TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERING MINISTRY
ARE YOU TOO WRAPPED UP? IT'S TIME TO SIMPLIFY THE SEASON >> a geek's real christmas list >> year-end budgeting for tech >> 2019 church tech checklist
DECEMBER 2018
www.ministrytech.com
CONTENTS
12.18
11 web cams: yuck! Let’s educate ourselves on how to prevent a web cam RAT compromise from occurring.
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Why Now is the Perfect Time to Rethink a Church App
a geek's real christmas list Ministry and family life are colliding. The last thing you need is a long article.
Just because a church app comes at a lower price point doesn’t mean features are compromised.
16 year-end budgeting for tech Sometimes, austerity is no virtue (or help!) at all.
6 CASE STUDY: LIVE STREAMING YOUR SUNDAY SERVICE........................................................................14 5 CRITICAL PRACTICES FOR COMMUNICATING BAD-WEATHER NOTIFICATIONS...................................... 18 TECH CHECK 12.18...........................................................................21
your 2019 church tech checklist The must-have technologies your church needs to be successful
22 MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
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A Word from the editor Ray Hollenbach
Managing Editor
Ray Hollenbach
Art Directors
Troy Irvin, Henny Vallee
Contributing Editors
Matt Farrand, Russ McGuire, Caleb Neff, Nick Nicholaou, Mike Norris, Yvon Prehn, Jonathan Smith, Steven Sundermeier
Copy Editor Laura Severn
ADVERTISING VP Advertising Sales
Jared Bryant
National Media Consultants Cody Binder, Malari Foster, Joseph Landry, Seth Rankin, Barbara (McDonald) Wolfe, Ryan Yoder
Account Associates
Leslie Massey, Bethany Payne, Syndie Porter, Nicole Vargas, Lara Whelan
Administrative Director Rebecca Meyer
Publisher
Outreach Inc. 5550 Tech Center Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (800) 991-6011 Ministry Tech® is a registered trademark of Outreach, Inc. Written materials submitted to Ministry Tech® Magazine become the property of Outreach, Inc. upon receipt and may not necessarily be returned. Ministry Tech® Magazine reserves the right to make any changes to materials submitted for publication that are deemed necessary for editorial purposes. The content of this publication may not be copied in any way, shape or form without the express permission of Outreach, Inc. Views expressed in the articles and reviews printed within are not necessarily the views of the editor, publisher, or employees of Ministry Tech® magazine, or Outreach, Inc. © Copyright 2018 Outreach, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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The God of Nobodies Most tech workers at church are volunteers. They work out of sight. They never hold the microphone or stand on the stage. They are “nobodies.” But they are important nobodies. In fact, God loves nobodies. The Christmas story is filled with a cast of nobodies. We all know the story of Christmas: the baby, the barn, the shepherds and magi. Hidden inside that familiar story is the surprising revelation that God’s way is to ignore the big shots and use nobodies instead. Just count the nobodies: Mary was a teenage girl from a small town. In Bible times women were not important people, and teenagers were even lower on the scale. Mix in her pre-martial pregnancy, and you’ve got a real nobody on your hands. Joseph was a nobody, too. He was just a working man across town from Mary’s family. He was faced with a choice between trusting God or protecting his small-town reputation. Shepherds are not important people. Just the opposite: second-shift schmucks who work outdoors. The Magi? Nothing more than rich pagan astrologers. It didn’t
matter if they had money, they were foreigners. Elizabeth & Zechariah: a kindly old couple engaged in harmless religious activity. Anna & Simeon: Alone and elderly, they were two people almost completely invisible to everyone. Everyone except the Holy Spirit. One and all: God invited the nobodies to the party long before the world heard the good news. The secret message inside the Christmas story? God invites the nobodies. And when God invites you to the table, he provides everything you need. Even the nobodies encounter Jesus. In fact, the nobodies are in on God’s secret work years before the world knows what’s happening. If you labor behind the scenes in the shadowland of soundboards and IT offices, rejoice! The Father will reveal his greatest news to you, too! This season, if you are a nobody— rejoice! You are not far from the Kingdom of God.
Ray Hollenbach is the Editor of Ministry Tech magazine. He has previously served as the editor of Outreach’s Better Preaching Update, and as the editor of the Pastor channel at Churchleaders.com. You can reach him at rhollenbach@outreach.com.
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a geek's REAL
christmas list
Turn Things Off. It’s Nearly Christmas
by Jonathan Smith
I
t is hard to believe the holiday season is in full swing. Ministry and family life are colliding. The last thing you need is a long article. My gift to you this season is a short list to help all those who serve in tech ministries truly celebrate the season.
1. Put your phone down. Don’t gather together with family and friends and stare at your phones. You can do that from the comfort of your own home without getting out of bed or doing your hair. Put. Your. Phone. Down. 2. Disconnect. Serve hard reaching as many people with the good news of Christmas in as many creative ways as possible. When it is over, disconnect, step aside and focus on ministering to your family and friends. Ministering to them is different, but just as important. 3. C elebrate the birth that makes this all possible. Obvious, yes, but do you? Do we? How? MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
4. Talk to your Some intentional, verbal family. Even encouragement might be if you aren’t the best gift you can give. all staring at your phones when gathered together, often times the conversation is all about things to avoid, religion, politics, etc. Instead, focus on ministering to those you don’t see very often by taking a keen interest in them. Love your family and friends with the kind of love Christ had to come and be born of a virgin. Here’s a hint: Awkward silence isn’t it. 5. Pick up your Bible. If nothing else spend some time reading the Christmas Story, and not the one that starts with “Twas the night before...” I’m talking about the one that starts, “Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…” (Luke 2). Maybe after Christmas you need to consider a New Year’s goal or |4
6.
7.
8.
9.
resolution to spend more time in the Word. Don’t worry about work and ministry. Jesus was born of a virgin, fulfilling centuries of prophecy. He’s got this. Tell people you appreciate them and what they do. Don’t assume they know. Some intentional, verbal encouragement might be the best gift you can give. You know, the old-fashioned way. Go ahead, have another piece of pie. It’s OK. Let loose a little and de-stress a bit. Don’t overcomplicate things. Enjoy the season as opposed to dreading the celebratory details. Many times the holidays are stressful because our productions are too complex and our family gatherings are even more complex. Gather for joy, not for death by details.
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
By MinistryTech Contributor and National Speaker
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10. Remember in all that Jesus is the reason. Celebrate and enjoy, but make sure all those you encounter know Jesus was born and that’s why we work hard, serve hard and celebrate hard.
Merry Christmas!
MT
Jonathan Smith is the Director of Technology at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, IN. You can reach Jonathan at jsmith@faithlafayette.org and follow him on Twitter @JonathanESmith.
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COMMUNICATIONS
year-end budgeting for technology All You Have to Do Is Ask by Yvon Prehn
"U
se it up; wear it out; make it do; do without!” That was a saying I was raised with. It works well as a protection to the craziness of our consumer culture. But it doesn’t work when it comes to communication technology for the church. From decades of working with churches, I’ve seen the wonders that over-worked staff can do with outdated hardware, software that was written before they were born, and being paid for minimal hours that don’t begin to cover the work that needs to be done (so it’s done on their off-time). These efforts are admirable (and great may be their reward in heaven!) but as you approach year-end budgeting and giving requests, consider the following comments before deciding that the technology needs of the church can be put off for another year.
ASK the people doing the work what they need The most important people to consult with for what is needed in hardware, software and time is the person doing the work. Almost always they know exactly what they need to do their job more efficiently. Many problems arise when the senior pastor or business administrator MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
Most often with tears, prayers and staying late many volunteers get the work done on time. But that isn’t nice. talks to a person on the church board who is an expert in unrelated technology or who has a technology job outside the church instead of the person doing the job in the church. Without discounting what may be considerable professional expertise, the kind of hardware and software needed to do effective communications in the church overall or for the youth ministry is often very different than what is needed to run an IT department at a college or experiments at a research lab. I’ve heard from many church communicators in situations where an expert outside the church office decided they needed hardware or software of a certain type and then got permission to purchase and install it. The unsuspecting church communicator comes in on a Monday morning and is told, “Look at the great new
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COMMUNICATIONS
system we have for you!” (This is a true story that has happened more times than I can count.) Frequently no training or time to learn this new system is provided and the church communicator is expected to get all the weekly communications out on time with the new and improved system he or she was given. Most often with tears, prayers and staying late many get the work done on time and learn to use the new systems. But that isn’t nice. Or efficient because then the staff member doesn’t have the tools they wanted to do what needs to be done. The church has simply spent money on something they could probably “do without.” Ask the people doing the work what they want and need, and here are some areas you might want to consider asking about.
Areas to ask about and budget for Hardware is an obvious one—but this can vary tremendously depending on the person in what ministry department. Here are suggestions: Do the people working with youth and young adults have the PHONES they need and the plan that allows them to use them as much as they need to? Phones are more than simply a piece of technology in ministry today. They are command central for many ministries and ministry connections. Your staff needs a phone that will enable them to do all they want and need to do. In addition they are an important cultural tool. Just as missionaries need to dress, eat and live like the people they are ministering to, MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
You want the freedom to … reach out … minister to people … create fellowship … contribute to your community PowerChurch Plus was created for just that!
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www.PowerChurch.com • 800.486.1800 so too, the staff who minister to youth or young adults need technology that won’t be out of place. This is age and area related, and again why you need to ask the staff members using the equipment what they need to interact most effectively with the audience they serve.
Does your communication creation staff have the hardware they need to do their jobs? In hardware areas this often means a computer with enough RAM to handle images, multi-media and video. A new computer without enough RAM is useless for many graphics-intensive
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COMMUNICATIONS
To fully fulfill the Great Commission
RESOURCES FOR CHURCH COMMUNICATORS Training Templates Strategy Resources Podcast
www.effectivechurchcom.com MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
tasks. Some of the great deals in new computers today skimp on RAM. They are great for general office work, viewing the web and word-processing, but not for communication creation. Your church communicator may need dual screens (if they like working with them; some do, some hate them) or tablet input. Certainly all staff working at a computer for long hours need decent chairs and ergonomic keyboards, and making certain your staff is cared for in this area is a pastoral responsibility. Obviously your communication staff needs software to create the church communications, but this is an area that has changed drastically in the last few years. No longer is software something you primarily buy in a box and load on to your computer, but some of the most useful software to create church communications today is online, in the cloud and your church communicator accesses it through the web. If you aren’t familiar with this, the whole budgeting system for it needs to change as it typically involves ongoing yearly costs. Some useful programs that are sold this way include the entire Adobe line of Products including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, the Microsoft products including Word, Publisher and PowerPoint, and specialized graphic communication programs like Canva, PicMonkey and Snappa. Check here for a video review and comparison of these three products; click the following link. Though these monthly subscriptions can add up, one area that has come down in price, from very expensive to zero, is the number of FREE image sources.
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COMMUNICATIONS What if your communication staff themselves aren’t sure what would help them the most? If they aren’t sure or want to check out other opinions, below is a list of Facebook church communication groups, with the end title of the group describing which area of ministry they specialize in. Encourage your church communicators to join and ask. https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallchurchcomm/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/ WordPressForChurches/
STREAM THE WORD Wireless Multi-Camera Livestreaming
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ VisualChurchMedia/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/ churchcommstrategies/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/churchcomm/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/ilovekidmin/
In addition to the hardware and software, don’t forget time and training No matter what you budget for hardware and software, don’t forget that no matter how “intuitive” a new system is advertised to be, it is rarely as intuitive and easy to use for the church staff member as it is for the person who created it. Please give the staff person time (meaning closed door, no one can bother them TIME) to learn the new systems and software. Lynda.com remains one of the best resources for overall how to use software programs, and Churchcomtraining.com is a resource for training specifically for church communicators and church communication strategy. Church communicators will always “make it do and do without” but they can do much more for your church and gospel outreach if they have the tools they need to do their work. Your prayerful and careful budget process can make that happen. MT Yvon Prehn’s ministry to church communicators has two parts: effectivechurchcom.com, a site of FREE templates, strategy and resources, and churchcomtraining.com, a Church Communicators Online Training School.
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
Livestream your worship events this Christmas season with SlingStudio Learn more at myslingstudio.com
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PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE
WEB CAMS: YUCK! Can You Think of a Creepier Malware Than Something Seizing Your Camera?
by Steven Sundermeier
Q
uick! Name your favorite animal. (I seem to favor the crocodile.) How about your least favorite animal? For my oldest son, the answer is dogs. My neighbor is petrified of spiders. My daughter dislikes stinkbugs. However, no one in the family has a more distinct dislike for a species then my wife’s hatred for rodents, specifically mice. Maybe it’s their appearance: furry, fast(!) critters with two identifiable incisors; perhaps it is their elastic ability to fit through tiny spaces; or maybe it is just that they’re everywhere (they inhabit every continent except Antarctica). Whatever it is, rodents be warned! We make every effort in preventing your presence in our house and you are not welcome here! Whether it’s an animal, a movie or a _________ (fill in your pet-peeve), we all have certain hot-button things in life that bother us. This is also true for me when it comes to system/device features, and the one that is my least favorite is the web camera. I fully understand that for many the web cam is an essential feature that provides additional opportunities including the ability to face-time with friends and loved ones. Web cams make corporate remote video conferencing possible, and from an entertainment perspective have allowed the capturing and
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publishing of amusing home videos. However, as a security professional, I also understand the grave dangers web cams pose. According to our most recently released Thirtyseven4 statistics, on average, our Thirtyseven4 solutions detected over 180 million pieces of malware over the last three months: that’s over 2 million detections daily! Of those millions of malware detections, nearly 40 percent fell under the malware classification Trojan. A Trojan is a form of malware that hides its true intent from the unexpecting victim. For example, an unknowing user may receive an email that was spoofed to appear as if it was sent from a Google employee, but that contains a Trojan file attached that masquerades itself as a Google Chrome Update to an unsuspecting user. While Trojans are developed and
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PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE released to perform many malicious tasks, one common type of Trojan is a Remote Access Trojan (or RAT—are you correlating how the dislike for rodents runs in the family?). Once installed, a RAT allows an attacker complete control of the system it is installed on, and just one of the many compromising functions that can be performed would be web cam spying. And like its mammal counterpart, a RAT can stealthily hide for weeks, months or even years unnoticed until eventually the damage has been done. While web cam spying software can be purposely installed on a system (think a parent or ex-boyfriend/ girlfriend), most of the time they get installed mistakenly by users tricked into clicking a link or opening an attachment within an email. They can also be bundled together with other freeware or by visiting a compromised website. Regardless of how the spying software gets installed the damage can be irreversible. It would also be important to make note that this isn’t just an issue on Microsoft Windows systems but also problematic on Mac OSX systems and an exponentially growing problem on mobile devices. With the inherit risks that web cams pose, it would be wise to educate ourselves on how to prevent a RAT compromise from occurring. I have included some tips and recommendations to help with web cam safety. 1. Use common sense (and dignity!) when within the scope of your webcam. Seems easy enough but it may be the hardest tip of them all for some users. For example, if you are acting or behaving in such a way in front of the web cam where you wouldn’t be comfortable with your parents or children or the whole world seeing: I urge you (in your own best interest!) to consider your actions and/ or words. 2. T hink about the location of your web cam. If you must use a web camera, it probably would not be prudent to have it placed in your bedroom or pointing toward a bathroom. Also, be careful that the background area isn’t exposing your location to potential online stalkers. 3. Don’t open attachments from unknown sources or click on links embedded in emails or on social media sites.
Take the at-bareminimum step of covering your web cam lens when you are not using it.
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
40% of 2 million malware detected daily fell under the malware classification trojan, a form of malware that hides its true intent from the unexpecting victim. I mentioned this point a lot but there is good reason. Despite many of the criminal advancements’ attackers use to proliferate malware, the use of spam email is still the #1 source for malware infections including spying software. (People keep clicking on them to open them!) 4. I nstall strong anti-virus and security software and keep it up-to-date. Most anti-virus/anti-malware scanners are developed to actively detect and proactively prevent RATs and other forms of malware from penetrating a system. 5. K eep your OS and other third party software applications up-to-date. 6. Download apps only from trusted sites (i.e., Google Play, Apple Store). However, even when downloading from these locations be sure to read through the reviews and verify the publisher of the app. Did you know? There is a growing trend of fake or malicious apps made available for download through Google Play. 7. I f you are using an external web camera, unplug it when it is not in use. Simply disabling is not enough, especially if someone has gained remote access to your system. 8. Disable your built-in webcam when not in use/Cover it! As a reminder, if your system is compromised, your webcam can be re-enabled remotely. See all the points above. Best practice would be to place a piece of
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PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE
electrical tape (or something similar) over the camera. Cameras seem to be the new focal point and hacker-playground for cybercriminals. You may not want to know this, but web cam security on PCs and phones is only the tip of the security-iceberg with cameras. Stay tuned in coming months when we will delve in to the risks associated with the use of cameras on home security systems and GoPro cameras. RATs (Remote Access Trojan), like real rodents, are best kept out by preventing them to enter in the first place. Cover your webcams and use strong AV! Mice are rarely found alone, there is usually a team of them invading your spaces. Like mice, RATs are also rarely are singular, and if you find one vulnerability of this nature on your system you will likely have more malware and security breaches brought on by the RAT. RATs can also leave some telltale markings, like real mice. On the PC side of things, if you see your camera light coming on unexpectedly, this is a bad sign. But for today, take the at-bareminimum step of covering your web cam lens when you are not using it. At a recent national security conference in Washington D.C. one of the popular giveaways was webcam protective covers. It is not a coincidence that tech leaders are handing out preventative measures for webcams. The innovators in our Security industries know the present and evolving threats (and violations) of cybercriminals, and right now in a word, that hot-topic area is web cameras. As with most things in life—you don’t need anything fancy or branded MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
to cover up your webcam. I am as secure as they come, and we have a piece of silver duct tape slapped right over that camera area on our home and office machines. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I am urging you—it does (in my opinion) have to be covered. Live rodents or cyber RATs can both be kept out. Through diligence and preventive measures we can avoid them. As I said earlier…rodents
be warned! We make every effort in preventing your presence in our (house) and you are not welcome here! MT Steven Sundermeier is the owner of Thirtyseven4, LLC, a leading provider of antivirus/ security software. With 17 years of experience in the cybersecurity field, he is one of the nation’s leading experts in virus, malware and other threats. Before founding Thirtyseven4 in 2009, Steven worked in a number of roles in the antivirus industry dating back to 1999.
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ADVERTORIAL
case study: live streaming your sunday service Pan, Tilt, Zoom: Church Outreach Via Streaming
I
n a serene setting along the shores of Lac Saint-Louis, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church is the spiritual home for hundreds of Coptic Christians in Montreal’s West Island neighbourhoods. As a missionary church, they are devoted to spreading the gospel and fostering a community of Christians—both in person and online. When Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s opened their new facility in 2015, the young parish took the opportunity to integrate technology in order to engage their congregation, including the ability to stream their services live to a wide online audience to give them a similar experience as those attending the services in person. Over 300 people attend services on a regular basis, and according to Bishop Ishak, a Saint Peter and Saint Paul congregant who takes care of in-house technical needs, the goal of the church is outreach. “Streaming lets us reach local shut-ins, the elderly and the disabled, and opens up
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
our message to people around the world—in a way that’s affordable for the church and convenient to our members.”
The Challenge The set-up consisted of four pan-tilt-zoom cameras (PTZ cameras for short) located throughout the sanctuary, allowing every event to be shot from multiple angles and capture unique aspects of every ceremony. The cameras feed into a switcher in an adjacent computer room, where a deacon or volunteer can pan, tilt and zoom each camera, and switch to provide the best shot for the viewer. The output of this switcher is sent to a nearby encoder, which was intended to easily push the video to the web. However, due to disruptions in the video caused by switching, the video encoder would freeze and stall, causing streaming to fail. There were also complications around streaming protocols, preventing them from using multiple platforms, and limit them in reaching more people. With Easter—a major holiday in the Coptic calendar—approaching, the church decided that they needed a better, more reliable solution after a year of working around their current limitations.
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ADVERTORIAL The Answer Ishak learned about the new Monarch LCS, a dedicated H.264 encoder originally designed for lecture capture, offering high quality streaming and production capabilities. The Monarch’s built-in frame synchronizers allowed it to correct the signal issues due to switching, ensuring uninterrupted streaming. Working with the existing HDMI switcher, the LCS also offered the freedom to transition to an SDI input if needed. The Monarch LCS seamlessly integrated within their environment, instantly working with their existing set-up, while also supporting RTMP—necessary to live stream to YouTube. “Our volunteers and deacons had no trouble handling the transition to the LCS,” said Ishak. “With its intuitive user interface, the operation of the LCS is straight forward and very easy to stream live to the world." In fact, the Monarch LCS allowed the church to be up and running weeks before their Easter deadline. In the four months since moving to the LCS, the church has successfully webcast its services to over 22,000 viewers.
Exceeding Expectations The Monarch LCS allowed Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s to go beyond their initial requirements. With the Monarch LCS they realized they could enhance the remote viewing experience by tapping into the appliance’s second input and its side-by-side production mode support. “We encourage our congregants to follow the text during the service—to meditate on it and explore it in more depth,” said Father Peter Saad, priest of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. “We play this text on screens in the
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
sanctuary so everyone can follow the progression. To accomplish this, the church employs an interesting solution: running the “Coptic Reader” app on a tablet, and passing this feed through the Monarch LCS’s second HDMI input. This not only allows them to pass the reader along to the screens throughout the sanctuary, but also provide a single side-by-side stream featuring both the camera feed and the “Coptic Reader.” When pushed to the web, this presentation format ensures a more complete worship experience for remote parishioners. Beyond its ability to stream side by side, the Monarch LCS has provided a consistently noticeable improvement in video performance and quality allowing the church to expand its reach. Its second encoder has allowed the church to stream to Facebook Live as well as YouTube. With over 1,700 Facebook followers, this added feature was a major bonus, which only furthers their mission. “Like most small and medium-sized churches, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church needed to offer consistent, high-quality streaming with production value, without the need to invest in major production level equipment,” noted Francesco Scartozzi, director of sales (Americas), Matrox. “Matrox offers congregations the ability to easily expand their reach, at an affordable price. This installation really showcases the potential for the Monarch LCS to give houses of worship a platform to extend their message to a larger, more engaged congregation.” MT
LEARN MORE ABOUT MATROX MONARCH LCS.
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ADVERTORIAL
why now is the perfect time to rethink a church app
It’s a New (Affordable) World
I
f your ministry accepts digital gifts (or is considering it), there’s a good chance you’ve discussed adding a church app. But perhaps something stopped you from taking the leap. Maybe the timing wasn’t right, or there wasn’t enough staff support. Perhaps the cost wasn’t within budget, or the features you wanted just weren’t there. Things have changed since your last conversation about adding an app. Costs have decreased, features are more robust, and the number of people that want an app is on the rise. Smartphone ownership increased 35 percent since 2011, and now, over 77 percent of adults in the U.S. carry one in their pockets. Over the last three years, people went from using five apps a day to 10. These numbers show that if you’ve been on the fence about adding a church app, right now is the perfect time to rethink that decision. Here we explore a few more reasons why it’s time to reconsider adding a church app to your tech stack:
Navigation is prefered over mobile websites It’s no wonder 85 percent of smartphone users prefer native mobile apps to mobile websites. Even a responsive site
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
on the mobile web can be challenging to navigate on a small screen. Apps are specifically designed for fast access on small screens, and they’ve only improved over the years. The experience of navigating a church app is more welcoming and engaging. It’s easier to connect with people in your church because it only takes seconds to access features like media, calendars and prayer requests. A responsive site, while beneficial, simply isn’t as user-friendly for today’s mobile-first population.
Features are only getting easier to use The steep learning curve that church administrators went through years ago is no longer the case. Control panels are clearer and better organized; integrations now are seamless. Once you spend a few moments familiarizing yourself with the control panel you’ll make the most out of most features, things like: • Personalize the color palette, add your logo and more using the app editor • Keep sermon series, videos and other media in one accessible place • Send and receive prayer requests
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ADVERTORIAL • Securely integrate information from the app to your ChMS • Accept one-time or recurring gifts • Allow registration and payments for events, classes and small groups
Prices are the lowest they’ve ever been There was a time when church apps were expensive, and (based on who you go with today) some still are. Custom apps range from $50-$200K to build out. Customizable apps run as high as $200 a month in order to add-on to a giving plan. For years, it seemed as if only large, fully-staffed churches could give their congregation the convenience of an app. That’s simply not the case anymore. With advancements in technology and competition in the market, you’ll find some VERY affordable prices. One example is MinistryOne. Right now, it’s being offered at an introductory rate of only $19/month with an online giving plan—and free with certain church management softwares. With prices in that range, churches of all sizes and budgets can access affordable apps. And those that are overpaying now have a more cost-effective option to consider. Remember, just because a church app comes at a lower price point doesn’t mean that features are compromised. If you choose an app from a leading company, features are even more powerful and easy to manage.
Don’t get pushed into paying too much for a church app.
When deciding which app is right for you, look at pricing, features and ease of use for church admin and members. MinistryOne is a powerful and customizable church app that comes at an incredibly affordable price. Add-on to a digital giving plan for only $19/month and experience the next level in church engagement! MT Valerie Russell is the Content Specialist for Ministry Brands, a software company dedicated to empowering faith-based organizations in a digital world. When she’s not helping churches use technology to further their vision, you’ll find her curled up with a good book, spending time with her husband, or active in local volunteer work. She’s thrilled about Ministry Brand’s exciting launch of an affordable, new mobile church app for Apple and Android platforms—MinistryOne!
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
www.ministryone.com/#MT
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ADVERTORIAL
5 critical practices for communicating bad-weather notifications How to Be Sure Your Messages Are Getting Through
F
rom hurricanes to blizzards (and everything in between) bad weather is a part of nature. So are the challenges of managing the logistics of protecting your members when harsh weather comes calling. A well-organized plan can minimize confusion and maximize safety, but failure to properly address severe weather conditions can still put your congregation at risk. We recommend following these best practices for communicating with your congregation about closures and other important information during weather-related emergencies.
1. Have a plan—and share the plan A recent Travelers Insurance survey reveals that nearly 44 percent of all small organizations in the U.S. do not have a plan outlining what actions should be taken during a weather emergency. Does your church have an inclement weather policy? If so, when was the MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
44% of all small organizations in the u.s. do not have a plan outlining what actions should be taken during a weather emergency. last time it was updated? Are your members aware of the plan? Is it on your website? Each of these questions must be answered in order to achieve both clarity and transparency. In addition to communicating to members that a plan exists and how to find it, it’s also important to inform people about changes to the plan as they occur. Constant communication is a critical component of effective communications.
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ADVERTORIAL 2. Address the specifics
Innovative solutions allow both leaders and members to have more control regarding how they receive pivotal communications.
It’s not enough to have a general plan in place; you must also establish and communicate detailed procedures. When leadership decides to close or delay services or events due to bad weather, does your congregation know how you will communicate this information to them? More importantly, can you trust that they will receive this information as quickly and directly as possible? It all comes down to specifics. Your plan should include: Who will send the message? Which channels will be used at the time of delivery? The more detailed you are in defining and communicating policies, the more likely they are to hold up in emergency situations. For example, telling members that they will be informed of a cancellation decision via email is only a small part of the equation. However, telling them when the decision will be made and communicated eliminates member frustration by sparing them needless waiting, uncertainty and risk.
Then leaders and administrators can see which members have received messages and which have not—resulting in new levels of assurance that important messages are being received. Realtime reporting further improves the weather cancellation process by offering instant access to crucial live information, including everything from the time of contact for each member to erroneous phone numbers. One Call Now allows senders to designate subsets of members for mass message delivery. For example, a church can cancel the Youth Ministry Retreat without sending a message to the entire membership base. It allows for easy creation and sending of targeted messages to specific groups.
3. Embrace technology
4. Streamline and save time
Twenty years ago “phone trees” were the only option for communicating with large numbers of contacts—remember them? From miscommunications to the complete breakdown of communications due to a single failure in the chain, phone trees have historically led to more confusion, not less. The latest mass messaging services offer innovative solutions by allowing both leaders and members to have more control regarding how they receive pivotal communications. For example, leading notification provider One Call Now offers a multichannel approach, which allows churches to send time-sensitive messages via the recipient’s choice of voice, text or email with just a single click or call.
Because there’s no time to spare in an emergency, several additional features make emergency notification systems far preferable to older methods of communication. Any messaging system should offer these advanced functions to further facilitate communications: • Call scheduling, which lets senders pre-record and store messages to be sent at later times or dates. • Real-time polling, which offers leaders instant feedback from members via keypad response: This is especially useful for learning if a member needs help or assistance, or for obtaining RSVP’s for an event. • Hot transfer: which allows calls to be automatically transferred to the administrative office at the end of this message. These added options promise unprecedented assurance and peace of mind for faith-based communities in fulfilling their missions.
5. Maximize your message In today’s fast-paced digital world, shorter is better when it comes to conveying messages. After all, members don’t want to have to repeatedly listen to a message to be certain that they’ve absorbed every relevant piece of information. While messages should be brief and to
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ADVERTORIAL
Need to cancel due to weather? Keep everyone off the roads with broadcast messages from One Call Now. Send hundreds of text, phone, and email messages from one platform from any connected device, including your smartphone.
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O N EC A L L N OW.C O M/C H U R C H
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
establishing a clear communication plan and sharing it with congregants... protects the safety and wellbeing of your greatest assets, your members. the point, subjects should be descriptive and action-oriented—particularly when a response is requested. Make the most of your message by delivering it in the members’ language of choice. One Call Now has a multilingual feature that offers the translation of text and email messages into more than 50 different languages, ensuring that messages are not only received, but also easily understood by all congregants. While harsh weather can put a damper on services and events, it doesn’t have to have an equally detrimental impact on your overall community engagement. Establishing a clear communication plan and sharing it with congregants is not only beneficial to your house of worship in terms of preventing misinformation, but also protects the safety and wellbeing of your greatest assets, your members. You can start a free trial from One Call Now: See how easy it is to keep your congregants informed. MT
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tech check
12.18 Live Streaming: It’s Within Everyone’s Reach!
How to spend your remaining budget dollars in 2018 Fog Machines on Parade From youth ministry to Christian drama, and even to the platform for Sunday worship, fog machines are becoming mainstream. The folks at ezvid. wike spent 43 hours on research, videography and editing to review the top choices. From Christmas events to music gigs to stage plays, and even film sets, these fog machines are rated by density, versatility, affordability and ease of use. Select from one of these options, they are sure to provide a thick layer of mystery to whatever performance is at hand. n
Live streaming is easier than you think! It’s also become so commonplace that people already expect it of your church and ministry. If you need to get up to speed, this article from Wired.com reviews three of the most popular live streaming boxes, and will catch you up on the latest (and easiest) ways to capture and distribute live video. n
The Best Gifts of Three Decades—All in One! Are you still stumped on a tech-gift for your tech volunteers? Flashlights are so ‘90’s. USB drives are so '00’s. And short-order custom print novelties are so last year. But wait! Combine all three ideas and what do you have? A custom-printed, USB drive, with a flashlight, that fits right on a keychain. The good folks at Flashbay suggest the Trix Flash Drive, which combines a smart twisting mechanism that fully protects the USB connector, with a large full-color brandable area. Its integrated key ring allows for easy attachment to a neck strap or set of keys. Best of all you can order and receive them customized to your .jpg within a week! There’s still time!
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Who can possibly keep up with all the tech options available these days? TECH CHECK highlights tech news and new gadgets that save you time, energy, money—and keep you from re-inventing the wheel. Have a hot tech tip or news item? Email rhollenbach@outreach.com.
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ADVERTORIAL
your 2019 church tech checklist
Engage Your Congregation Using This Vital Tech Stack by Joel Guthrie
O
ver the past decades technology has continued to lap itself yearly—but trendy tech seems to come and go. With all these advancements it can be difficult to tell what your church needs and what’s just a fad. In this checklist you’ll find the top five technologies your church needs to be successful in 2019. We’ll cover everything from a functional website to a church management solution. This tech stack is designed not only to save you and your team time, but also increase engagement with your community.
A Functional Church Website WHY: This seems like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised how many churches have a website built before Facebook came into existence. In this day and age, a competent website is crucial to your church’s success. Think about how often you check out a new store, restaurant, tire shop or hotel website before physically MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
going to the location: What makes you think churchgoers are any different? Roughly 9 out of 10 people do their research online before making a purchase or visiting a store in person. Your website is the new front door of your church, and if it doesn’t work well or accurately represent your message, you will be missing out on all those people before they ever set foot in your church. Utilizing resources like Word Press makes it incredibly easy to have a beautiful functional website at a very reasonable price. Check out our own website grader and see how yours stacks up!
Online & Mobile Giving WHY: Capitol One recently reported that 1 in 4 Americans rarely-to-never carry cash, and when they do, the average is less than 25 dollars. With Millennials that ratio increases to 1 in 3. Carrying cash is becoming more and more inconvenient. So when the offering bucket goes
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ADVERTORIAL
1 in 4 americans rarely-tonever carry cash, and when they do, the average is less than 25 dollars. by, it’s not that people don’t want to give, it’s that the method available is inconvenient for a large portion of people! Having alternative methods of giving is extremely important to continue growing your church. With various online and mobile giving solutions, your congregation can set up recurring giving, which provides your church consistent revenue that allows you to plan for the future. This is a must-have for your church to be successful in 2019.'
Church Management Solution WHY: You probably have a church management solution in place to keep up with your congregation’s addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. While this is valuable, some church management solutions now have the ability to do so much more! Church management solutions now have congregation-facing tools that allow your members to sign up for events, give to the church, track their volunteering, and more. When you have all these interactions stored on one comprehensive member profile, you can more fully understand your congregation’s interests. Even further, advanced church management solutions have easy-to-use reporting and insights so you can identify when someone’s engagement seems to be slowing down. A once-regular volunteer hasn’t been to service in a month? Time to give them a call, let them know you miss them, and see if they need your support. Modern church management solutions are also improving usability, so all of these capabilities are available on your phone, and MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
A Superior Solution for a Higher Mission The world’s leading cloud software company powering social good is changing the landscape of church technology. We’re deepening our commitment to organizations like yours by launching a comprehensive, end-to-end church management solution to serve your unique needs. With Blackbaud Church Management™, you can deepen meaningful relationships within your church, provide a connected experience for your staff and congregants, and drive more effective ministry for your entire community.
hello.blackbaud.com/ BlackbaudChurchManagement
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ADVERTORIAL have drag and drop functionality so anyone can build reports or design sign-up forms for your website.
A Communication Tool WHY: Keep your congregation up to date on everything going on outside of Sunday morning. You have announcements, worship and sermon all packed into an hour every Sunday. All that information is going to be tough for your congregation to remember once they leave the building. Having a tool to send out updates to specific groups in your congregation is key to helping them continue to grow in their faith. Now, I am not telling you to spam your congregation! That would just be rude. Make sure there is real value in every communication you send out because if there isn’t, they will stop looking at the emails—and then you’re back to square one. Bonus Points: Pairing this with an advanced church management solution allows you to segment your congregation so you can communicate with them on topics relevant to them, like sending youth group updates out to just parents of kids of youth group age! This allows you to keep the value high in every communication and personalized to individual community needs.
Technology is the greatest asset we have as a church to continue to nurture and grow the congregation. A Facebook Page WHY: I know, I know: You don’t need to hear another rant about how your church needs to be on Facebook. You know all the data about how everyone is on Facebook; it’s one of the most used platforms in the world. There are 168 hours in a week, and your average congregant spends one hour a week engaging with you during your weekend service. How can you stay connected to them during the other 167 hours? Utilizing social media to continue to lead your church throughout the week is an amazing free tool. This is a huge opportunity to not only engage
MinistryTech.com DECEMBER 2018
your current congregation, but also to grow your church. Facebook is a community tool, not a megaphone. Keep the conversation going after they walk out of your church doors on Sunday. Call them to action, ask questions and share success stories. Facebook allows your congregation to stay connected and encouraged throughout their week. Only 23-25 percent of Americans go to church 3 out of 8 Sundays. Utilizing social media is the greatest tool to stay connected to those people the other five weeks they’re not in the auditorium. Facebook isn’t an afterthought; it’s a must for your church to continue to thrive in this digital age. Bonus Points: Utilize Facebook groups to manage and interact with volunteers and subsets of your general congregation. Technology is the greatest asset we have as a church to continue to nurture and grow the congregation. It’s also ever changing, complicated and, with so many options, difficult to know where to start. This checklist is your starting point. Whether your church is small or large, these five technologies will help you engage and grow your church. Make 2019 the best year your church has ever seen!
23-25% of americans go to church 3 out of 8 sundays.
Who Is Blackbaud? Blackbaud Faith SolutionsTM equips congregations, ministries and faith organizations of all types and all sizes to build vibrant, connected communities. The Cloud Solution for Faith Communities is a flexible and scalable way to drive more effective ministry and deeper relationships, spanning relationship management, giving & fundraising, financial management, engagement & events, communications, analytics and church management. MT Joel Guthrie is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at Blackbaud. He grew up in the church and his family helped start a church in Colorado Springs. Since then, he has been on staff as a worship leader and youth leader at a church in Bellevue, WA. He has been working in marketing in the tech space for his entire career, servicing large tech companies such as Microsoft and Amazon. He is passionate about helping the church apply modern technology to grow and engage their communities!
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THE LAST WORD
DO NOT BE AFRAID.
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. LUKE 2 :10 -12