Digital Ministry

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.

I live, eat and breathe social media for a living. While you probably don't, there are for sure valuable lessons to be learned from the social media landscape that can be applied to your church. I’m not a marketer by trade, but I’ve been a relatively active user of various social media platforms since I first heard that AOL Instant Messenger door creak open for the first time when I was in elementary school.

Sometimes I just wonder why software licensing is so complicated. There are multiple versions of the same software - professional versions, home versions, enterprise versions, versions from 2008, 2010, 2012 and on and on.
Any IT system is much much easier to maintain when all the computers and even other devices are running the same software. What is a church office manager to do?

What is culture? What does a good culture look or feel like? How do you build a good culture? These are all great questions, but they can be hard to answer for most people. A good culture can mean having quality volunteers, happier staff, fewer mistakes in services, and a greater sense of accomplishment. Whether you meant to or not, you’ve helped build a culture for your team. Is it a good one? There are a few key reasons you should focus on intentionally building a positive culture.

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.

How many languages do you speak? Just one? Two maybe? Statistically speaking, only about ¼ of Americans can hold a decent conversation in a second language. In building apps for churches, I've seen hundreds of churches adopt new and emerging technology, which is not an easy thing to do. It’s a big leap for most churches too; moving their primary source of digital interaction to an app. But there’s a powerful language connected to an app most churches don’t speak, or understand. That is the language of Push notifications.

Digital giving continues to rise among all nonprofits--including churches. The Digital Giving Index, produced by Network for Good, analyzes giving trends each year. In the most recent 2015 report, they noted the following interesting statistics: Overall giving rose 3% from last year 31% of annual giving occurred in the month of December 12% of annual giving occurs on the last three days of the year With that said, churches are heading into the most critical time of year to focus on giving and to encourage the use of online giving for churches and their members.