Founder & Editor-in-Chief Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com Managing Editor Kevin Cross - kevin@ccmag.com
Applying Tomorrow’s Technology to Today’s Ministry Volume 25
May 2013
No. 5
4 cover story
One Call Now launches new My Call Now app for churches! By Steve Hewitt
Contributing Editors Yvon Prehn Nick Nicholaou Kevin A. Purcell Russ McGuire Michael L White Copy Editors Gina Hewitt Magen Cross
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What is the “potential” for technology in your ministry? Steve Hewitt - steve@CDPublishers.com
Church Fraud
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Protected with Purpose
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© Copyright 2013 by Christian Computing®, Inc.
Church Windows Software
from Church Windows Software
The Browser
from Thirtyseven4
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Worm Vobfusety - Tricky and Technical
Five Reasons Mercer University is Focusing on Ministry Technology from Mercer University
One Call Now
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Youth + Texting: It Works! - Our Mother of Sorrows
from One Call Now
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Higher Power With Kevin
The Power And The Danger
Little communication details can accomplish miraculous results Yvon Prehn - yvon@effectivechurchcom.com
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Nick at Church
Back It Up! Here’s How…
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By Russ McGuire - russ.mcguire@gmail.com
Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com
of Christian Computing® Magazine, or Christian Computing, Inc.
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Christian Computing® Magazine
May 2013
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editorial
What is the “potential” for technology in your ministry? Steve Hewitt - steve@CDPublishers.com
Last night something wonderful happened! I reconnected with an old friend. My son brought by Guy Bolen’s (my late fatherin-law) TRS-80 (later known as the Model 1). Guy always had a love for electronics and gadgets, and was a regular at Radio Shack, so when they told him about the TRS-80, which was to become one of the earliest massproduced and distributed personal computers, he ordered one and was one of the first in the nation be a proud owner. Guy called me when it arrived and invited me over to see his new “toy”. I fell in love with it immediately. I had just graduated from college and had just started pastoring my first little church. Yet, at first sight, I knew there was great potential for this new tool, the computer, to help in ministry. I imagined what it would be like to type in all of my sermon illustrations and save them in a database so I could retrieve them later. In my country church office, I had started a rolodex with my members and prospect’s contact information. I could only imagine what it would be like to have that info stored on a computer! The TRS-80 had very little power. It didn’t even have floppy disks (really, they were floppy), but instead, programs and data were Christian Computing® Magazine
stored on cassette tapes. But, I could see the potential. Later, I purchased my own computer, a Color Computer from Radio Shack, with an incredible 32k of memory! And, I received real benefits from the help it provided me in ministry. It would be more than a decade later that God would lead me to start CCMag, and much has happened in the last 25 years that we have published this magazine, but the amazing part is that there is always more “potential” just around the corner as new software, services and Apps are developed, taking advantage of new computers and devices. What is the “potential” for technology in your ministry? Those that make the most of technology to enhance and expand ministry are those that have a vision! Together We Serve Him,
Steve Hewitt, President Christian Digital Publishers Inc. May 2013
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cover story
One Call Now launches new My Call Now app for churches! By Steve Hewitt
I
f you have ever heard the commercial state, “There’s an app for that!” the reality is that it is pretty true! And, the good news for me is that more and more Christian technology software and services are coming out with apps. This is important because each month, more and more of our readers are doing the majority of their “computing” experiences on a mobile device (tablet or smartphone). I was delighted to hear about the new App from One Call Now, and thought it justified an interview with Bob Wolfe! Enjoy. One Call Now has been in our pages before. As a refresher for our readers, can you tell us about your company? One Call Now is a simple, but powerful church communication service that makes it easy for pastors, administrators and other leaders to send important voice, text, email and social media messages and to receive prompt feedback from members of their communities. The service is accessible from a computer, phone and our through our mobile app for church leaders. How might a church use One Call Now? Churches use our service for both routine and emergency, or time-sensitive, notifications. Christian Computing® Magazine
These can include announcements about severe weather, event cancellations or postponements, a change of venue or other news that has to get to staff, volunteers, families and other members right away. Our churches also use the service for day-to-day ministry communication, prayer chains, stewardship, outreach and dozens of other uses. What makes One Call Now “simple”? Traditionally, churches have used old-fashioned hardware phone dialers that tie up phone lines and send calls one-by-one. This is clunky and time-consuming. It also ties up staff time with cumbersome administrative tasks. One Call May 2013
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Christian Computing速 Magazine
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Now is 100% cloud-based to allow easy access, roster management and message distribution from any device … to any device, including a computer, iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile or Blackberry. The message can be scheduled for immediate or future delivery, and the sender can see real-time results showing who received the message and when. Can any church use One Call Now? Not only any church, but any designated person in that church can become a more effective communicator with One Call Now. Instead of most of the communication having to go through a particular contact person and then have to be edited for different tools (bulletin, email, signage, announcements, etc.), One Call Now clients can simply call in or log-on to send a message using the method of communication their fellow church members prefer, like text or a voice call or an update to Facebook.
Firstly, we see our mission as helping churches to spread their good news with tools that are easy to learn, easy to manage, very flexible and very effective for communicating. Secondly, with One Call Now, churches and their members have options…they don’t have to rely just on email or the bulletin or some other tool that is limited by time, attendance or having to be online. One Call Now and My Call Now are applications that reach people when and where it’s best for them. And because our services are so intuitive and easy-to-use, they have become indispensable to thousands of churches. Of course, we’re proud of all this, and privileged to be a part of our church communities and their greater mission. Download both mobile apps here: http://www. onecallnow.com/mobile
So…One Call Now is this web-based voice, text, email and social media tool for churches. What makes this new product, My Call Now, different? My Call Now is a new, different app we’ve launched that takes One Call Now a major step forward, giving recipients – church members and others in the community – a powerful, mobile tool for managing all of their One Call Now contacts and messages. My Call Now is a free app that lets users simply tap to add entries to calendars or pass along messages to others. It also makes it easy for church members to update their contact information in the church, freeing up staff time and reducing the number of messages sent to wrong numbers or email addresses. How do you see churches using My Call Now? Every church is concerned about the engagement of its members, from encouraging and then managing volunteers to extending the mission of the church to its wider community. My Call Now is a convenient and fast way of increasing this engagement, especially among people already using One Call Now for business, schools, sports, clubs and other groups. Where do your solutions “fit” within church communications? Christian Computing® Magazine
May 2013
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church windows Software
CHURCH WINDOWS SOFTWARE
Church Fraud
An Interview with a CFE Working to Reduce the Potential for Fraud in the Church
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RAUD! It’s never pretty to think about, but it’s one of life’s realities and is a potential liability for every church. Though we like to think we can trust those individuals occupying key financial positions within our congregations, we must keep our eyes open and remain vigilant in order to truly be good stewards of the hard-earned money given by church members. To take a look at some of the ways to protect the church’s money, we’ve solicited help from a true professional. Mary Lou Turnbull, Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), is the owner of Steeple Accounting Services. She specializes in forensic accounting for churches. More specifically, Mary Lou assists with fraud prevention and compliance issues that could save the church big dollars and protect the integrity of your community.
Mary Lou, thanks for offering your expertise in this area to readers. I’m sure there’s no single “magic bullet” that can close every potential loophole for fraud. If you could offer only one tip to churches looking to protect themselves from becoming the victims of fraud, what would it be? One of the biggest issues facing churches today is the total lack of accountability. Typical fraud prevention measures like internal controls, checks and balances, and fraud assessments are all great. But if no one is paying attention nor knows how to read the numbers, it’s an exercise in futility. If you’re on the Finance team at your church, show up, ask questions, and get educated on what your monthly Christian Computing® Magazine
reports are telling you. Bank reconciliations are essential. Payroll taxes and other deductions must be remitted properly. Fraudsters take advantage of the ignorance of governing bodies and capitalize on the trust factor. Could you cover a couple of ways your clients have had money embezzled? One church client had money misappropriated from a Pastor’s Pension Fund. The church contributed a portion of the minister’s pension and the other part came from a payroll deduction from the pastor’s pay. A check cleared the bank each month for both portions of the pension, but unfortunately the denominational office never saw the money. The fraudster had simply issued the check to herself. If the minister had simply checked his pension statement, he would have noticed the discrepancy much earlier. There are some really interesting articles and videos that offer insight into the mind of people who commit fraud. One of my favorites is Gary Zeune’s website The Pros and the Cons. It provides actual interviews with convicted cons who tell how and why they committed their crimes. Check out Barry May 2013
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Minkow’s story. (http://www. theprosandthecons.com/videos/ fraud/barry-minkow-100-millionfraud-by-age-21.htm) It even has a church twist! Even more interesting, find out what’s happening to him now. I know that you are very experienced in working with Church Windows software, but can churches using other software come to you for help? Thanks for that question, Craig. Yes, the principles of fund accounting are the same regardless of which software you use. Basic financial reports like the Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss (Treasurer’s Report), and Cash Activity are universal and can be reviewed to spot red flags that warrant further investigation. Numbers don’t lie. The key is to interpret what those irregularities are telling you. In closing, tell us a little about how you got started in this field and how people can get in touch with you. After working and becoming certified as a Church Business Administrator (NACBA), I moved into church management software where I specialized in on-site training, predominantly in accounting and payroll. After receiving a Forensic Accounting degree and becoming a Certified Fraud Examiner, I opened Steeple Accounting Services in response to a need to assist churches in better protecting their assets and understanding their finances. You may reach me by submitting your contact information on my website. www.steepleaccounting. com Thanks for the opportunity to share my story!
Christian Computing® Magazine
May 2013
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Protected with Purpose
Worm Vobfus
Tricky and Technical
By: Steven Sundermeier
T
oward the end of last month’s article (http://www.thirtyseven4. com/ccmag/ccmag2013_04.pdf), I made reference to a highly polymorphic worm: Worm Vobfus. It sounds interesting, and it is! It sounds quite techy: and again, it is. But hang out with me for a couple paragraphs while we explore one of the latest and most transient worms that we virus-researchers have seen in a while. Worm.Vobfus is like a dangerous chameleon that changes to suit its environment, and believe me: you DO NOT want this guy blending in to your network environment. By definition, Vobfus fits into the Worm category due to its ability to spread on its own via network drives and removable drives, and for its ability to download and execute arbitrary files. The name Vobfus comes from the combination of words V(isual Basic) + Obfus(cator). To give you some background: Visual Basic is the framework or compiler from Microsoft that is similar to other compilers like Visual C++, or Delphi from Borland. Visual Basic was popular among developers during the late 90s as it is an easy program to learn and develop on. Over the last few years, Visual Basic has regained popularity among cyber criminals due to code obfuscation, a technique used by attackers to deliberately modify their code, complicating analysis for virus researchers and this also conceals the malicious purposes the worm. It also uses various encryption techniques like RC4. Visual Christian ComputingŽ Magazine
Basic code is either in Native code (that processors directly understand) or intermediate code that is understood by a VB Virtual Machine- this adds one more layer of complication. As previously mentioned, Vobfus is a highly polymorphic worm that has been around since 2009. It continually evolves to evade detection. It often avoids detection by adding garbage code at every iteration to create new MD5 hashes to avoid detection or to allow for modifications in the code to generate new variants. These techniques have proven very successful in the past year, and at the time of this writing, reports from our Viruslab showed that more than 310,000 machines had Vobfus related infections blocked and/or repaired in the last 120 days alone. Vobfus spreads by dropping copies of itself, at frequent time intervals, onto all removable drives and mapped network drives connected to the infected system. The worm also exploits the Windows Operating System Autorun feature so that those dropped files can get auto-executed, and this is done by the creation of an Autorun.inf on the infected system. Later variants of Vobfus also exploit the Microsoft Shortcut Vulnerability. The first observed May 2013
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Christian Computing速 Magazine
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Vobfus variant (Worm.Vobfus.AC6) exploiting this vulnerability was seen towards the end of 2010. With the Microsoft Shortcut Vulnerability, an attacker may present a removable drive to the user with a malicious shortcut file and the corresponding malicious binary. When the user opens this drive in Windows Explorer (or any other application that parses the icon of the shortcut), the malicious binary will execute code of the attackers choice on the target system. An attacker could also set up a malicious website or a remote network share and place the malicious components on this remote location. When the user browses the website using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or a file manager such as Windows Explorer, Windows attempts to load the icon of the shortcut file thus invoking the malicious binary. In addition to the techniques above, Vobfus variants can also arrive on a system by visiting a website containing malicious code or can get dropped or downloaded by other malware families. We’ve even had reports of Vobfus variants arriving on a system via scams/links on social networking sites. While Vobfus belongs to its own worm family, its propagation techniques can be used and have been used by other worms as well. The highly publicized Stuxnet creation and even Sality (according to various reports) also use the Microsoft Shortcut Vulnerability and removable drives to spread. What’s the purpose of Vobfus, you’re wondering? I feel the primary purposes of the Vobus family of malware today are to propagate on a large scale through network shares and removable drives and to act as a vehicle to download other malware. The downloaded malware could then join the system to be part of Bott network, and expose the machine to become accessible and under the control of a Bot herder.
clicking on links within emails, instant messages or on social networking sites 6. Install strong antivirus software, making sure it remains up-to-date and scanned at regular intervals I believe there should be caution in accepting how Vobfus affects our networks today (downloading other malware, fast propagation, etc), and how it could affect our networks tomorrow. The tendencies of this worm (ever-changing and adapting) make it a dangerous candidate to be altered in the future for stealing data and credit card information. The potential of Worm.Vobfus is not positive, but in contrast, is very negative and I foresee the attacks becoming more sophisticated if Vobfus’ advanced techniques are modified for additional attack purposes. Thirtyseven4’s flagship solution, Thirtyseven4 Antivirus is routinely updated against the latest Vobfus variants and also incorporates advanced generic detection routines and cutting-edge modules (i.e. Autorun Protection, Browser Protection, etc) that offer proactive defenses against future mutations.
To avoid getting hit with Vobfus and similar worms, I would suggest the following preventive measures to reduce the risks posed by the Vobfus family. 1. Disable the Autorun functionality 2. Keep operating system and installed software patched and updated against known vulnerabilities and exploits 3. Limit access to Shared folders and removable drives 4. Be diligent when opening email attachments 5. Be aware of phishing schemes, and avoid Christian Computing® Magazine
May 2013
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The Browser
Five Reasons Mercer University is Focusing on Ministry Technology By: Susan Codone
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’m Susan Codone, an associate professor of Technical Communication at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. In August, we are kicking off a new initiative that we hope will energize the church by making technology skills not just widespread, but essential to anyone who works in ministry.
For twenty years, Mercer University’s School of Engineering has offered a Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Communication that equips students to work in broad areas of technology and communication. In 2013, Mercer will begin offering a new Technical Communication degree track that enables students to specialize their undergraduate studies in an area we’re calling Ministry Media and Technology. Why? Mercer’s mission is to teach, to learn, to create, to discover, to inspire, to empower and to serve. Founded by a Baptist pastor named Jesse Mercer in 1833, Mercer sprang to life from a desire to grow and serve the church. Today, Mercer continues this service through studies in Christianity, graduate work in the McAfee School of Theology, and aid worldwide through our Mercer on Mission program. That’s not all we do. With more than Christian Computing® Magazine
8,300 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah, and at four Regional Academic Centers around Georgia, Mercer is consistently ranked among the nation’s leading institutions by such publications as U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review. Our more than 68,000 alumni are making important contributions to their professions and communities throughout Georgia, the Southeast and the world. But something unique is happening in Mercer’s School of Engineering, a very unusual place to find ministry technology education. And I’m thrilled to be involved. In 2003, one of our students was preparing for her senior-year internship when she confided in me that she hoped to go to seminary after graduation. After a few phone calls, I assisted her in landing May 2013
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an internship at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where she went on to work full-time helping to manage the seminary’s online learning initiatives until Hurricane Katrina diverted her into another career path. A few years later, another student minored in our degree and also went to seminary while doing part-time work building websites and creating graphical designs for churches and para-church organizations. I began to see a trend. Around the same time, churches began to ask me for students who could help them manage technology in their offices and worship services, and I watched my own church grapple with growth in membership and technical needs. Clearly, a pattern was emerging, and I was intrigued. In late 2011 I began researching what I now refer to as the broad field of ministry technology, and our faculty agreed that adding a specialization to our degree in ministry media and technology made sense. Other universities study this area, but Mercer is the first to begin preparing undergraduates with special training in ministry technology. Mercer University is committed to extending the field of ministry technology for five compelling reasons:
urgent responsibility of child security is enough to make churches reach out for technology help. 3. Mercer has the technology necessary to train students to serve churches and para-church organizations across a broad spectrum of technical needs. In Mercer’s School of Engineering, which admittedly is an unusual place to find ministry technology education, we have the technology and facilities that match current industry trends. Our professors possess the communication and technology skills needed. And we have students eager to learn. 4. Mercer is well-positioned to research new ways in which technology can be used in ministry. Mercer, by the nature of its mission, already provides extensive support to churches. David Drinnon, Associate Pastor of Information Technology at Second Baptist Houston who is also affiliated with the ChurchIT Network, suggests that churches, especially large ones, need information on topics that can only be derived from research,
1. God has always used technology. From papyrus scrolls to the printing press to Twitter, God has inspired innovative servants to propel His work forward using the tools of each era’s technology. It’s time for universities to step in and provide a formal place to train those servants to use today’s technology. 2. The church is being left behind by technology. Churches are lagging behind the technology curve. Although anecdotal reports suggest that around 80% of churches have websites, most churches lack the staff and the skills to keep those sites updated. Office technologies obsolesce quickly, and the media, security, retail, and data needs of growing churches are outpacing the ability of the church to keep up. The Christian Computing® Magazine
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including best practices for church technology, the convergence of media and IT, and the technology footprints which growing churches need. He also calls for studies that focus on the intersection of church technology with worship media, online information, HVAC systems, phones, video surveillance and security, point of sale systems, business management, and the tracking of membership data. At Mercer, we are ready to conduct this research to widen the discussion of how ministries can maximize technology. 5. Mercer can adapt curriculum to the emerging and explosive growth we see each year in new applications of technology. As a private university, Mercer is nimble, innovative, committed, and prepared. We can and do respond quickly to changes in technology, and we adapt our curriculum to meet emerging needs. For example, this summer we are offering a class in Social Media Management as a direct response to feedback from our alumni. I think we can all agree that technology has both energized and baffled the church for years, primarily because few people who work in churches are broadly equipped to use it and implement it efficiently. In 2006, Carlton Harvey presented a paper at an annual conference of Nazarene sociologists and researchers. He began his paper with minutes from a church meeting from 1908, where church members were evidently struggling with the adoption of the typewriter as a new method of technology. In the minutes were nine reasons NOT to begin using a typewriter. Reason #8? - “The church has gotten along for over 1900 years without a typewriter; why do we need this now?” Fast forward sixty years to 1968. Clifford Hewitt, writing in The Christian Century, stated the following: “In discussing educational technology and the church, one is tempted to …spin out prophetic visions of a strange new world filled with whirling computers, flashing lights and clattering electronic gadgets. Such a world is closer than we think. Sooner or later the church will have to come to Christian Computing® Magazine
grips with these techniques and tools, will have to interpret their meaning for human life and its own mission. But why wait? We should begin now to make constructive use of the tools of educational technology that are at hand. Properly used, they can help the church fulfill its role as Christ’s manfor-others in a hungry world.” Finally, George Barna, author of 47 books and founder of the Barna Group, predicts in his book Revolution that by 2025, 30-35% of Americans will experience and express their faith via media, arts, and culture rather than in traditional religious institutions like the local church. And that’s just in America. Worldwide, the website Internetworldstats.com reports that as of June 30, 2012, over 2.4 billion people are online – an almost 600% growth level since the year 2000. Believers are already there. Mercer wants to help the church get there, too. In June, I will begin writing a monthly column in CCMag titled “The Browser” to discuss broad technology issues relevant to the church. Together, we’ll explore how and why universities and seminaries should be involved in preparing ministers to competently use technology in ministry, and we’ll discuss topics relevant to all believers who use technology in their pursuit of God. Shoot me an email if you’d like to discuss any of this further, or if you’d like to learn more about Mercer’s innovative degrees. I can’t wait to see how this turns out – how about you? Susan Codone, codone_s@mercer.edu http://www.mercer.edu
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one call now
ONE CALL NOW
Youth + Texting: It Works!
Our Mother of Sorrows
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ur Mother of Sorrows Church is located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and has been serving its community since November 1920. The church was started with just eighty households and now claims almost one thousand registered households in the parish community. The parish has also since created and cultivated a school that has opened its doors to students from seven different school districts, four counties, and 11 different faith traditions.
THE SITUATION
Lent is an important time or faith-sharing in the parish. The challenge for Our Mother of Sorrows was to be able to regularly share these essential faith messages with youth members in order to help keep them interested and engaged. “We really only had contact with our young people during their scheduled Religious Ed times. They had class material to read with assignments” said Communications Director Anne Di Francesco, “but we didn’t have a unique way to keep the attention of the teens. Our instructors believed if they could send a short message with an open-ended question relating to the previous Sunday gospel reading, that it could lay the foundation for teens to ponder more about each topic. The goal was to make an impact on a daily basis and to reach them in the way they were used to communicating.”
THE SOLUTION
The parish had already used One Call Now for phone messages to relay information about different events. They were thankful to find out that they also had access to text messaging through the service. “We knew that relaying a short text message to teens would be more successful than handing them a newsletter or a booklet to read,” said Di Francesco about utilizing One Call Now text messaging. Now, each day Anne spends only a few minutes typing a short message into a text template and presses send. The messages are sent promptly at whatever time she has specified, and reach students in moments. “The age group we have targeted is the most interested in receiving text rather than any
Christian Computing® Magazine
other form of communication,” said Di Francesco. Since implementing the program, Our Mother of Sorrows has successfully sent One Call Now text messages to at least 75 members of its teen community. “The teens were excited about the idea, and there was an enthusiastic response in signing up to receive the messages,” said Di Francesco. “The teens were enthusiastic about receiving these important faith messages through One Call Now’s texting feature. ” Anne DiFrancesco, Communications Director at Our Mother of Sorrows
Contact us to learn more! INDUSTRY - Church Youth Group PROBLEM - Reaching teens with the right communication tool PAYBACK - Increased enthusiasm and engagement TOOLS UTILIZED - SMS texting GEOGRAPHY - Northeastern United States REPLACED - Classroom-only opportunities to reach students by instead using convenient, thought-provoking 24/7 tool preferred by youth members.
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higher power with kevin
Community Mobile Bible Reading from YouVersion and Logos
Kevin A. Purcell - kevin@kevinpurcell.org
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or generations taking a Bible to church meant carrying a leather bound, paper back or hardback book containing the Christian Scriptures. When the pastor asked everyone to “turn to John 3:16” the rustle of pages filled the room and slowly died out as people found the passage.
Today, more people take their Bible to church by carrying a smart phone or tablet running one of the dozens of Bible apps. Turning to John 3:16 will usually entail tapping a screen and the only thing we hear is people who forgot to turn off the tone that sounds when they type John 3:16 into the reference box. The most popular Bible app comes from the folks at LifeChurch.tv (http://www.lifechurch.tv). To see just how popular the app is head on over to http://now.youversion.com to see the impressive presentation of how many people use this app. The site shows current live usage all over the Christian Computing® Magazine
world. Bible readers can use the app to read and search the Bible as well as share it with communities on social media or within the service with their group notes and bookmarking. Now, churches or study groups can set up a group at the service’s website. Members will join the group. Then a leader can set up a live interface to share content to users of the Bible app. Think of it as a way to do multimedia in church, but using people’s phones or tablets running the Bible app instead of a computer and projector or TV. What’s more is this all comes for free. Other Bible apps May 2013
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offer the feature but the church will have to pay for a subscription to their worship presentation app to make it work. That will cost $10/month or more depending on how big the church is. Getting Started with YouVersion Live Events Head on over to http://youversion.com/groups to get started. In the upper right part of the page there’s a button labeled Create a Group. Click that to start the group. For example, we created one with the name of our church. The site will ask for: • Group Name • Group URL - an identifier that will be added to the address (http://youversion/ com/groups/XXXXX) • Type of Group - click the drop down box to identify the kind of group you’re setting up, like a church or small group • Description - explain the group and its purpose • Web site (URL) - for example your church’s home page Christian Computing® Magazine
• Group Privacy • Open - intended for anyone to join without approval • Moderated - means someone in the group must approve members • Private - means the group is hidden and no one can join Finally, agree to the terms of service and click Save. Once someone creates a group, users can join it by using the URL provided in the above step or by searching for the group name. That’s why its important to pick a name that accurately describes the group. List the group on church bulletins or slides that scroll before worship. Make cards to hand out to small group members. Use NFC TecTiles tags, which let mobile phones with NFC (or near field communication) access the link by touching a sticker placed at the entrance of the group’s meeting place with their NFC phone or tablet. After setting up a group, the moderator can log into the YouVersion website and create a Live May 2013
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Event. From the main YouVersion Bible reading page, find the link along the left toolbar six buttons down which looks like a Wi-Fi signal icon. This lets the user create an event by giving it a title. I use titles like Sunday Worship May 12. Then give it a Subtitle, like Mothers Day. Describe the service or Bible study being created. The next section of the page tells YouVersion when to make the event visible and when to turn on the cues. The Publish date is when you want it visible to group members. For example, a Sunday worship service might get published on the Monday before to allow attendees to begin reading and praying about the Bible passage. The page gives the event an exact start date/time and an ending date/time. For example, a Wednesday small group study might start on May 15 and at 7:30 p.m. and end on the same date at 9:30. The optional Hold date/time lets the publisher keep the event private for an extended period of time before publishing it. Be sure to set the right time zone so the event doesn’t accidentally go live three hours late because you scheduled it for Pacific time but the event took place in North Carolina. After saving the event, the publisher can start customizing the event. Drag the possible items from the right side to the left. The types of things available include the following items.: Bible Reference - the passage studied Notes - add some notes about the passage to help attendees understand it Christian ComputingŽ Magazine
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Question - ask a question of attendees Poll - take a live poll like “How many read the passage before they came?” Online Giving Link - let users donate to the ministry via an online link like a church website giving page Audio and Video Links - share songs or sermons to hear or a video illustration General Link - a website that relates to the study like a news item or a funny story Share - a link to share via social media After adding all the content, order it by dragging the items up or down. Then hit the Preview tab to see what it will look like in the YouVersion Bible app. The Dashboard tab shows answers to Polls, Questions and Prayer requests. To see how to create these, head over to the YouVersion support site with two helpful tutorial videos about setting up groups and creating a live event. Find it at http://support.youversion.com/create-live-en/. There’s also a webinar about setting up YouVersion Live at http://youtu.be/WiS9_jVdQes. Logos Bible and Proclaim Next month we’ll look at how Logos Bible Software handles this with their Proclaim worship presentation software. Follow me on Twitter at http:// twitter.com/kapurcell and Google Plus at http://bit.ly/kevinsgplus.
Christian Computing® Magazine
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the power and the danger
Facebook Home
By Russ McGuire - russ.mcguire@gmail.com
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n April 4, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg introduced Facebook Home, a new mobile interface/application/service. How should those of us in tech ministry think about Home? Is it a blessing or a curse? What is Facebook Home? Technically, Home is a wrapper around Android. It’s not the first such wrapper. Many cellphone manufacturers have created their own “improved” interface for Android – for example Samsung’s phones run TouchWiz and HTC’s phones run Sense. But Facebook Home goes further than previous wrappers to make the phone not seem like a phone but rather like a small dedicated Facebook mobile computer. The lock screen and home screen are dominated by Facebook activity (most notably photos posted by friends), eliminating traditional informational elements including time, battery life indicator and network signal strength. Home consists of three main features – Coverfeed, Chat Heads, and App Launcher. Coverfeed replaces your phone’s home screen. It displays activity from your friends and appears to be biased towards posts that include photos. In Christian Computing® Magazine
the future, Coverfeed will also provide new billboard space for Facebook advertisers. Chat Heads is an application for chatting – or instant messaging – with your friends. In Facebook’s takeover of your Android experience, Chat Heads can pop up at any time while you’re using any application. You can interact with your Facebook friends without leaving whatever app you were running. App Launcher is exactly what it sounds like. It’s Facebook’s way to make it easy for you to launch your regular apps. Before Home, most of us arranged our phone’s home screens to hold the apps we use most often. Home replaces the traditional “home” screen with Coverfeed, but App Launcher is pulled up easily from Coverfeed to quickly launch your favorite apps. Why is Home attractive to us? In the early-to-mid 1990s, when I was first May 2013
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actively developing for the Internet, it was frustrating that so many Internet newcomers equated the World Wide Web with the Internet. Until the Mosaic browser (which spawned Netscape which forced Microsoft to bring Internet Explorer to market), the vast majority of folks had never heard of the Internet. As millions connected for the first time, the only two applications they used were E-mail and the Web. Even now, that’s largely the case. Today, as the number of Facebook users reaches into the billions, for many, the Internet means Facebook, especially when they are mobile. I’m a Facebook user, but not a Facebook fan, and yet even I find that, for an increasing number of my contacts, I no longer try to keep track of their e-mail address or phone number, because I can always reach them through Facebook. Christian ministry is relational. We are to go where the people we are called to serve are gathered, and increasingly, that’s on social networks like Facebook. If the mobile Internet, to you, is Facebook, and if Facebook is the main way that you stay connected to those you serve, then Facebook Home may be an efficient (and visually pleasing) way to advance your ministry. What should we be concerned about? Facebook has a long history of pushing the limits of privacy. According to their website, “Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected.” Within this definition of “open” is the concept that privacy is an oldfashioned concept whose time has passed. The company has repeatedly pushed the service into areas Christian Computing® Magazine
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of information sharing that initially generated significant resistance, but later became accepted as normal and reasonable. Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg celebrates when this happens as reflected in a quote from 2010: “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that’s evolved over time.” Facebook doesn’t charge for its service, but bears huge costs in maintaining a high speed, well connected web infrastructure hosting huge amounts of data and delivering that data to hundreds of millions of users around the world. How can this be? Facebook has become a data collection and dissemination machine. The data that is being collected is all about each of its users. Who they are. Who their friends are. What they like. What sites they visit on the web. What videos they watch. What pictures they view. What music they listen to. What news articles they read. Where they are (geographically). Who is in their family. When is their birthday. Where were they born. Are you getting concerned yet? You should be. What does Facebook do with this information? The biggest revenue driver in their business model is advertising. Advertisers want to spend their ad dollars to reach people most likely to buy their products and they want to customize the pitch to those prospects to have the greatest impact. With all of the data that Facebook is collecting, the company can uniquely deliver this capability to marketers. To some extent, maybe we should be okay with this. I actually would rather see ads for products I’m inMay 2013
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terested in than ads for products I don’t care about. Well placed promos have helped me discover products I love that I previously had been unaware of. Perhaps more efficient advertising will even lead companies to make more compelling offers to me for the things I will love (better discount, freebies, etc.). However, even if you’re comfortable with Facebook’s advertising program, Facebook has also embraced an open application platform. They enable hundreds of thousands of independent developers to tap into your private information (once you click “okay” because it looks like a cool app) for whatever purposes they have in mind. A year ago I shared a scary example of this. So what does any of this have to do with Facebook Home? This new interface inserts itself between you and your mobile experience. It gains insight into everything you do on your mobile device. In short, it gains even more information about you. What apps do you use? What games do you play? How do you spend your time? Does this concern you? Beyond privacy, reviewers have identified a number of other problems with Facebook Home that may keep you from adopting it. Two of the most significant complaints are that it appears to drain the battery quickly, and that Home hides traditional cellphone functions, making it hard to do everyday tasks such as make a phone call. Although I imagine that Facebook will address these concerns relatively quickly, Facebook’s mission ensures that the company will not back off far, or for long, on privacy concerns. Our Lord values privacy – that some things are only for a limited audience – do you? “Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.’” (Luke 10:23-24) Russ McGuire is an executive for a Fortune 100 company and the founder/co-founder of three technology start-ups. His latest entrepreneurial venture is CXfriends (http://cxfriends.com), a social network for Christian families which is being built and run by four homeschooled students under Russ’ direction.
Christian Computing® Magazine
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ministry communication
Little communication details can accomplish miraculous results Yvon Prehn - yvon@effectivechurchcom.com
T
he story of a stubborn general in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, illustrates the critical importance of not ignoring the seemingly little things in church communication because of a focus on the expensive and extravagant. For example, when churches spend lots of money on big communication projects such as a website redo, buying high-end design software thinking the software will result in impressive designs, or spending so much time on launching a social media campaign that you forget to put adult Bible class schedule on the web. When the large amount of time or money spent does not produce the desired results, discouragement and questioning often result. The danger of ignoring small actions It’s not that these things may not be important and there are times when they may need to be done, but we mustn’t forget the importance of little things, when we do them in God’s service. The Old Testament story of Naaman illustrates this lesson well. Naaman in 2 Kings 5, was commander of the armies of Aram. He expected significant results from extraordinary efforts on the battlefield and he was successful in his expectations. But when he got leprosy, he found an enemy Christian Computing® Magazine
he couldn’t conquer. On the advice of a captive servant girl in his household, he went to the prophet Elisha in Israel to be cured. As befitting his status, Naaman expected the prophet to appear and with thundering words and grand gestures, heal him of his leprosy. That didn’t happen. “Go wash in the Jordan seven times,” was the message delivered by Elisha’s servant to the general. Naaman was not pleased. In anger, he vented his opinion and prepared to return home, until his servants convinced him to try the little thing sugMay 2013
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gested by the prophet. Naaman dipped himself into the Jordan seven times and the seventh time, “his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy (2 Kings 5: 14).” Applications to church communications Often as I interact with pastors, church leaders and church communicators, I find they know something isn’t working well in their church communications program. It may not be leprosy, a life or death of the church situation, but it is serious. Most often the key symptoms, even though the church prays and plans, are in following categories: • Lack of church growth: not enough people coming into the church. • Lack of member spiritual growth: not enough people attending the events outside Sunday morning that will help them grow to Christian maturity. Right answer, wrong approach Improved communications are often seen as the answer and I agree with that conclusion. But just as often, I see the desire to improve communications takes a wrong turn. The wrong turn is that like Naaman, a church will often look for the grand and glorious; the latest and greatest either software of new social media as THE solution to their communication problems. Remember when email was advertised as the solution to all church communication problems? Currently we’re told Facebook and other social media are absolutely essential to church communication success, but a couple of weeks ago NPR had an extended program with the headline: Letters are dead. E-mail outdated. Text messages so passé. What’s going on with how we communicate? (http://onpoint.wbur. org/2013/04/03/communication) The feature interviewed people who have shifted to the new social media and texting platforms including: WhatsApp, kik.com, and Snapchat, while declaring that Facebook for many was so outdated. This is the true story of a church that decided that lots of money and impressive design would solve their communication problems: they hired a national company to create an incredible website for them. They spent thousands of dollars. It took months to create. Their communications director contacted me and asked me to look at the website and a redesigned bulletin that went with Christian Computing® Magazine
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it because with all the money and time spent, little had improved in terms of people response. The church spent a lot of money, but attendance not only did not improve, it declined. Why the money was wasted After looking at the website and the revised bulletin I could see why. Both had beautiful graphics, lots of color, pictures, action, etc. The problem wasn’t in the big things, but in absence of the seemingly little details that were essential for people to actually connect with the church events. Lots of graphics, few meaningful links to informa-
tion that actually informed you of specific events. The church bulletin was worse. Not in looks—it was beautiful and probably because someone thought they needed “white space” there was a beautiful graphic design and lots of open area, but in the section to inform visitors of ministries going on in the church outside Sunday morning there was a list. That’s it—just a list of the ministries. No information whatsoever on when they were meeting, how to attend, who to call, social media links, website info, who to contact for more information, nada. The designer designed a beautiful bulletin, but people don’t automatically know what time the discipleship class meets and if child care is provided when they look at lovely graphics and cutting-edge typography.
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Do the simple things seven times Interesting graphics do not guarantee people connections— the simple repetition of connecting details does. It doesn’t matter if you use Twitter, Facebook, email or send a postcard—a great graphic or the newness of the technology doesn’t actually get anybody anywhere. Clear content: who it’s for, when things start, when they end, how to get there, who to contact, how much it costs and if child care is provided—this is what actually connects people with events that will change their lives. And you need to repeat these details through the various channels of communication: print, web, email, social media, projected media, postcards, whatever you can. In addition, to be sure people get the message, professional marketers tell us you need to get this information out seven times, in seven ways for effective communication. Just like Naaman had to dip himself into the Jordan seven times, though he probably didn’t understand why the repetition was necessary, and though we can’t figure out why people don’t remember something when we tell them about it one time—that’s just the way it is and we have to repeat information for it to change lives. These little details are the links May 2013
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that connect people to the church events that will result in church growth and in personal spiritual maturity for your people. Why, why are these things routinely left out and money spent on the big and extravagant? This is a question I agonize over. • Maybe, I wonder, is it because of our human tendency is to want to do the big, the quick, the extraordinary to get results and get them now? • Is it an unconscious carry-over from the world of business that assumes that throwing money on a problem is a way to solve it? • Is it a lack of faith that if we only do the little things, like print boring details week after week, that God can really use them? • Is it that if we put our money and time into training the staff to do something, like the website instead of hiring an outside professional, that we have that we might have to trust God for results we won’t see immediately? • Is it because we are impatient and forget that the often used analogies in the Bible, about farmers, shepherds, about Membership growing and tending plants all teach us to wait for results that only come in small, Accounting incremental ways? • Are we a bit blinded by the Contributions media that reports and idolizes the big and spectacular when Jesus described the Events Kingdom growth as yeast Calendar permeating, a small seed germinating? Our churches need healing and I wonder what would happen if we’d stop looking for the spectacular solution and humbly focus on the little things, the communication tiny tasks that connect people. I wonder what would happen if we focused on Christian Computing® Magazine
training our people at church to do communications, even though it might take longer, instead of hiring for immediate results. Like Naaman, after his seven trips into the water, in our church, after weeks of training and encouraging the people closest to us and a focus the little details that actually connect people to life-changing events, we might be surprised at the new life and healing that results. For much more on what makes Effective Church Communications, go to: http://www.effectivechurchcom.com.
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nick at church
Back It Up! Here’s How…
Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com
I
see this question in IT forums and get asked it a lot: What do you recommend for a backup strategy? The reason is that backup is one of every IT department’s highest responsibilities. In fact, a poor or untested backup strategy has caused more IT people to lose their job than any other single issue I’ve seen. So let’s look at the current state of backup best practices. Backup Strategy The strategy should be designed to accomplish the disaster recovery and business continuity goals set by an organization’s leadership in case a catastrophic event hits. So let’s start there. Most organizations have not stated their goals in this area other than to communicate that the system must be backed up and available ASAP. What does that mean? And what does it cost? And what’s the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity? Simply stated, disaster recovery is the ability to recover from a catastrophic event, while business continuity is the ability to continue to function through such an event. Some data and services are necessary Christian Computing® Magazine
to continue to do business while an event is ongoing. These usually include communications (voice and email systems) and database (ability to look people up, process payroll, etc). It probably is not necessary to have every document or graphic file available to continue to be viable during a prolonged crisis. That said, leadership should be asked to prioritize the categories of data and services and then state the amount of downtime it considers acceptable during a prolonged event for each category. For instance, they may say that communications should not go down, the database should be down for no more than four hours, and the rest must be backed up and available within four business days. That kind of statement should drive the backup strategy, and by categorizMay 2013
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ing and prioritizing data and services, can help keep the cost of an effective strategy minimal. Not stating recovery and continuity in those kind of terms is usually interpreted by IT that everything must be quickly recoverable, and that is a more expensive strategy to implement. It is also important to point out that an untested backup strategy is, likely, a failed strategy. I’ve seen many times when good IT people have lost the trust of their leadership because a backup strategy failed when it was most needed— during a catastrophic event. This is an area where being too busy due to understaffing, etc does not work as a reason for not testing the strategy on a periodic basis. Plan to test a different aspect of your backup strategy every month; your team will thank you if it is ever put to a real-time test. What Solutions Should We Use? There are many backup solutions available to choose from, and understanding their strengths and weaknesses can help you customize your strategy to accomplish the goals set by leadership within a reasonable budget. If the budget is more than leadership is willing or able to fund, ask them to re-state the
disaster recovery/ business continuity goals so you can adjust the strategy accordingly. Their job is to protect the organization and to give you guidance, and it’s okay to not get it right in the first pass. Corporate America is still focused primarily on local tape backups. They are quickly available when a file or folder recovery is needed, and have large enough capacities to cover the full range of data that needs to be safeguarded. Most of our clients purchase LTO4 tape drives, which have 800gb native capacities. For those with larger needs, LTO5 and LTO6 are also available (1.5tb and 2.5tb native capacities, respectively). We recommend doing a full backup nightly, and taking one tape off-site weekly to protect against the loss of a building. Some today believe that hard drives are better backup targets than tape, but their drawbacks are higher sensitivity to breakage/ failure and higher cost. Backups require software to make them work, and the solution we have found to be the most capable and reliable is Symantec’s BackupExec. It requires more time and attention to keep running well than we’d like (it occasionally drops communication between the backup server and the source, or file server), but we haven’t found as reliable a solution yet to replace it
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that is also reasonable in cost. What About Online Backups? The abundance of online backup solutions has, more than anything else, added confusion to the backup strategy discussion. The concept sounds great, and like hard drives sounds like it is a leap forward in technology. However, it has a weakness that cannot be overlooked. Consider, for example, the amount of bandwidth available at your organization. If there was an event which took out your servers, we could get something up and running in their place within hours. The next step would be to restore data and services. Given the amount of data you have backed up, how long would it take to download your online backup over your Internet connection? If yours is like most churches or ministries, it could easily take a month or more. To be fair, some online backup organizations say they can send you a copy of your online backup on a tape or hard drive. We have not seen that successfully meet the expectations of IT or leadership. Online backup may be good as a consumer solution, but is not a good enterprise solution. Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, an IT consulting firm specializing in church and ministry computer networks, VoIP, and private cloud hosted services. You can reach Nick at nick@mbsinc. com, and may want to check out his firm’s website (www.mbsinc.com) and his blog at http://ministry-it. blogspot.com.
Christian ComputingÂŽ Magazine
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