TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERING MINISTRY
the best place to post church communications • podcasting guide
SMS TEXTING STATISTICS
• VITAL QUESTIONS FOR APP DEVELOPER
communication through the ages
APRIL 2018
www.ministrytech.com
CONTENTS
04.18
12
malicious or not malicious, that is the real (time) question Explore the heuristics of virus detection and proactive identification—through the eyes of a seven year-old.
4 technology as good as donuts
the best place to post church communications
God has answers for how we use our tech.
A surprising list of ways to break through the digital noise.
20 your complete guide to podcasting Podcasting is over a decade old—what’s holding you back?
10
Can Technology Be the Answer to Better Faith Community Communications?........................................ 7 TECH CHECK 04.18................................................................................19 6 Vital Questions to Ask Your App Developer................... 23
30 sms texting statistics that'll blow your mind 16
2 | MinistryTech.com
A Word from the editor Ray Hollenbach
Marketing Manager Rudy Kovac
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
Nikki Dirks, Charles Fleece, 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 2017 Outreach, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TAKE AN INVENTORY OF YOUR CHURCH TECH When the Father wanted to communicate his love for every man, woman and child on the Earth, his “method” of communication was Jesus—God became man! Jesus is The Word of God. Our faith has always been about communication. The world of church technology hums with the undercurrent of communication: How do we carry out the Lord’s mission to share the love of God expressed in Jesus Christ? From the earliest days of the church, communication was central to the mission. The “technologies” of the day have been letters written on parchment instead of pixels on glowing screens, but The Word was still communicated. The “Internet” of the first century may have been the highways and roads built by Rome, but The Word was spread from city to city nonetheless. So it should be no surprise that church technology is all about finding effective, safe and trustworthy means of stewarding and sharing the good news of the gospel. From church management software (which safeguards vital
information in service of a church’s ministry) to video announcements and curricula, the church has always embraced whatever technology is at hand and used its know-how to spread The Word. Has your church leadership team ever inventoried the technology at use each week and then surveyed the tech landscape for more effective ways to steward the message of the gospel? The “language” of the 21st century is rapidly shifting to Big Data, best practices, and social media. We can be sure that the people in our congregations understand these forces of change. The real question is whether (and how) we will embrace and use the tools capable of reaching our neighbors—and caring for our flocks. This month I invite you to survey the wide variety of approaches represented in these articles, and then draw your team together to ask, “Are we using every tool available to fulfill the Great Commission?”
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.
April 2018 | 3
THE BEST PLACE TO POST CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS (AND OTHER LOW-TECH SECRETS)
High or Low Tech, Become All Things to All People by Yvon Prehn
T
he Apostle Paul said he “became all things to all people that he might win some” (1 Cor.9: 22). We need that same adventuresome spirit if we want to use all the media channels we need to use to reach the people God has called us to reach. These days we often start with digital media, especially email and social media, even though we know that much of our audience does the same thing we do when we have a full email inbox—they delete as much as they can as fast as they can. While this can be discouraging it should also motivate us to creativity and other additional communication channels you can use to reach your audience. The following are some additional communication channels, from the obvious-but-useful to a few others that might require a little more adventuresome spirit.
POSTCARDS These are one of the most obvious alternative media for church communications, and though they’ve been around a long time, they not only aren’t going out of style or effectiveness, but they seem to be undergoing a revival in their use. Consider the quote below: People receive so many digital messages all day now, while their stack of mail is getting smaller and smaller. . . A direct mail piece [and the most frequent and effective one is a postcard] stands out. It gets noticed, it gets read, and its offers and coupons get used. ~ Inc.com 4 | MinistryTech.com
The best place to post church communications is the refrigerator. No matter how glued we are to our phones, the refrigerator is still communication central for every home because it's the place where we post the schedules, reminders, the communications that get us to activities and ministries at church. Technology has made postcards even more effective because they can be produced in church offices with a quality copier, large format inkjet printer or digital duplicator, or they can be ordered from companies that personalize, print and mail them out for churches. Postcards are so powerful because you are almost forced to read them—even if you toss them, you at least glance at the message. If you like the message, the postcard then moves to the most important communication location of every home . . . the refrigerator! The postcard then serves as a mini-billboard to remind people of your message. (I’ve written in depth about this approach here.) Keep the refrigerator in mind as the best place to post church communications.
THE SECOND GREATEST PLACE TO POST CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS The church bathroom. Seriously.
Think about it, especially for the ladies. You have people's undivided attention, for a least a minute or so. In the past I recommended this and got some great responses, both in terms of ingenuity and in how successful they can be. The one I remember most was The Stall Street Journal, a great summary of key church events that was published each week and posted in the bathrooms on literature holders inside the stalls. (I’ve written in depth about this approach, too, here.)
it might be an effective way to communicate.
Movie theaters Movie theaters show numerous advertisements before the main feature, and here’s what the AMC chain promotes their advertising sales by saying: “Give your message the impact it deserves by advertising on the big screen. No other medium can match the benefits of cinemas high definition towing canvas and fully engaged audience.”
They also state that advertising on the big screen gets 36 percent higher ad engagement over live sports and prime time TV. I’m not sure exactly what they mean by that, but if your church can afford it, it might be worth a try.
Posters These can take a variety of formats and sizes and can either be smaller ones that are distributed to coffee shops, libraries, campuses and similar settings that invite advertising of free
COMMENTS FROM KIDS ON THE BEST MEDIA
To fully fulfill the Great Commission
When I recently asked some middle and high school students where they most liked to see announcements about events their Youth Group was holding and what would get them to attend, I was very surprised to hear them say that #1 was: the chalkboard.
A chalkboard? They explained to me that just like the fancy chalkboards that places like Starbucks have, at their church they have a BIG chalkboard outside the youth room where they post the latest events. They said they always check it out and they can take a picture of it on their phone to share with friends. Simply Google “Chalkboard art on Pinterest” for lots of great ideas.
Video screens outside the sanctuary The students also said that they thought video screens outside the sanctuary worked well in the areas where people have coffee and donuts. Again, I thought perhaps that’s because so many places people eat today have TV screens with something playing, and for people used to simultaneous input of messages
RESOURCES FOR CHURCH COMMUNICATORS Training Templates Strategy Resources Podcast
www.effectivechurchcom.com April 2018 | 5
events, or larger ones to promote events around the church. Check out the latest technology in large format printers if you are interested in producing these at your church or with online printing companies to get large numbers of them professionally printed.
Graffiti Large scale graffiti art, whether hand-drawn or pasted posters, is extremely popular today. Of course, you would want to do it on a building you own and under whatever local laws apply, but many churches, especially urban ones, have walls or the sides of buildings facing streets that are just begging for a big, bold, message about Jesus. Why not discover—and engage—the taggers in your congregation?
Billboards Did you see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri? The Academy Award nominated film was all about billboards. Billboards remain a powerful way to communicate. In addition to a reminder of the impact they can have, the movie provided lessons on designing them—few words and a powerful message communicate most effectively. Billboards don’t have to be big to communicate. The old
Burma Shave signs, small signs with a progressive message along the highway, can also be a great way to communicate a message.
Design and Creation Advice This isn’t design as usual. Some of the ideas above require significant cost and creativity, but you, in your church and with your people, can do them. If God puts it on your heart to create a graffiti wall on the side of your church facing a busy street, or a movie short, a billboard or unexpected postcard, pray that He will inspire an artist or communicator in your church to do it. Young, older and in between—don’t count anyone out. You never know who might be a hidden artist in your church: People who know what slogan or message will resonate with your community. Please let me know what you create. Send me pictures at yvon@effectivechurchcom.com and I’ll share your creations on my website! MT Yvon Prehn’s ministry to church communicators has two parts: http://www. effectivechurchcom.com a site of FREE templates, strategy, and resources and http://www.churchcomtraining.com a Church Communicators Online Training School.
Try it FREE for 30 days use code SRD18
Looking to reach more of your community, more often?
Categories for everyone Scriptural
Reach more people online with professionally designed images posted automatically every
day to your church or ministry’s Facebook page with Social Reach Daily!
Inspirational
Weekend Invite
Conversations
Spanish
Educational
Women’s Ministry
Social Media Outreach has never been easier or more affordable!
Learn more at: SocialReachDaily.com
6 | MinistryTech.com
can technology be the answer to better faith community communications?
D
espite heroic efforts and substantial talent, faith communities across the country struggle with effective communication. The many initiatives planned by staff and volunteers are exciting and vital to the health of a faith community. However, if they lack one key ingredient—great communication—they will ultimately fail to achieve their full potential. Consider these factors relating to challenges unique to the faith community environment.
A MULTIGENERATIONAL AUDIENCE Your members’ ages likely span from cradle to grave. As such, all members do not share the same perspectives or worldviews. They don’t necessarily speak the same language, and they have vastly different time commitments and priorities. Sometimes communication fails because faith community leaders have not tailored information, language cues and motivational points according to differences in generational groups. With this wide range of age groups also comes a spectrum of communication device preferences. Want to
alert the teens in your youth group to a schedule change? Forget about using email—you’ll need to send a text message or post your announcement to a social media account instead. Want to reach the older adults? A voice call through the standard landline telephone might be the preferred method. Communications can fall short when faith communities fail to recognize and appropriately leverage the multitude of available communication channels and devices.
DEALING WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD We are bombarded daily with thousands of print advertisements, billboards, commercials and signs. Even within faith communities there can be a multitude of activities, requests or announcements that compete for mind-share. As a protection mechanism, our brains were created to filter and discard the vast majority of these stimuli. Communication can miss the mark when faith community April 2018 | 7
leaders fail to adequately capture people’s attention and rise above the noise and filters of daily routines.
DEALING WITH URGENT NEEDS Another challenge in church communication is the fact that urgent needs arise on a routine basis. Volunteers for services become unavailable and need to be replaced. Members face difficult times and need prayer and support. The response to these things either contributes to or detracts from the creation of a feeling of community. Yet, efforts here are often slow, manual or reliant on poor processes such as “call trees.” Communication efforts can be perceived as inadequate when people are not informed quickly and precisely when urgent needs arise.
A CALL TO SACRIFICE In a faith community environment, most of our communications contain an element of personal sacrifice for the listener. Whether asking for commitments of time, money or talent, our messaging often involves at least some degree of “pain” for the audience. When there is a gap in communications, the blame may not lie with a failure in creating awareness or outlining the cold, hard facts. It may have been that an emotional connection was missing.
Can Group Messaging Technology Close the Communication Gap? These and other challenges make communicating in the faith environment difficult. Trying to address each of these challenges in a manual way is time consuming, costly and inefficient. Is there anything that can be done to make communications more streamlined and effective? For many, the answer is “yes.” Faith communities across the country are turning to group messaging services to boost their communications. Also known as “mass notification systems,” group-messaging applications are online software packages designed to help people easily manage contacts and send all types of messages through virtually any device. These systems can deliver thousands of voice, text and email messages in minutes. Here are a few ways faith communities commonly use group messaging.
URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS When unexpected needs arise, group-messaging software can be used to quickly inform people and request prayers. In addition, some faith communities utilize the service for weekly prayer reminders. 8 | MinistryTech.com
Group messaging solutions allow users to manage their database of contacts and personal information. SERVICE OR EVENT CANCELLATIONS Faith communities are not immune to severe weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Group messaging technology can be used to alert the whole congregation to a service cancellation or change within minutes, keeping people from being exposed to dangerous situations attempting to attend a cancelled service.
VOLUNTEER COORDINATION Most faith communities rely heavily on volunteers, and these volunteers must be coordinated to ensure people are aware of their duties or find replacements. Group messaging software can be used to notify people of their service responsibilities and confirm participation. Or notices can be sent to groups of volunteers when someone who was previously scheduled cancels. Two-way feedback can be used to fill gaps in an automated way.
VISITOR WELCOME Immediate feedback from the faith community helps reinforce a visitor’s experience and make them feel truly welcome. Computers at the visitor help desk can feature a self-registration portal in which visitors can enter their information. Messages can be sent via SMS or a recorded voice call sent from the pastor. While not a substitute for true hospitality, technology can help “systemize” the visitor welcome process.
CONTACT MANAGEMENT Group messaging solutions allow churches to manage their database of contacts and personal information. Contact information can be manually entered, imported from a spreadsheet or, in more robust systems, integrated with other software packages (such as a church information system). Some also provide the ability to set up a selfregistration portal, through which members and guests can create and update their own contact information.
DYNAMIC SUBGROUP SELECTION While it’s easy enough to send messages to everyone in the congregation, most faith communities also utilize the
software’s dynamic grouping capabilities for selecting targeted subgroups. Information such as: service preferences, volunteer teams, youth or other group memberships, and special needs can all be queried to create subgroups for messaging on-the-fly or saved for future messages.
MESSAGING THROUGH VIRTUALLY ANY DEVICE Group messaging solutions also solve the problem associated with communicating through today’s plethora of devices and preferred channels. Voice messages can be recorded, or typed and read by the computer (known as textto-speech technology), then delivered to land or mobile phones. SMS text messages or emails can be sent to large groups of people at once. And, some solutions will even post a message to your faith community’s social media account automatically. The selection of the devices used is completely up to the message sender.
Improve Church Engagement Through Communication By subscribing to our on-line service, churches can call, text, email and notify all their members at once through one simple platform.
TWO-WAY COMMUNICATIONS & ONLINE REPORTING With group messaging, questions and responses can be incorporated into the message. When recipients receive the message, they can indicate their preferred response (e.g., press 1 for “yes” 2 for “no”). Some systems will allow for responses through any device. While technology can’t replace a smiling face and a friendly handshake, thousands of faith communities across the nation have turned to group messaging services like One Call Now to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of their communications. Whether for urgent situations or routine tasks, One Call Now can help members feel connected and motivated instead of feeling disengaged and uninformed.
800.462.0512
|
ONEC ALLNOW.COM/CHURCH
April 2018 | 9
your complete guide to
PODCASTING
Three Steps: What Could Be Easier? by Mike Norris
O
ne of the most popular posts on my blog was one I shared 10 years ago about podcasting for churches. Since that time much has changed, and yet I still receive questions on a regular basis about how to create a podcast for sermon audio. I wanted to share the basics of how you can start sharing your sermon audio through several different podcast providers. Here are the basic steps you will need to follow. 1. Record the audio 2. Upload the audio to your website or podcast provider 3. C reate the Podcast feed and submit it to different services Let’s break it down step by step.
RECORD THE AUDIO This is an important step. Many smaller churches have poor audio quality, which results in a podcast that is hard to listen to. You have several options, but I recommend recording the audio directly from the soundboard if possible. On many newer digital boards, you can record directly to a SD card or attached USB external drive. This would work great for sermons. Check out the QSC Touchmix, Presonus Studiolive or Behringer X32 series for easy to use digital soundboards. If you have an older analog system, you can use an 10 | MinistryTech.com
aux feed or tape out jacks to connect to a digital recorder or CD recorder. Recording directly from the board can eliminate static hum and ambient noise that a handheld recorder or camcorder will capture. If you want more information on how to record the sermon audio, check out my detailed post about recording audio. I also talk about how to edit and save the file in the correct mp3 format for podcasts. One final note: If you have static hum, find out what is causing it and fix it. Many audio-editing programs like Audacity can remove hum after you finish recording, but the resulting file can sound robotic. It is much easier to fix the problems at the source. Hum is usually caused by ground loop problems in your sound system. You can use direct boxes with a ground lift setting, or hum eliminators for computers or devices hooked up to sound system.
upload THE AUDIO This will require some research. First, you will need to check with your website provider. If you don’t have a website, then I suggest you stop right here and pick one that offers podcast support. Many church website providers have built-in podcasting support, so you will need to find out how to upload your audio and create a feed. I highly recommend doing your own website using
WordPress. Using the self-hosted WordPress system, you can easily add a theme from ChurchThemes and end up with a great looking and easy to use church website. You will have the added benefit of being able to sort through your sermons by author, topic, scripture and series. ChurchThemes has a great tutorial section on their website sharing how this works. If you use another website service that doesn’t offer built-in podcasting, you will have to use a third party system to store your audio files. You can look at Buzzsprout, Libsyn, BluBrry or SoundCloud. These will require a monthly fee, and are a little more complicated to setup and embed on your website, but you can still end up with a great result.
SUBMIT THE PODCAST FEED Now comes the fun part. Depending on which system you use, you will have to find the podcast feed that is generated for you. This will be an RSS feed that you will submit to iTunes and the other providers. Each system is different, but a quick Google search can help you find the info you need. For WordPress websites using a theme from ChurchThemes, you will find the necessary info on their podcasting guide. For our church WordPress site, I use the Blubrry Powerpress plugin to add additional information to the podcast feed. If you use WordPress, it will work with any theme and create the podcast feed for you. I recommend submitting the RSS feed to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and TuneIn. Here is a great online guide that will help you with the basics of submitting your feed.
You want the freedom to … reach out … minister to people … create fellowship … contribute to your community PowerChurch Plus was created for just that!
Membership
We provide you with the tools to increase administrative efficiency and streamline accounting tasks, freeing you up to perform the work that matters.
Accounting Contributions
Install on your PC or network, or access online. Choose which fits your needs.
Events Calendar Check In Completely Integrated
We provide software tools, freeing you up to fulfill your mission.
www.PowerChurch.com • 800.486.1800
SUBMISSION LINKS • iTunes Podcast Connect • Stitcher • Google Play • TuneIn Here are a few products I mentioned in the blog post. Disclaimer, some of the hardware and service links are affiliate links. I only recommend services that I use
and like, and the affiliate links help cover the cost of running my blog. MT Mike Norris, a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. He’s passionate about following Jesus and loves technology. He’s been married to Jennifer for 22 years, together they have three awesome kids, Emma, Luke and Drew. Check out his blog site, FaithEngineer, where this article first appeared.
April 2018 | 11
PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE
malicious or
not malicious, that is the real (time) question In the World of Cyber Security —It’s a Jungle Out There! by Steven Sundermeier
A
s a recognized expert in cyber security I’m often pressed by the media for comments relating to current cyber-related headlines. In a recent encounter I received a call from a newspaper journalist. Toward the very end of the call the columnist thanked me for my “valued” feedback and said, “I must tell you Steven, after every conversation we have together, I feel sick to my stomach, and like I must go home, hug my kids and immediately disconnect all our computers and devices.” The cybersecurity world can be a very dark place (and I don’t mean that a light has merely burned out). I witness (and deal with) countless
12 | MinistryTech.com
accounts of evil, greed and wrong doing on an hourly basis within my office day—and I am guessing that as I write monthly articles about just a minute fraction of these new, emerging dangers and threats, many readers probably share in the same sentiments of the journalist. While it’s my responsibility (and pleasure!) to help educate users on safe computing and to never turn a blind eye to the cyber-evil out there, for this article, I’m going to digress from educating you in hand-to-hand cybercombat and write about something different: how we (virus researchers) classify the severity and maliciousness of the latest cyber threats—through the eyes of a child. Here is a hint—
it correlates with God’s beautiful creatures and his wisdom in outfitting them uniquely and classifying them. In a past article I referenced my family’s recent holiday cruise, and my kids' fascination with all the different local currencies as we visited several countries in South and Central America. One of those countries we visited was Costa Rica. We were told by our local excursion guide that Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, representing nearly 4 percent of all total species estimated worldwide (spoiler alert— rainforests). To maximize the number of species we’d see while our ship was docked for just five or six hours, we decided to experience the Costa
PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE Rican rainforest via an all-terrain “Monster Bus” (imagine the Monster Jam Truck ‘Gravedigger’ only with an old-school bus body!). If you thought the cybersecurity world was scary, picture yourself scaling a mountain on a muddy dirt path (barely wide enough for our vehicle, and with no guard rails) at an angle greater than 45 percent during a heavy (Costa Rican rain-forest) rain in a “Monster Bus” custom built by two men—using spare parts! My wife speaks a little Spanish and she completely freaked out when the only road sign we saw was the upside-down yellow triangle of caution, and it had the word PELIGRO boldly printed on it. (“Danger” in Spanish.) This may have not been my best fatherly decision in the name of family time. Or was it? As we finally came to a stop somewhere up the mountain, so did the tropical rain, and the guide had us disembark to experience the rain forest. However, before doing so, he matter-of-factly warned us not to touch anything, as many of the plants and animals right next to us, dangling down around us, growing wild beneath us, were either extremely dangerous or deadly poisonous. (Where are my kids?) He also said that in the event of a jaguar sighting that we should remain calm. (Does anyone else doubt the parental decision I made besides me?) Once outside the bus, the guide immediately pointed to a bright red dot on a fallen tree and asked if anyone knew what this mysterious red spot was. Without hesitation and almost as if on cue, my 7-year-old daughter shouted out that it was a poison dart frog, and she was right. I was floored! I
am not ashamed to admit that I know less than a 7-year-old when it comes to neuroscience, cognitive psychology, or any science relating to the brain. My basic reasoning for how she came up with that answer and how quickly it came to her boils down to this: In her mere seven years on this planet, my daughter has likely already seen millions of “animals” (we will use this term loosely to describe mammals,
reptiles, birds, or insects). I’d imagine most of the animals she’s seen in the wild are repetitive: animals native to Ohio (squirrel, deer, horses, fish, robins). Some of the animals, both alive and extinct, she knows and recognizes likely may have come from visits to numerous zoos, seeing local animals on vacations, reading books, watching T.V., and at school. My point here is that regardless of age, we all have a
April 2018 | 13
PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE large collection set of animals we recognize and label. We label animals broadly by their different feature sets. A feature is an individual measurable property or characteristic of the things being observed. Does it have wings? Can it swim? Does it bark? You get the point. Identifying good features is one of the most important steps in distinguishing one type of animal from another. For example, if we were distinguishing between a pig and a zebra, asking and extracting features such as “Does it have four legs?”, or “Does it have two eyes?” would not make it possible to classify them separately. So, when deciding if that Costa Rican red spot was a poison dart frog or an African hippo, my daughter’s collection set of animals she knew about had to be large enough to tell one animal from another, there had to be a feature extraction process so that the animals could be systematically categorized into individual animal families, and the red color was certainly a narrowing factor in her little mind. What about the speed with which she answered? In the antivirus world, a process called dimensionality reduction can be used. Dimensionality is the process of automatically reducing the number of unwanted or redundant features. Removing or combining such features saves space and time and improves performance. In our case, animals that share in many of the similar extracted features can be carefully excluded with the attempt to increase time and accuracy. Again, the larger the initial sample collection set, the better! Now: What we have done so far is 14 | MinistryTech.com
called creating a Training Model. If my daughter encounters an animal, she can quickly extract the features of that animal, apply the Training Model, and quickly determine the species of that animal. In its simplest form, it is in this very same way that we fight new malware. My firm, Thirtyseven4, incorporates a very powerful, fully dynamic-based behavior detection engine called the Advanced DNA Scan (DNA). Just like my daughter’s example, the DNA was created to quickly and proactively analyze all new files in real-time, both clean and malicious, and immediately identify them as either suspicious or clean. The process of making that determination is the same. It starts with a huge collection set of both clean and malicious files (millions of files), extracting features from them, systematically categorizing them, and applying dimensional reduction and other advanced, proprietary machine learned algorithms, to create a robust training model. When Thirtyseven4 intercepts a new file (or a red poison dart frog), the feature extraction process starts, the training model is applied, and the DNA can quickly determine, in a fraction of a second, whether a file is clean or not. By utilizing and combining the latest technologies, Thirtyseven4 strives to be cutting-edge and to be the industry leading next-generation scanning engine. We want our users to be in similar disbelief and amazement, just like I was with my daughter identifying the poison dart frog, when Thirtyseven4 proactively prevents an unknown threat from infecting a system.
Just as animals are classified and separated by features and characteristics, this is a simple way to grasp the heuristics of virus detection and proactive identification. It’s an abstract comparison, but hopefully one that gives you a simplified understanding, appreciation and “backdoor” look inside anti-malware scanning. Did we make it out of the Monster Bus tour alive? Absolutely. The guides never faltered and their peace gave us peace. They were a neat example of people who had a dream (showing tourists the “unseen” beauty and nature of Costa Rica) and they worked very hard to build their dream in creating a safe and cruise-ship endorsed Monster Bus excursion. What we saw and experienced was raw and awesome. I am not sure the flora, fauna and animals will always be as prevalent there, and in the end, I was glad I booked the adventure for our family. I hope that viruses, ransomware, bots and the like will not always be prevalent. That they would die off like an extinct species. But until then Thirtyseven4 will keep classifying and protecting. A poison dart frog is tiny and lethal, but the destruction that new strands of malware can take on our machines and us is just as daunting. 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.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Digital Giving Trends in the Church
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY AT echurch.com/Digital-Giving-Trends2018
April 2018 | 15
S
30
MS text messaging has become one of the top ways to reach your congregation effectively. And statistics support that many people prefer texting, especially in specific situations. Those who have adopted SMS texting as a marketing tool are finding that there are many uses of this channel of communication. SMS works well on its own as a marketing channel, and it also works to enhance other channels such as email, social media or calling. SMS is a good way to send appointment reminders and event invitations. People do not need a smartphone to send and receive texts. This opens up lines of communication with demographic groups such as the elderly or lower-income families who may not own smartphones. If you are looking to reach people quickly, SMS may be the right solution for you. Consider these statistics before you make up your mind. While these statistics were culled from a variety of secular advertising sources, they are also a powerful call-to-action for forward-looking churches (of any size) that want to stay connected to their congregations.
16 | MinistryTech.com
sms texting statistics that'll blow your mind by Shophorn Clay, of Trumpia.com
97% more than
of Americans use texting at least once a day on their cell phones. PEW INTERNET
80%
of American adults text which makes it the most common cell phone activity. PEW INTERNET
Text messaging has a
45% response rate, while email only has a 6 percent response rate. VELOCIFY
over 6 billion
texts are sent in the United States each day. FORRESTER
Email has a 20 percent open rate, while text messages have a
98% open rate. MOBILE MARKETING WATCH
90 percent of all SMS texts are read in under
3 minutes. CONNECT MOGUL
On average, text messages are read under
5 seconds. SLICKTEXT
75%
of worldwide cell phones are text-enabled.
DUOCALL COMMUNICATIONS
9. An average adult uses a total of 23 hours per week texting. (USA TODAY) 10. On average, Millennials exchange 67 text messages per day. (BUSINESS INSIDER) 11. Americans exchange on average 2X as many texts as calls. (NIELSEN) 12. Only 43 percent of smartphone owners make calls, but over 70 percent of users text. (CONNECT MOGUL)
20. Preferred texting activities are to check order status (38 percent), schedule or change an appointment (32 percent), and make or confirm reservations (31 percent). (HARRIS) 21. More than 1/2 of consumers would be likely to text with a customer support agent. 52 percent would prefer texting with customer support over current methods. (EWEEK) 22. More than 1/3 of business pros cannot go more than 10 minutes without responding to a text message. (EWEEK)
13. 55 percent of heavy textmessage users (more than 50 texts per day) prefer to receive a text than a phone call. (PEW RESEARCH CENTER)
Text Messaging for Churches
14. On average, it takes a person 90 minutes to respond to an email, but it only takes 90 seconds for them to respond to a text message. (CTIA)
Saddleback and Mariners
15. Women in America text 14 percent more than men. (NIELSEN)
16. 79 percent of businesses believe that customers prefer SMS/text support.
http://trumpia.com
use Our Intelligent SMS Software! See Why:
"With Trumpia's text messaging software, you can reach who you need to reach instantly, no matter where they are" -Mariners Church
(ICMI)
17. 61 percent of call centers will offer SMS text support in 2016. (DIMENSION DATA)
CLICK HERE! to learn more
18. 80 percent of people use texting for business. (EWEEK) 19. 1/5 of consumers are just as likely to prefer an SMS message from businesses to a phone call. (ICMI) April 2018 | 17
23. SMS texting converts a $6 to $10 phone call to a pennies-per-session chat. (FORRESTER & CONTACTBABEL)
24. Prospects that are sent texts convert at a 40 percent higher rate than those not sent texts. (VELOCIFY)
25. Over 65 percent of marketers report SMS texting as being very effective. (EXACTTARGET) 26. 70 percent of consumers appreciate getting text messages from healthcare providers. (LOYALTY 360) 27. 75 percent of consumers would like to have special offers sent to them via texting. (DIGITAL MARKETING MAGAZINE)
28. More than 80 percent of consumers prefer no more than 2 marketing text messages per month. (DIGITAL MARKETING MAGAZINE)
29. 20 percent of financial services use SMS messages to add to their multichannel capabilities. (LOYALTY 360)
30. 72 percent of professionals prefer SMS to messaging apps. (EWEEK) Find out how you can take advantage of SMS texting in your mobile marketing strategy. Download Trumpia’s complementary Mobile Marketing Success Kit to see how you can diversify your company's communications with existing customers and new prospects.
18 | MinistryTech.com
top 8 reasons why SMS is so powerful: • 97% of Text Messages are opened, with Email coming in at only 20% on average • 23 BILLION text messages are sent per day • 80% of people are now using text messaging for business in some form or fashion • 70% of consumers appreciate getting text messages from their health care providers • 75% of people would prefer to have offers sent to them via text • 70% of employees think that companies should use texting for internal communication • 67 – The number of text messages sent per day by the average millennial • 1/3 of Business Professionals can’t wait 10 minutes to respond to a text SOURCE: TRUMPIA.COM BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SMS MARKETING
tech check
04.18 Visual Storytelling is Within Reach Churches have always understood the power of visuals. From illustrated Bibles for children (or who can forget flannel boards?) to PowerPoint for sermons, or MediaShout for worship, many churches have done a good job incorporating visuals into the main service or Sunday School. The folks at GoAnimate have developed a tool for engaging and entertaining animation. It’s a secular business tool that has energized visual storytelling. The applications for preaching, youth ministry or Sunday School are immediately apparent. Check out their website, which offers three possible buy-ins and also a free 14-day trial. n
Stabilize Your Videos It’s been something of an Internet sensation. Flowmotion is a smartphone stabilizer. That is: If you shoot video using your smartphone, the Flowmotion device will cause the video image to become rocksolid and shake-free. It’s like cinema-grade cinematography for your iPhone videos. More than 15,000 units have been pre-ordered for this groundbreaking new product, which will enter the market at the $250 price point—something within reach for nearly all churches. Imagine the look and feel of professional video for everything you record, from church picnics to man-on-the-street interviews. Check out their demonstration video, or go directly to Flowmotion’s introductory website. n
Slingshot Group: Connecting Ministers With Ministry By now we’ve all heard of employment websites that warehouse millions of resumes and claim they can match up your business with a qualified candidate. But church staffing is a different animal. When your church is hiring a new staff member, finding the right fit is crucial. That’s where The Slingshot Group comes in. This nation-wide organization specializes in placements for ministry positions. Like most websites, it connects those who are hiring with those who are looking for a place to serve. Yet The Slingshot Group has focused on the unique needs of churches and ministries, and tailors it approach according to the needs of both sides of the equation. Their introductory video tells their story beautifully, and invites you (whether you are hiring or looking to be hired) to taste and see.
n
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.
April 2018 | 19
technology as good as donuts “Help Me! I Can’t Stop Myself!”
by Jonathan Smith
T
here is little doubt that technology keeps getting better and better. It’s evolving at an exponential rate, making it difficult not only to keep up but also to know how to use all of this technology in a way that honors and glorifies God. Tech advances also reveal our misplaced priorities. For example, one of the challenges we now face is the apparent desire to blame everyone else for our problems. Recently a group of investors has demanded that Apple solve the issue of “screen addictions.” This baffles me. Telling Apple their product is so good that we can’t put it down and then asking them to somehow fix that problem is blame shifting at its finest. That’s akin to telling the good folks at Krispy Kreme that their donuts are too tasty and since we have no self-control to stop eating them that they need to fix that by making the donuts less tasty. The Bible is pretty clear: A less cool iPhone or bad tasting donut is not going to solve our addictions or misplaced priorities. Mobile device companies like Apple and Samsung know what they are doing. They know how to make and market a product that we all find useful for life—and ministry. I think it is fair to say that everyone has been surprised at the influence these devices, and the things they connect us to, like social media, have had on our lives, our culture, our worship and our planet. So what are we to do? Should make inferior technology since we are apparently unable to handle the devices and services we’ve got now? Should we water down the Krispy Kreme recipe since we can’t stop eating them on our own? Should we ask McDonald’s to make sure all of their fries are mushy and not golden brown and crispy? The foodie in me and technologist in me says, “NO!” So does the believer in me. Here’s why.
god is bigger than our tech Do we really believe “God is bigger than our tech,” or do we just say it like some old cliché? God is bigger than our screen and/or donut addictions. Not only did God create us, but He also gave us the intellect to invent our technology and the 20 | MinistryTech.com
The Bible is pretty clear: a less cool iPhone or bad tasting donut is not going to solve our addictions or misplaced priorities. ability to discern how to use it properly. God also isn’t surprised by our technology. (Insert obligatory Al Gore invented the Internet joke here.) Even though the Bible was written thousands of years before Facebook, fiber optics, flip phones or smartphones, it is still relevant to how we use that technology today and tomorrow.
god has answers for how we use our tech Since God and the book He wrote aren’t surprised by our technology, it stands to reason that He might have some answers for how we use our technology. The Bible sets the standards for how we are to live our lives, both offline and online. For example, what does the Bible say about gossip? Go ahead, look it up. I’ll wait.
The Bible says that gossip is sin, period. I hope we can all agree on that. If gossip is a sin then does it matter whether that gossip happens with our tongues or with our fingers? Spoken or typed, gossip is still gossip—and still sin. So whose fault is it if we gossip online? Is the device maker somehow liable if we can’t put our devices down because we are too busy tearing others down instead of building them up?
The Bible also talks about worship, and who we should worship. Is the way we use our phones an indicator of who we worship? Is the device manufacturer responsible for who we worship? I agree that screen addiction is a problem, but I don’t believe we should be asking anyone other than the person holding the device to fix it. Maybe the first step is to put down the device and talk to God.
#RUHOOKED
Teens & Social Media By Jonathan Smith
MinistryTech Monthly Contributor & National Speaker
A book for teens and the people who care about them. #RUHOOKED ISBN: 9781939881175/$6.99
god's church can help The church is uniquely positioned to help those struggling with technology as good as donuts. If we truly believe that God is bigger than our tech and has answers for how we use our tech then it should be easy for us to share those answers with the communities God has called us to serve. Using tech in a fashion that honors God should be woven in to how we teach Christian living. The youth group, the adult small group, the kids Sunday school and more should all be using technology as a means to help folks know God better. One of the easiest ways to reach those around
Available at TRISTANPublishing.com and Amazon.com you is to offer classes on technology, everything from how to use Facebook to how to make a PowerPoint. With our focus on God, we can handle our screen, and maybe even our donut addictions! Before blaming another person or another company, let’s look at our own hearts first. Then as technology continues to evolve we can use it in a way that honors God because our relationship with Him is
strong. Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again three days later to save companies; he died and rose to save individual people. MT Jonathan Smith is the Director of Technology at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana. You can reach Jonathan at jsmith@faithlafayette.org and follow him on Twitter @JonathanESmith.
April 2018 | 21
8 | MinistryTech.com
6 vital questions
to ask your app developer by Subsplash
D
oes your church or ministry currently have an app? Are you shopping for an app? Have you thought about getting one before? Do you currently have an app but wish you knew if it was the best option? If you are reading this, then chances are you probably answered “yes” to at least one of those questions. With so many app and giving providers on the market claiming to offer the best product, it can be hard to know which platform is the right fit for your ministry. Subsplash wants to make that easier for you, so we’ve compiled a list of questions to ask every app-developer (and giving company) you talk to. If you are shopping for a mobile engagement platform, these questions will help you narrow your search:
Do you have a native media player inside your apps? Many providers put media in their apps by linking to a third-party media vendor (such as YouTube, Vimeo or Soundcloud). This means that if something goes wrong with your media hosting, you have to reach out to a third-party company to handle the issue. Additionally, web-based media players are usually slower to load, not as easy to interact with, and drain more battery life and data from a user’s phone. Why? Because they were created to be used on the web, not inside a native app. If you want your users to have the best mobile experience, pasting those web-based solutions into your app will not be the answer. A native media player gives your users significantly more flexibility, which keeps them coming back to your app, which will help boost engagement in your church.
Do you offer unlimited tech support with every package? As a ministry leader, you probably have a pretty full schedule. There is no reason why you should have to spend hours learning a new system or updating your app every week. A good support team will help alleviate that burden and make the setup process an easy one.
You’ll want to make sure that unlimited phone and email support is included with any app package you are considering. If it isn’t, you could be setting yourself up for future frustration.
What engagement tools do you offer? If you are looking into getting an app for your church, it is probably because you want to use it as a discipleship tool. Make sure to ask every provider what kind of engagement features they offer, and how each of those tools can be used to help your congregation on their discipleship journey. A few foundational features you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for are oneclick media publishing with the native media player like we mentioned above, user accounts, group push notifications, events, custom Bible reading plans, connect forms, ChMS integrations, digital bulletins and an easy sharing experience.
Who builds your platform? Believe it or not, many companies simply white-label other app platforms. This may not sound like a huge deal, but when you purchase an app from a company that is reselling another company’s software, you simply aren’t going to get the same support, updates or new features as you would from an in-house platform. Companies that white-label other platforms have limited control of what they are able to build for you, simply because it is not their own software. A company that builds their own software and has a good track record of adding new features will be able to serve your ministry best.
What is your effective rate for online and mobile giving? Any giving provider you talk to should (hopefully) be transparent about their processing rates, but they may not go into much detail about their effective rates. It is extremely important to get as much detail about this as possible. What exactly does “effective rate” mean? Glad
April 2018 | 23
Use one of our Jumbo Sleeve Banners as a photo booth!
Plan a special service and invite everyone in your community to join in a celebration of women on Mother’s Day weekend.
Outreach offers a variety of resources that can help you invite more people, dress up your church for the event and connect visitors to your ministries.
View all the resources at: Outreach.com/Mothersday
24 | MinistryTech.com
you asked! Your effective rate is going to be the total percentage of money that the giving provider (and any third-party service involved with the transaction) is taking from every donation. In addition to standard processing fees, many companies charge hidden fees that impact each transaction and leave your ministry with less money. You will want to ask each provider, “If John donates $100 to our church with his debit card, how much of that $100 will end up in our bank account after all fees are taken out?” The answer will determine your effective rate. To learn more about effective rates, download our free eBook—it has all the information you need to ensure that you get the best rates.
What is your pricing structure? Some companies determine their pricing based on your church’s size and budget. This means that a church with an annual budget of $1,000,000 could end up paying more than a church with an annual budget of $100,000 for the exact same product and features. There is no reason why your church should have to pay more money for the same product simply because your budget is bigger. Ask each company if you can see a specific breakdown of their pricing levels and what they offer with each different package. There are many more good questions to ask your app provider, but we didn’t want to keep you here all day. If you would like the complete list of questions to ask, click here to find an eBook that goes into even more detail of what questions will help you get the best deal and why they are important. Or call Subsplash with any questions: phone at 206-965-8090 (or by email at hello@subsplash.com).
THE LAST WORD
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. MAT THEW 28:6
April 2018 | 25