MinistryTech.com | February 2016
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CONTENTS
February 2016 FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Steve Hewitt
COVER STORY
shewitt@ministrytech.com EDITOR
Joey Tindell jtindell@outreach.com ART DIRECTOR
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Crystina Lindoerfer
Are You Still Not Texting? Is your church using text messaging? If not, here’s how to get started and how to do it right. By Steve Hewitt
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Yvon Prehn Nick Nicholaou Russ McGuire Jonathan Smith Steven Sundermeier COPY EDITOR
Rachael Mitchell OUTREACH INC.
5550 Tech Center Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (800) 991-6011
3 EDITORIAL
Has Social Media Destroyed REAL Communication?
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FEATURE: ARE YOU STILL NOT TEXTING?
Is your church using text messaging? If not, here’s how to get started and how to do it right.
7 STARTUP
What happens when some unsolved problems, powerful technology solutions, and a little recession enhanced free time collide? The birth of this innovative company.
10 MINISTRY COMMUNICATION 5 Tips to Get People to Come Back To Church After Easter
14 NICK AT CHURCH
MicrosoftOffice 365: What You Need To Know
17 PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE Keeping The Odds In Your Favor
21 MINISTRY LEADERSHIP Don’t Go It Alone This Year
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 2016 Outreach, Inc. All Rights Reserved
MinistryTech.com | February 2016
FROM THE
EDITOR
Has Social Media destroyed REAL communication? I seem to live with a constant anxiety deep in my mind about communications and connections. I am a communicator by nature, and by trade, yet I am living in a time when REAL communication is being destroyed by the very technology that is supposedly designed to enable better communication. But, that stated goal is actually a lie! Social Media isn’t designed to really help connect people and help with communication. It is actually designed to make money for those that own it! As a result, once one successful method of communication takes off and has a chance of actually connecting us; six others are created in order to cash in, and as a result we are divided. If you want to connect with your friends, how do you do it? They are not all on Facebook. Only about half of my family is there, so when I communicate with them, post pictures, make an announcement, half of my family is missing the info and actually can feel left out. Do I need to keep up with Twitter, Instagram, and a dozen other Social Media forms? And IS this even the best way to accomplish REAL communication? What do I mean by “real” communication? Social Media is teaching us to be shallow and superficial in our communications. Somewhere on LinkedIn, people who know me (actually people who are connected to me, few actually know me), are being made aware that in January I started the original Christian Computing Magazine, and they are being asked to congratulate me. So, I have been receiving hundreds of emails that are doing exactly that. Most, about 99%, say “Congrats on the anniversary! Hope you’re doing well”. When I go to check email, I can find 5 or 6 back to back, all with the exact same message. Obviously it is a suggested message from LinkedIn that people can opt to select. No actual communication or message, just a carbon copy stamp. One in a hundred actually put the time to include a real message. I supposed it is cool to receive so many emails from people who take the time to click on a button that sends me the automatic email, but is it “real” communication? Do you remember your birthdays before Facebook? You might hear from a few people, or friends and family would call or visit. Now you can get a hundred “Happy Birthday” wishes from people, but you know you are really not important enough for them to remember. However, Facebook has reminded them, and even encouraged them to leave a post on your site. And, what about those posts either on Facebook or email that tease you with some information you THINK you might want to actually read, only to discover the information is simply “bait” to get you to go to a site loaded with links to marketing sites. Sometimes only a paragraph of a short article is on the page, forcing you to find a hard to distinguish link to continue to read, while you are overwhelmed with ads, links and marketing! I long for the day that information was information. Of course there are always commercials on TV, and ads in magazines. That is what pays for the distribution of the information. But we are living in a day now when information is being fabricated not with the intent to inform, but with the intent to market and profit. I long for real communication! How about you? Together We Serve Him, Steve Hewitt Together We Serve Him,
Steve Hewitt shewitt@ministrytech.com
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MinistryTech.com | February 2016
COVER STORY
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Are you STILL not texting?
By Steve Hewitt
monitor a church administrator’s listserv and recently noticed two common questions asked this time of year. How do I send text messages to my membership? How can I communicate closings quickly to my congregation due to weather? Both of these are very connected!
As I meet with churches, I ask if they are texting, and I am still surprised by the number of churches that don’t text. They think it is not for them. Maybe it wasn’t 10 years ago, but in my circle of friends and family, it is almost impossible to find someone that doesn’t text! I know I will probably hear from a pastor somewhere that says he has a rural church, and that his members don’t text. Well I AM RURAL now, working on clearing our 30 acres and making friends with all of the farmers around me. And the church we attend is a rural church. Guess what? Everyone I know still sends and receives texts. Maybe you think it is an age thing and only
MinistryTech.com | February 2016
young people text. Not true anymore. I am 60, and I have many friends who are much older, and all of them text. Why is texting so popular? Many surveys show that most Americans prefer texts over phone calls. Wireless providers are reporting that most of their traffic is from text messages, not voice phone calls. Granted, there are times when a phone call is the right choice, but for many people, they simply don’t wish to communicate this way anymore. For message delivery, especially for organizations like a church, texting is king! It takes too long to get phone calls out to everyone, and while voice message delivery systems are a good tool, text delivery systems are more accepted. Voice message systems can appear impersonal, where text messages have the same appeal, if an announcement is sent to one person, or to hundreds. And THAT is one of the great advantages of sending text messages to your membership. It appears personal.
And the percent of text messages that are read are at least three times higher than messages sent out via email! How to Use Text Messaging at your Church! Text messages should be limited to announcements. Use them to help promote events. But even MORE important, use them to remind people of an event. People today are very busy, and more and more people seem to be living distracted lives. Using a texting service to remind people of an event can greatly increase the response of those attending. You will want to send out such a text just two hours before an event. Let’s say there is a special choir practice, or a small group is meeting on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Sending a text out just two hours before the event will remind people and give them enough time to adapt if they had forgotten, and make the meeting. Texting should be targeted! Don’t send a text message to the entire church to re-
mind them of a special choir practice! This is one way to quickly discourage people about your texting messages. Be sure to target. Sometimes you will need to text the entire congregation, such as to warn them that snow is causing you to cancel your services. But, for reminders, be sure to text only those that care about your message. Limit your texts to two or three at the most in a given week. Obviously if you are targeting your text messages and you have some members who are very active and attend and participate in a lot of events and groups, it is alright to send them more. But you want to be sure your text messages are concise, limited, and spaced out. Do NOT send out texts to your church members with a verse from the Bible, or some clever quip that you might put on your church sign. Remember, texting needs to stay personal. It needs to be a message that relates to them (reminder of a meeting, for example). Do NOT try to save some money and use Group Texting. This is where you use your
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phone and your wireless service to select a group of people and send out a text to them all. The problem with this is one we have all probably experienced. You send out an announcement to your small group, let’s imagine only seven people, to remind them about your weekly meeting. Then someone in that group response to let you know they will be late. Another then makes a joke about how the other person is always late. Then someone will ask if they are to bring anything. You will respond, others comment, question, joke, etc., etc., and eventually people in your group text (remember, sent to seven people) now have had to respond or check on about a dozen texts. They will want out and let you know they HATE texting. How to Implement Text Messaging for your Church It is now easier than ever to provide text messaging services for your church. In many cases you will find that your ChMS (Church Management Software) service has it as an available feature. This is especially great since you should already have your membership assigned to specific groups that you might wish to text. Another obvious solution is to use a service such as One Call Now. Of course they pioneered the use of voice message delivery systems, and their service can deliver voice messages to large numbers of people in a short amount of time (which would certainly work as a way to inform your membership that church is canceled due to weather), but again, I am a fan of sending text messages. Gathering Phone Numbers You will have one unpopular task, and that is to gather cell phone numbers, in order to enter them into your database or text service. This can be done in a variety of ways. Distributing new data update cards to your congregation can be done both at church, over several different Sundays, and/or by mailing out something in your church newsletter, informing people why you need to gather new information. It can also serve as a great way to simply update your records since people move or other data information about them might have changed.
I have also seen the addition of adding a table with volunteers in the narthex, helping to encourage people to provide their cell phone numbers. To make this a success, let your membership know WHY you wish to have this information, and provide them some assurances on HOW and WHEN you will be using their number to text them. Most people would want to know if the church was going to have to be closed, or if there
was a special event they didn’t want to miss. If you present the information in a positive way (hopefully from the senior leadership), your members will cooperate. Be sure to find out if your texting service needs more than their number, such as the name of their provider (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, etc.), but find out what you need. You don’t want to confuse the issue by collecting information you might not actually need.
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MinistryTech.com | February 2016
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Webconnex
I STARTUP By Russ McGuire
russ.mcguire@gmail.com
n this article series, we’ve defined a Christian entrepreneur as: a person, driven to glorify God in all he does, and ruled by the Word of God, who starts a new venture and is willing to risk a loss in order to achieve the success of the venture. Each month I’ve been introducing you to specific Christian startups and entrepreneurs, some of which may be helpful to your church, ministry, business, or family, but my main intent is to encourage and inspire you to be entrepreneurial in your ministry and career.
This month I’m pleased to introduce you to Eric Knopf and John Russell. These two serial entrepreneurs have had common connections their whole lives, but their startup journeys took them on separate paths. When those paths crossed in 2008, the unsolved “problems” John brought from his previous startup, the technology “solutions” that Eric brought from his previous startups, and some recession-enhanced free time collided. Clearly it was time for them to do a startup together. Looking for a Simple Solution John had most recently been doing a lot of work around events and ticketing. All the web-based tools available were cookie-cutter generic and more expensive than many small organizations could afford. Both John and Eric had also experienced similar challenges with collecting donations online. As they talked about it, Eric knew that some of the tools and techniques he’d been using in some of his recent startups could totally change the game. What they set out to deliver was simplicity and control. For users, how could they make it as simple and painless as possible to register for an event, or buy a ticket, or make a donation? Don’t make them regis-
ter. Don’t force them to remember yet another password. Just get it done. For the event organizers, how could they make it easy and affordable to completely customize the interface so that the technology stays in the background and the event remains the focus? Just Go When I asked them if they had advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, John said “If you’re thinking about it, just go. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Get something out in the hands of your potential customers and see how they respond. Let your customers tell you what they need that you haven’t delivered yet.” That’s exactly what John and Eric did. They threw together a simple solution and gave it to some organizations who they knew needed it. There were many features missing in that first iteration - such as the ability for Webconnex to get paid by their customers - but they immediately started getting feedback. Although the term wasn’t common yet, this effectively was the Webconnex “MVP” - minimal viable product. The smallest effort that would deliver the value proposition and start to generate learning towards making a great product.
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STARTUP Small Growth. Big Growth. Over the next several years, Webconnex continued to grow. Customers gave feedback. New events sparked new requirements. Over time different types of events and different types of transactions led to splitting out the capabilities into multiple different brands (TicketSpice, RegFox, RedPodium, GroupRev, GivingFuel). They did very little advertising but grew rapidly among smaller organizations and events through word of mouth recommendations. By 2013, they had grown to a team of 10 and had processed $200 million in transactions. They were blessed.
Growing in Grace As the business started to take off, John and Eric realized they needed to strengthen their foundations. They knew some of the Board members at Praxis Labs and applied to the Praxis business accelerator program. They knew it would be a fantastic experience and they were not disappointed.
Then one day Focus on the Family called about using Webconnex. The team believed the platform
The mentors, experts in their business fields, challenged them with laser-focused questions they’d
could support big organizations, but it had never been tested. The Focus on the Family project was a big success and Eric, John, and the Webconnex team saw the door being opened to more and more large opportunities.
never considered. While helping them with the business fundamentals, the mentors were even more focused on the kingdom-impact potential of the business. They asked questions about how the Webconnex value proposition reflects their faith and their Christian worldview. And they asked how Eric and John’s relationships, not only with employees and customers but also with family and friends, reflect the gospel. Christian Entrepreneurs I asked them what it meant to them to be Christian entrepreneurs. John answered rightly that it gives you a bigger purpose and impacts every decision you make and how you treat everyone.
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STARTUP But Eric’s answer was almost chilling. “Entrepreneurship is an endeavor to lose your soul. Entrepreneurs take huge risks motivated by money, power, and control. They suffer through incredible highs and devastating lows. And at the end of the day, their business is their identity. But our faith informs us that much greater things matter and my true identity is as a son of the Most High.” Webconnex doesn’t want to be branded as a Christian company, but they do want to reflect Christ. They referenced 1 Peter 3:15 (“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”) hoping that they give those around them a reason to ask why they’re different.
Russ McGuire is a trusted advisor with proven strategic insights. He has been blessed by God in many ways including serving as a corporate executive, co-founding technology startups, and writing a technology/business book. More importantly, he’s a husband and father who cares about people, and he’s a committed Christian who seeks to honor God in all that he does. His newest venture is as Entrepreneur in Residence at Oklahoma Christian University.
Eric said that being a Christian entrepreneur means choosing to honor God with their business, even when the world does not view it as “smart.” I asked what that looked like and John said “It’s easy to cut corners, and it’s tempting to make decisions that benefit our company, but might not be the right choice. But, we have an unwavering commitment to do what is right, even if it costs us in the short run.” I asked if they’ve had to turn down any business because of their faith and they emphasized that they enjoy the opportunity to serve people coming from many different places and to reflect Christ’s love. Although their terms of service document has a surprisingly long list of prohibited uses, ranging from the obvious (adult content, drugs, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, physician assisted suicide, abortion, hate, racial intolerance, and weapons, among others) to the subtle (computer repair services, cruise lines, credit repair, debt collection, digital currency, medical equipment, timeshares, and weight loss programs, among others), they haven’t had to invoke it except in a very few cases. Proverbs 3:21-22 counsels us “My son, do not lose sight of these—keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.” John and Eric are demonstrating sound wisdom and discretion. May God continue to bless their business.
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MinistryTech.com | February 2016
Ministry Communication By Yvon Prehn www.effectivechurchcom.com
5 Tips to Get People to Come Back To Church After Easter
MinistryTech.com | February 2016
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Ministry Communication
or the months before Easter, the primary focus of churches is on how to get the most people possible to the Easter service. With a tremendous amount of work and effort Easter is a fantastic success in terms of numbers of people attending. Also, however, for most churches the following Sunday is often a big disappointment, with few of the new people at Easter coming back the following week. Following are 5 tips that will help you make sure this doesn’t happen at your church. #1: Use a connection card at the Easter service If you don’t use a connection card, where visitors are asked to give you their name and contact information, you don’t have any way to follow-up with them. Tangible follow-up is extremely important, because few visitors will come back without it. Our services are rarely as inspiring to completely
unchurched visitors as they are to regular church members. Sadly, our people are often too excited greeting each other to be as friendly as we wish they would be to visitors. We need to reach out to visitors after the service to let them know we care that they spent time with us. We
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Ministry Communication can’t do that if we don’t know they were there.
that they do for Easter and while on one level guests know that, many churches forget to share basic information such as the time the church regularly meets. If you assume “everybody knows” when the church regularly meets, a visitor may come back next week at 9 am to an empty church because the church regularly has services at 10:30 only, but didn’t mention the time difference at the 9 am Easter service.
You must have a tangible way to get that information and a connection card is the best way to do it. A connection card for a special event Sunday can be very simple. Only ask for name and contact information: email and address, perhaps not even a phone number. In addition, you must clearly and specifically ask that people fill it out during the service. One upbeat, positive way to do this, is for you to say something Forgetting to tell people what you do can have even biglike, “We are delighted you are with us today and we’d consider it an honor to pray for you. Please let us know how we ger consequences, as the following true story illustrates. After a huge amount of pre-Easter marketing and PR a can pray for you on your connection card.” small church plant that was meeting in a local grade school On the card itself, have a line that says: “How can we managed to get over 1500 people to the Easter service at the local high school gym they rented for Easter. They felt pray for you?” the service was a huge success and that people respondBy adding the offer to pray (and sincerely following up and ed positively. The following week they were back at their doing that) you are offering a gift to the guest beyond sim- regular location, several miles away and set up lots of extra ply asking for information. chairs for the expected influx of new people.
#2 Tell people what you regularly do However, no new people came. Most churches don’t do the same things on a regular basis It wasn’t until then they realized that in all the work and focus leading up to Easter, they hadn’t given people anything at the Easter service itself that told them where they met regularly. Recounting it, the church leader told me, “I imagEasy for your members to contribute to your church. ine if we’d driven over the to high school gym that Sunday Use gifts by text and all contributions received are there were probably dozens of people milling around, wonintegrated with your RDS accounting system. dering what happened to the church.”
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Also, because they also didn’t think they had the time to create connection cards they didn’t have a way to reach the people who visited. #3: Tell them what your church can do for them Of course visitors realize you don’t have a petting zoo and Easter Egg Hunt every week for their children, but be sure to tell them in your bulletin, on your website, or with an additional, upbeat publication, what you have for their children every week. Far too many churches assume that if children had a fun time at the Easter Egg Hunt, they will automatically get their parents up early the following Sunday and come back to Sunday School classes at 9 am. In reality, most unchurched parents don’t even know Sunday School classes exist, and even less why they should get up early to bring their children to them. For them to respond you must tell them in an upbeat, clear bulletin insert
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Ministry Communication what you have for kids, or use a QR code or website link and take them to a site that shows videos of your Sunday morning programs, or of parents sharing how the church helped them raise their children.
shop. They would send visitors (not just for the holidays, but through the year) a follow-up with two free coupons for lattes along with a note that said they could be used at any time, but at the same time invited people to join the Pastor at the local coffee shop any Thursday from 3-5 and invited Other specialized ministries in your church, such as ones to them to come and ask “any question they wanted to about Single Adults, teens, Seniors, Women, Mothers of Preschool- the Christian faith.” The response was tremendous. ers, 12-Step Programs, Divorce Recovery, whatever else you A follow-up like this, again through any media your church might have, need to be mentioned in the communications uses, with or without the free latte coupon, tells a visitor you give out during the Easter service. Even one sheet, ti- you care about their spiritual well being more than simply tled “What We’ve Got for You” with ministries listed, URLs wanting bodies in the next church service. or QR codes, Twitter, Facebook or other social media links, and a contact name and info is often saved after the service. The tips here do take work, but they make certain that the When a need arises, if the visitor had a positive experience tremendous amount of work you do to prepare for Easter at your church, they may return for help in a specific area. results not only in a fantastic Easter service, but in continuing contact with your guests and a much greater possibility #4 Follow-up immediately of them coming to know Jesus. There are many ways to follow-up today: email, phone calls, postcards, plus every form of social media. What- For lots more material on how to create and use all of the ever your church is comfortable using and is used by communication materials mentioned about, please go to: your visitors—use it to follow-up. Use several methods, www.effectivechurchcom.com. repeat and use again. The more personal you can make your follow-up, the better. This is where a prayer request on a connection card works well because it gives you a specific, personal message to share with a visitor. Consider recruiting a prayer team ahead of time to pray and to do the follow-up work. Nothing is worse than an ignored prayer request and few things more positive than a genuine response that showed a real person saw the request and honestly prayed. A follow-up email, postcard, or social media connection within the week after Easter makes a powerful connection. Don’t even think about sending out a generic “we prayed for you” card without a personal note attached. #5 Invite visitors to interact outside of church It may be some time before a person who came to church only to please a parent or significant other returns to your Sunday church service, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t welcome an opportunity to interact with someone who is willing to answer questions, perhaps away from the church proper. One of my favorite suggestions for this came from a church that hosted “latte with the Pastor” times at a local coffee
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By Nick Nicholaou
What You Need to Know NICK AT CHURCH
L
ast year I reported a charity license issue breakthrough that now has many considering migrating to Microsoft Office 365 (O365). There are some limitations you need to know about, and there are ways to save considerable dollars. Here’s what you need to know. The Charity Licensing Issue Until last Fall Microsoft had this restriction in its O365 charity licensing program: “Organizations that engage in discrimination in [employment practices] based on… gender identity or expression… [or] sexual orientation… other than as allowed by law are not eligible to participate in this program.” This was an issue for many Christian churches and ministries. Thankfully we were connected with the right people in Microsoft (no small feat—and possibly even miraculous!) to address the concerns of those who had issues with that language. The result was that Microsoft made some changes in October that eased those concerns! • Microsoft added a statement to their website
that says, “The only exception to this [antidiscrimination] policy is for religious organizations that are exempt from laws that prohibit such discrimination.” (see www.microsoft.com/about/ corporatecitizenship/en-us/nonprofits/whoseligible/ under “Anti-Discrimination Policy”) • Microsoft also added some FAQ points that explained its intention. The FAQ clarifies why Microsoft is excluding religious organizations from the anti-discrimination policy. It also answers two important questions about how to determine if an organization may be exempt from discrimination laws and whether Microsoft will be policing compliance. The FAQ can be found at www. microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/ nonprofits/faq/ under “Program Eligibility”.
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NICK AT CHURCH Organizations interested in O365 charity licensing discounts must still be 501(c)(3) tax exempt, or under the umbrella of a larger organization (like an association or denomination). But the non-discrimination language issue has been solved for most. What About Google Apps? Google still has LGTB employment nondiscrimination restrictions in place for charity licensing, which can be found at www.google.com/ nonprofits/account/signup/us. Churches that want to use Google’s business tools under their charity licensing program should note these restrictions. O365 Limitations O365 is a great option, but it is not for everyone. Here are some limitations we’re aware of that, if important to your organization, may mean avoiding or limiting the benefits you choose to implement:
• Passwords must be complex and at least 8 characters, but cannot exceed 16 characters (unless integrated with your local network’s Active Directory – AD). • If you have a local area network managed by AD: • Integration between local network AD and O365’s AD is problematic unless the local AD has been appropriately cleaned up; you may be best off not trying to integrate the two. Ideally, though, they should be integrated. • Changes to AD, when integrated, can take awhile to replicate across both ADs, though password changes and disabling accounts are supposed to happen instantly. • OneDrive (in place of an on-site file server) • Many churches and ministries rely on a large file folder structure for shared files that may have departmental security. • OneDrive currently doesn’t handle that. There is a beta client showing promise, however.
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NICK AT CHURCH • Another possible solution is O365 Sharepoint. • OneDrive does not work well for Mac users. In its current version, the beta client does not resolve this issue. • Not nearly as simple to use as Dropbox or Owncloud. • Exchange (email, contacts, calendars, etc): For churches that send large group emails, unless using a 3rd party communication service, relay, or mailing list product, O365’s Exchange Server limits when sending emails: • 30 messages per minute, and • 10,000 recipients per day.
Can You Still Just Buy Office 2016? Many prefer to just buy their Office app, paying a onetime fee with no further subscription fees. You can still do that, and the charity licensing cost is still about the same; just contact your preferred vendor. So whether you only want the installable version of Office, or want to add to that an Exchange server and more, Microsoft O365 now makes a lot of sense for many more Christian churches and ministries.
Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, an IT consulting firm specializing in church and ministry computer Best O365 Practices that Save Even with the limitations mentioned above, it is likely networks, VoIP, and private cloud hosted services. You your church or ministry would benefit from O365 at can reach Nick at nick@mbsinc.com, and may want to some level! Here are some best practices approaches. check out his firm’s website (www.mbsinc.com) and his • For non-academic charities, there are basically blog at www.ministry-it.blogspot.com. two licensing options (see https://products.office. com/en-us/nonprofit/office-365-nonprofit-plansand-pricing): • E1 – FREE! • 300 user maximum. • Does not include the fully installable version of Office, but does provide online browserbased versions. • File storage in OneDrive, up to 1tb per user. • Exchange Server. • IM, teleconferencing, video conferencing. • E3 – $4.50/month per user – Everything included in E1 plus: • No user limit. • The fully installable version of Office and mobile apps. • AD management. • There’s another option that may make the most sense for many. • Combine the free E1 with O365 ProPlus for Nonprofits (only $2.00/month per user), listed at the bottom of the web page! • The O365 ProPlus for Nonprofits option includes the fully installable version of O365 and mobile apps.
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Protected With
PURPOSE
By Steven Sundermeier
Keeping the Odds in Your Favor
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s I sat down to focus on this month’s ‘Protected with Purpose’ column, an unprecedented $1.6 Billion powerball Lottery drawing was only a few hours away. News sites, social media and I assume many workplace water-coolers were all abuzz in anticipation of the record setting event. If you have had your head buried in the sand and escaped all the excitement over the last few weeks as the grand prize reached hundreds of millions and eventually 1.6 billion dollars… the Powerball Lottery is similar to other lotteries, except that selecting the winning combination is more difficult. For the Powerball, participants have to pick five numbers ranging from one through sixty-nine. In addition, there is a sixth, separate ball ranging from one to twenty-six that also has to be picked correctly. When you take into account all the possible combinations, the odds of choosing all six balls correctly is roughly 1 in 292,000,000. Try to envision the following picture, in order to grasp the likelihood of winning the jackpot: According to the United
States Census Bureau, the current population of the United States is a little more 321 million. I have read that if we were to line up every person in the U.S. in a single file line, that line would stretch around the Earth seven times. (Whether that is 100% factual I am not sure, but it provides a nice visual.) Your chances of winning the Powerball would have been only slightly better than having someone randomly select you from everyone else lined up in that single file line encircling
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the Earth seven times. And just in case that is still too hard to comprehend, your chances of getting hit by lightening in the United States in any one year is over 400% greater than winning the Powerball!
so many other vulnerabilities. Get a solid antivirus product on your devices!
I mention everything above not to scare you, but to remind you that today’s threats are real and with the Optimist or not, I hope we can all agree that the odds unfortunate profitability of cybercrime and millions of becoming the lucky (or unlucky) winner were not of computers and smartphones connecting online great. However, the lottery hysteria got my wheels all over the world, the odds are increasingly stacked turning about the increasing probability of users against you. falling victim to a computer security attack (i.e. malware, hacking, etc.) in 2016, and the steps that a To further that point, let’s have a detailed look at user can take to decrease those odds. statistics collected from my (Thirtyseven4) Virus Research Team last quarter (Q4, 2015). The average According to a recent Data Breach Investigation Report per-day number of Android-based and Windows published by Verizon, hackers are blasting businesses malware files received into our lab that targeted with malware-based cyber attacks five times a second users totaled (on average) more than 450,000 samples or 18,000 times every hour. (Does that make anyone a day. (I hope noone is paranoid, because that is a else uneasy?) The statistic was correlated from data lot of nasties pointed in your direction.) Of that collected from over 10,000 businesses across a broad total, over 225 new families of Android malware range of industries Nationwide. The financial impact were discovered. Android malware-writers are notof hacks on the American economy is reported as only targeting your smartphones, tablets, etc., but exceeding $100 billion a year, that’s over 60 times they are becoming increasingly more savvy at doing greater than the record Powerball jackpot! And so. Towards the end of last year Android.Mero.A while major banking institutions, large retailers (i.e. was found live in the Google Play Store for the first Home Depot, Target), etc. remain high-profile targets, time, as it had the capability to bypass CAPTCHA statistically many of the noted financial losses are authentications systems. So not only are “the bad from cyber attacks on small businesses and you, guys” producing expediently more malware, the the typical home computer or mobile device user. malware is increasingly sophisticated. (Can’t these For example, the FBI reported over $18 million in malware writers use their gifts for good?) user-reported losses due to CryptoWall infections And before the iPhone users get too proud, targeted alone over the past year. That’s a staggering number attacks on the iOS have already arrived. Late last year, considering that we’re (Thirtyseven4) updating for the XcodeGhost malware was found on the Apple nearly 500 new ransomware variations every month! App Store. Here’s another mind boggling number: CryptoWall is a form of ransomware that encrypts the number of Windows malware doubled from the files on a system until a desired ransom is paid. If levels seen in Quarter 3, 2015. While the top category you or anyone you know has been infected with any of Windows malware received remained under the of the Crypto-variants, then you know that there is Trojan (31%) classification, ransomware and adware not much “recovery” from it—even when you pay we’re the most costly and huge nuisances in 2015. the “ransom”. Thirtyseven4 serves thousands of school districts and hundreds of churches across the Exploit kits also played a role in delivering malicious Nation (not one has been touched by Crypto since payloads. Exploit kits use known or unknown the addition of our DNA Scanner over 2 Years ago) vulnerabilities of software programs, web browsers and in the these first few weeks of 2016 we have been and operating systems. The most commonly exploited flooded with inquiries and pleas from non-customers program was Adobe Flash due to its compatibility seeking help because they have been hit by Crypto. with multiple platforms and because of how widely Prevention is the only cure for Crypto-variants and it is installed. Overall the Adobe Flash exploits grew
MinistryTech.com | February 2016 Protected With
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276% over the last Quarter. Java is highly exploited software for the same reasons. The exploit ‘CVE2015-2590’ was a zero-day exploit used in ‘Operation Pawn Storm’, a targeted attack campaign that allowed attackers to control your system and lead to information stealing malware. News-media and family-members alike often-times ask me if things will get better, and unfortunately I have to answer “No”. As millions of additional users connect online and as we enter the age of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) ( fitness wristbands, smart watches, home appliances, vehicles, T.V.’s etc.) this further dependence and reliance on the latest technologies will undoubtedly open a whole new realm of security holes. As we rush and society pushes us into the technological “next-best-thing”, the lid is further lifted off of Pandora’s Box. But unlike the Powerball drawing, staying secure with your device doesn’t have to be a gamble. Here are a few suggestions that can betteryour-odds against a cyber-attack. 1) Use complex and lengthy passwords, and change them periodically. Never reveal your personal details/passwords to anyone. This includes family, relatives, coworkers and even a best friend. 2) Be cautious while participating on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. 3) Don’t blindly follow links without knowing what they link to
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(i.e. shortened URL’s). This goes for emails, texts and social media posted links. 4) When entering personal information to a website, always look for the padlock that’s located on the left of the location bar of the web address (https://). By clicking on the padlock, you can view the security certificate details for the site. A fraudulent site will not have these details. 5) Apply the latest security updates whenever required by an application - such as Operating System updates (Windows, Mac, etc) or other programs like Java, Adobe, etc. 6) Install STRONG antivirus software, making sure it remains up-to-date and scanned at regular intervals. May I recommend Thirtyseven4 Endpoint Security? 7) Use common sense! Many risks are identifiable, and must be approached with caution. The numbers were high in relation to the Powerball
drawing. High volumes of people bought tickets. The Jackpot was a high-dollar amount. Hopes were high. But three people won. Only three lucky ducks out of millions got a piece of the pie. Malware, viruses and ransomware have different odds. Thousands of new variations in malware a day. That means cyber-criminals are working to penetrate your data now…and now…and now. I am not trying to make you paranoid, but I am trying to inform you, to educate you. Online security threats are not like Powerball, where there are lots of numbers and a few are picked. Online security vulnerabilities number in the millions and they affect people, businesses, schools and churches by the millions. Being prepared and informed (and well-protected!) is the best defense and the only way to be a “winner” in this lotto. Stay informed, be smart and be proactive with a trusted antivirus product and odds are--you will have good luck in staying protected.
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Don’t Go It Alone this Year
By Jonathan Smith
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an I ask you a question? How many of your new year’s resolutions have you already broken? Some of them are probably career oriented—things like network more, learn more, be more efficient, be less busy and more effective, etc. If you work in ministry technology as a career, or if you volunteer, let me encourage you to actually do something about networking this year and not to attempt going it alone.
The cliché is silos vs. synergy. I started in ministry technology as a volunteer in the mid-1990’s. That turned into a full time career in 2001. When I started there weren’t many technology resources for ministries and I felt like a silo trying to solve the worlds technology problems on my own. Google didn’t show up until 1998 and wasn’t very helpful during those early formative years.
They don’t even charge membership dues. It was simply a group of church geeks trying to help advance the cause of the Kingdom.
I was also impressed that theological differences didn’t get in the way. They weren’t out to solve the questions of the ages but rather to simply help each other apply technology to ministry. Technology in churches and non-profits is different from technology In 2007 I was introduced to a group of folks who in the corporate world and this group got that. worked in church IT that existed to provide synergy. Everyone was willing to share and help everyone else I attended my first meeting in Chicago and realized I out. No one was trying to protect any trademark wasn’t alone, my problems weren’t unique, and there secrets. There was no competition. were lots of people with more experience than I had who were willing to share and help me get better. It was also encouraging to see IT folks socializing. As What amazed me is that this wasn’t an organization a group we can be rather introverted and awkward. trying to sell something or with some other agenda. Put a bunch of those type of folks together in the
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same room who are all struggling to solve the same technological problems and all of a sudden relationships start to form. Then when we leave that room those relationships continue thanks to our understanding of social media and communication through technology.
all busy, we are all being asked to do more with less, and we all have more to do than we could possibly get done in one lifetime. Instead of using busyness as an excuse let me encourage you to use it as a motivation. There is a big difference between being busy and being effective. Often it is best to stop and make time to If you work full time in ministry make sure you and those you lead technology, volunteer in ministry are being effective. technology, or manage ministry technology staff and/or volunteers Being a part of a group like The then consider joining this group Church IT Network doesn’t take or encouraging those you lead much time. They are there if you to join this group. Did I mention need them but don’t require that it’s a free group of peers all learning you participate in membership from each other for greater meetings. Did I mention it’s free? ministry effectiveness? There are no annual dues. It is simply a group of IT professionals What is this group you ask? all working towards the same I’m speaking of The Church IT common goal. Network. Their website says, “If you are passionate about serving the I have found that being a part of body of Christ through technology, the various online communities the Chruch IT Network is for you.” and discussion has actually saved Whether you work or volunteer in me money. I’ve posted questions help desk, IT management, audio/ online and received answers visual, web development, ChMS, within minutes that have saved DBA, or others you will find a place the ministry I support thousands in the Church IT Network. of dollars.
are all welcome to join and learn more about church IT ministry. Volunteers are also welcome and encouraged to participate. Church tech uses volunteers more than any other technology organization in the world and we should want our volunteers to be well equipped. There are 2 meeting options each year that are available to those who want to gather together. A regional event in the spring and a national event in the fall. While there are travel costs associated with these events and some minor event registration fees (the last national event was $75 for 3 days, including meals) they are both well worth it. We learn together, worship together, and enjoy great food and fellowship.
Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (NIV). My involvement in The Church IT Network has made me a better IT pro, a better employee, and a better servant of the King. Take this opportunity at the beginning of the new year to consider growing in The biggest hurdle most church The Church IT Network is also your generosity and taking the tech folks have in being a part of a great place to learn about IT opportunity to refresh others and a group like this is time. We are in ministry. Pastors, CFO’s, etc. be refreshed.
Jonathan Smith is the Director of Technology at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, IN. You can reach Jonathan at jsmith@faithlafayette.org and also follow him on Twitter @JonathanESmith.
For more information on The Church IT Network please visit churchitnetwork.com, follow on Twitter @CITRT and join the conversation using the hashtag #CITRT.