Online Church is Your New Front Door
Carey Nieuwhof says that online church was once a back door for lazy or disengaged Christians, but it is rapidly evolving into the primary entry…
Browsing: Technology
Articles
First Impressions Are Formed Earlier Than You Think
Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford explain that a church visitor’s first impression is often formed long before they enter the sanctuary. So, hospitality needs to…
7 Tips for Avoiding Digital Communication Disasters
Church consultant Joel Snider says that serious congregational conflicts can be caused or exacerbated by the poor use of electronic communication. Congregations can work to…
Lead, Learn, Launch: Getting Started with Digital Giving
Need a roadmap for getting started with electronic giving in your church? Alex Benson of Luther Seminary outlines a three-step process for implementing the methods…
Online Course: “Maintaining Boundaries in a Digital Age”
Maintaining Boundaries in a Digital Age, an online course in the Keeping Our Sacred Trust series, explores issues of clergy ethics in an era of instantaneous electronic…
Does Your Church Need an Online Campus?
Multisite ministry expert Jim Tomberlin says having an internet campus involves more than just offering a video sermon online. It involves offering a full, virtual…
Should you Take an Electronic Sabbath?
Virginia pastor Thomas James, a leading voice on the use of social media in ministry, says our modern world may require a new vision of…
Stories — Your Website’s Secret Sauce
Stories of transformation inspire people to engage in matters of faith. But people rarely hear these stories unless they’re already sitting in the pews. Will…
6 Simple Tips to Get More Likes on your Church’s Facebook Page
Your church Facebook page is a huge opportunity for opening your doors to your community, says Jeremy Steele. He shares six strategies to increase your…
Digital Transitions When Pastors Change
In our modern digital world, pastors and congregations have more things than ever to consider when facing a pastoral transition. Will Rice explains how with…
Effective Church Websites
Web designer and consultant Scott Dixon shares tips for designing a good church website. He says three traits are essential — great content, good design, and…
Embracing Electronic Giving
Adam Copeland of Luther Seminary says electronic giving is the preferred method of giving for most churchgoers, including your most faithful givers. Reducing the barriers…
Reclaiming Conversation
One of the most profound and disturbing books I’ve read recently is Sherry Turkle’s Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (Penguin…
Social Media and Pastoral Moves
What should pastors do about their social media relationships when they move from one pastoral assignment to another? Do you “unfriend” all former members on…
Millennials, Social Media, and the Church
Millennials — everybody wants them but no one seems to know how to get them. That’s the major take-away from a newly-released study by Pew…
Doing a Christmas Eve Offering Well
In our culture, Christmas is a season of giving when church-goers and non-church-goers alike are inclined toward generosity. I witnessed a Christmas Eve service in which…
Separating the Mission from the Medium
A year ago, Encyclopaedia Britannica announced they would cease producing bound volumes. It was a watershed moment when you consider this standard reference was the…
Electronic Giving: A Matter of Vision, Not Just Convenience
In 2011, Pleasant Hope Baptist Church was experiencing a financial crunch. In addition to the turbulence associated with the national economic recession, our discomfort was…
The Theology of Social Media
Social media outlets have become indispensable resources to church leaders seeking to be faithful to the Gospel in the modern world. While there are practical…
The Digital Ministry Bible
The “hope for revitalizing our churches,” maintain Elizabeth Drescher and Keith Anderson, “is related to the ability of leaders in ministry to engage people exactly…
Meeting Your New First-Time Guest
Fifty years ago a person moved to town, looked in the newspaper or phone book for a church of their denomination, visited a couple of…
Expanding Your Prayer Ministry through Twitter
People in your community — many unknown to you — have prayer needs each day. Many of them share their prayer concerns using Twitter, the…
Using Facebook Appropriately as a Ministry Tool
Facebook has become a part of everyday life for many across the world. In 2010 it was the most visited site on the internet. There…
Paperless Giving
More than ten years ago, I was introduced to “paperless giving” as a way to receive the offering in worship. A specified amount of money…
When Good Practices Are No Longer Good Enough
Lovett H. Weems says the very practices that made an organization strong can keep it from responding to new challenges in the face of “disruptive…