Digital Ministry

With Lent less than two weeks away, I often find myself approaching the practice of Lent a little differently each year. For those, like myself, who did not grow up following the liturgical calendar, Lent may be a foreign thing. In short, Lent is the season of the Christian Year where we focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting to grow closer to God.

As a parent, you are concerned for your child's safety on the Internet. Teens and even young children as young as one are using mobile technology on a regular basis. Because technology changes so fast, it's helpful to have a sense of some of the concerns we all face. By being aware, and taking appropriate steps to safeguard our children, we can be aware of the dangers and teach our families how to move about the web safely.

Good church communication doesn't just happen. Whether it is the preacher's sermon or church announcements, time and thought needs to be put into what is being communicated to the listeners. Your church needs someone who can put focused attention into these communications. Someone has GOT to oversee your communications. Someone needs to be the gatekeeper for you.

Children's check-in software is an invaluable resource for the church. Whether you have ten kids or 1,000 kids coming Sunday, having a system in place that serves the needs of children and parents well, while allowing ministry leaders to do their jobs well, is the goal. We've taken some time to round up some of the most popular kids check-in software options available today.

Capterra is a very useful software review site that has beefed up their church management software (ChMS) review listings, articles, and helps for churches over the past few years. Companies do pay to be listed on this site, like many other review sites, however, users are free to post reviews and comments. Some church software companies have over a hundred user reviews, making it very helpful for churches to take a peek into how the software is valued by its customers.

We all want to keep up with communication trends so that we can reach our world. We remind ourselves that the Apostle Paul said “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:22,23a). Though we work hard to do that, we also need to be realistic as we work to apply what is currently useful in the secular communication world and how that will work out in the crucible of church culture.

If you're overwhelmed by the number of social media services and tools to manage said social media services, you're not alone. It seems like new solutions crop up almost daily. It's a changing landscape for sure. While we've blogged about many social media tools for church communicators, it's great to share this infographic published originally by Kenny Jahng and team to give you a sense of what social media tools communications within the church are using.

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.