May 8, 2012 in
ChMS, communications, community, generosity, leadership, metrics, ministry, social media, technology, volunteers with
If you follow my blog, I think it’s safe to say you get that technology has a place in the church. Technology distributes and accelerates our efforts to build community and foster deeper ministry engagement. I love it when I see churches using Church Community Builder to move members through processes which lead to greater connection, commitment and sense of belonging. It’s funny to me how those same churches don’t act concerned about money but I covered that topic already.
When churches take the time to understand the systems and processes that define how they do church, the church is empowered to use technology to maintain, manage, improve, and measure the effectiveness in core areas of ministry. Below are three examples of some of the core processes which can be improved with the right technology: Continue Reading…
April 26, 2012 in
ChMS, communications, community, leadership, ministry, mobile, social media, spiritual formation, technology with
Ed Stetzer is a guy I pay attention to. His leadership and insight has brought a lot of value to both paid and unpaid church leaders. He recently posted about the positive connection between technology and faith. Of course, I had to check that one out!
Ed listed twelve but three really stood out to me: Continue Reading…
April 24, 2012 in
ChMS, communications, community, generosity, leadership, ministry, mobile, multisite, social media, technology, volunteers with
As the Exponential Conference kicks off, I can’t help but think about how technology helps leaders overcome the hurdles of church planting. In fact, I had a great conversation with a few Stadia church planters about that very subject last night and I have to say it was really exciting to hear. I believe local communities of believers is exactly how God intended to spread the gospel. Church planting helps ensure new communities are emerging to reach even more people. Isn’t that what it’s all about, anyway?
I’ve been privileged to work with a number of church planters as well as leaders in that space. Church Community Builder works hard to make sure we can offer something beneficial to even the smallest of churches. We believe that if you can begin with great systems, you’ll not only grow faster but will also be able to sustain that growth over time.
Some of the biggest hurdles to church planting are: Continue Reading…
March 27, 2012 in
ChMS, communications, community, leadership, metrics, ministry, mobile, social media, technology with
Because of the way our church management software provides socially-driven leadership tools, church leaders frequently ask me, “Why have another social network exclusively for my church when everybody already uses Facebook?” That’s a legitimate question and one worthy of some further conversation.
Let me paint the big “why” before I drill down… Continue Reading…
March 22, 2012 in
ChMS, communications, community, leadership, ministry, social media, technology with
If you’re at all active on social networks, you’ve no doubt had at least one friend or colleague re-post a video called Kony 2012 that was uploaded a few weeks ago by the nonprofit group Invisible Children. Within hours, this video had gone viral with over 70 million views (and growing).
This event provides the evidence we need as leaders to shift our thinking. We are no longer in control of the message-making process. Church leaders have become facilitators of the conversation taking place among the community it serves. At no other time in church history have leaders been able to inspire action and create measurable results by empowering the lowest common denominator, the person in the proverbial pew.
For pastors, the opportunity exists for two things: Continue Reading…
February 9, 2012 in
ChMS, community, leadership, metrics, ministry, social media, technology with
Seth Godin always seems to be one step ahead; I love that about him! In The trap of social media noise, he points out:
Now that everyone is a marketer, many people are looking for a louder megaphone, a chance to talk about their work, their career, their product… and social media looks like the ideal soapbox, a free opportunity to shout to the masses.
While some churches effectively use technology and social media to engage with others, too many churches are just creating noise. They are using–probably not intentionally–Facebook and Twitter as a free, electronic billboard rather than a tool to engage people and lead them towards something meaningful. Traditional marketing is based around the idea that organizations have the right to interrupt your life because they know what’s best for you. Social media has shifted the power back to the individual, which means you have the power to tune in or shut someone off completely. (That includes the church!) Continue Reading…
