Last week I discusses some of the common values the Church has with open source software.  This week I wanted to look at another reason Churches should consider Open Source — Stewardship.  The Church is responsible for money and other resources that others have entrusted to them as an offering to God.  Therefore, congregations and Church agencies have an obligation to ensure that they use those resources in the most effective manner possible.  I’m convinced that using Free and Open Source software is the best tool in computing to do so.

1. The software free (as in without cost):  While the new version of windows costs a couple of hundred dollars ($240 for the Home Premium Edition) and Microsoft Office costs over $300 there are Open Source alternatives that are completely free.  (I’ll discuss alternatives in later posts.)

2. The hardware requirements are not as steep:  If you run the latest version of Windows you’ll have to meet some pretty hefty hardware requirements.  When older versions of software are discontinued it means you have to purchase newer computer hardware to meet these demands.  This means people throw away perfectly good computers because they can’t run the latest software being sold.  Since free software can’t be taken off the shelves, you can find software that will work on older computers.  This is the perfect solution for that used system that someone donates to the church.

3.  Stewardship is not only making sure money is spent wisely, it is also making sure it is spent responsibly.  In other words is the money spent going to a company or group that does positive things, or am I helping to support questionable business practices?

Of course stewardship involves more than just finances.  For some the learning curve of using a new piece of software might make the pay-off less of a reward, but the savings are worth considering.