Google Apps in the Church

Parishes, apostolates, and ministries must do everything they can to keep expenses to a minimum.  Information technology expenses are no exception.

What if there was a way to have the latest technology for free?  Yes, free.  Shouldn’t we all jump on board?

Google Apps offers a unique solution for nonprofits: high quality information technology infrastructure (email, cloud-based file sharing, a web-based office suite, and a host of other tools) at zero cost.

Even the smallest websites and bloggers can benefit from this, as well.  Google Apps is not just for businesses and nonprofits.  For a small fee, anyone can use this wonderful tool.

Of course, I’m not a nonprofit organization, so I am required to pay a small fee of $5 per month – per user, or $50 for the entire year.  In the overall scheme of things, this is a minimal expense for such a robust product.

Imagine:  instead of having the your-website-name@gmail.com address, you can actually change it to you@your-website-name.com, which helps add a touch of professionalism to your online ministry.

I have been a big fan of Google Apps for years and have been a regular user ever since.  If I am looking to set up email for a new domain, I look no further than Google Apps.

What comes included with Google Apps?

• An email system that functions just like Gmail
• A calendar that quickly syncs with all devices
• Cloud-based file storage (access your files anywhere)
• Web-based office products (Docs, Sheets, etc.)
• Quick creation of collaborative websites
• Integration with other Google products like Google+, Adwords, Blogger, and other tools

Whether you are helping a parish make technology decisions or a blogger who wants a more robust, personalized email system, Google Apps is worth a try.

Nonprofits can begin by clicking here, and the rest of us can click here.

Embracing new technology only helps our evangelization efforts.  With so many free resources out there, like Google Apps, we’re running out of excuses not to.

Read more of our Tech Talk columns.

Copyright 2013 Chad R. Torgerson