church tech

Yup, it’s a busy time of year. I get it. But don’t confuse “being busy” with being productive. And definitely don’t forget to properly prepare your tech team so that they can be productive. Sometimes the most beneficial thing we can do is step away from the hectic schedules and incessant demands for attention, and instead turn our energy to engaging with our fellow team members.

There’s nothing quite like learning how to use a new piece of gear or practicing a new technique, and then having to train someone else on your team how to be proficient with it! The great thing about this is that it forces you to truly grasp the fundamental concepts of what you’re doing and why. In order to teach something effectively, you need to distill the complex variables of your task into manageable concepts that your student can comprehend and then put into practice.

It’s way too early to see Christmas in public, but it’s never too early for your church to start planning Christmas. That might cause some of you to break out in hives. If even thinking about starting to plan Christmas festivities for your church feels daunting, you’re not alone. But technology can help. There are a lot of ways you can make your Christmas efforts more productive—and maintain your sanity—with the judicious use of technology.

MediaShout recently released a major update to their worship presentation software giving MediaShout 6 a cleaner and more tightly integrated user-interface. They’ve streamlined the process of editing the slides users create speeding up the process of importing lyrics and working with other slide show elements like Bible passages. They also Liturgies, a new kind of Cue that creates what many churches call a responsive reading, where the leader and congregation read scripture together out loud.

In the past several years, the church technology industry has undergone many changes that have encouraged some, while discouraging others. As technology advancements continue, new companies start up and newcomers to the church tech industry enter and acquire firms to consolidate and rebuild. More recently, private equity firms have entered the space getting involved in acquisitions and shifting resources to various technology firms in order to position for growth and financial gain. All these moves cause disruption - to tech companies as well as the churches they serve; change is never easy.

When it comes to video production equipment, it seems the technology has a short shelf life and is constantly being updated. It can be daunting to decide what camera to purchase knowing that whatever you sink a large chunk of change into today could very well be an oversized paper weight tomorrow. I guess that could be a bit extreme, however, there is one piece of equipment that if you get right, can hold its value better than gold.

Congrats – you’ve implemented a live streaming solution within your church! This feat normally comes with some hiccups along the way, and it’s taken research, time, and resources to get there. Ok... now what?

Fall is a crazy time of year for ministries: it’s back to school and back to church. Fall is also a key season for small groups, kicking off new communities, classes and gatherings. Here’s how to use your app to make the most of your small group launch.