It used to be as simple as passing the offering plate down the pew, and the church would exceed its budget twofold. But many factors—an uncertain economy, fluctuating attendance, and growing obsoleteness of checkbooks—have made giving a challenge for both members and the church.

Brian was absent from our small group one night this past February. He was in Nepal, 7,700 miles away, helping a leprosy clinic with some technology needs. But he still showed up at our meeting halfway through.

Using FaceTime on his iPad, Brian called our small-group leader’s iPhone. As the leader held up his phone so we could all see the screen, we had a face-to-face, real-time conversation with Brian.

For multi-site churches and church plants, portable and church are synonymous. And portable technology tools make it possible for the portable church to have rich worship events each week despite lacking a building of their own.