Lauren Hunter

Churches and church tech companies alike have been surprised by the fast-paced change and consolidation of church technology industry over the past three years. In 2012, private equity-backed Ministry Brands came on the scene with easyTithe, SimpleGive and SiteOrganic and quietly began acquiring additional church technology firms.

Being a pastor today is no easy task. Living, working and existing where you have to have a reasonable grasp of social media alongside copious degrees and ministry certifications, off-the-hook skills with people of every age range, speaking skills, shepherding abilities, and non-stop energy to deal with difficult people and relationships.

As a mom of four school-aged kids between the ages of seven and thirteen, navigating and regulating screen time consumption at four different levels requires NASA-grade determination and persistence to say the least. Between the oldest who'd like to play 24 hours a day of XBox Live, to the youngest who'd like to watch SpongeBob from the moment she gets home from school until I pull the remote from her death grip, let's just say screen time is not my favorite thing to police. I know I'm not alone.

A common calculation in the business world is return on investment, or ROI. Finding the ROI of your social media marketing, however, can be difficult. The normal factors may not be as obvious as in other ROI calculations. For churches, looking at social media ROI can be trickier. Ministry isn't always trackable in the same way sales are.

Ever wondered what a decade by decade look at how computers have revolutionized tech would look like? It's hard to believe that the binary number system was invented in the 1700s, but this discover laid the foundation for the field of computer science and digital circuitry. In the 1800s, the automatic fabric loom technology used wooden punch cards, which laid the foundation for early computers.

The nonprofit and secular industries are no stranger to project management software, but until now, church project management software hasn't been on anyone's radar. Churches simply muddled through with systems in place either cobbling together church management software alongside emails, spreadsheets, and perhaps a Google Group or some other free software that allowed them to coordinate large projects involving staff and volunteers. That is until RocoCPM was developed. Get ready for a new acronym, Church Project Management, or "CPM."

Millennials are making up an increasing number of church attendees, and this generation doesn't carry cash or check. Even older folks are choosing debit cards and online payments over paper payments. Churches, however, struggle to find ways to process online donations, gifts, and offerings that do not eat into their bottom line.

Facebook is still one of the primary social networks that churches should utilize to reach people for Christ. Whether connecting with current attenders, sharing events, or reaching out to the community, Facebook offers some unique advantages: