says, "They can basically read the label on my water bottlethat's how clear the images are."
The church incorporates monthly themes with vivid media imagery and graphic art developed in-house. Pastor Francis and a dedicated group of staff and volunteers develop the materials, videos, and other media used to outline and transmit the church's message. The images used are professional and, in some case, iconic. One technique sometimes employed is taking a familiar image and imbuing it with religious symbolism. For example, Pastor Francis said that an upcoming theme, "Revolution," would use the classic image of Che Guevara, but that the face imposed on that image would instead be Jesus'. His church likes to be "edgy" and encourage a creative approach to traditional religious beliefs. With a target demographic of 18 to 25, the Rock of Roseville is a very youthful church, and its media campaigns reflect that. Its Web site offers videos and pod casts for MP3 players. There will actually be computers beside each seat in the auditorium. The cost of phase two design and construction is approximately $7 million. While building these new facilities, the Rock of Roseville has also launched two similar churches, the Rock of Granite Bay and the Rock of Rocklin. It also has internships and active missionary teams in Uganda and China.
Pastor Francis points out that traditionally, churches were part of smaller neighborhoods, so communications were much more elementary and direct. With rapid population growth and the evolution of technology, people today feel more spiritually disconnected than ever, yet are reluctant to commit themselves or their time. With this in mind, he and his church, the Rock of Roseville, have risen to these challenges with creative, modern solutions, evidencing its technology-savvy staff and church membership. |
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