Resources

While each Christian denomination has slightly different needs, Catholic churches have unique needs that are unique to their faith and require their own specific church software to adequately handle and 'speak' the language of Catholicism well. Over the years, several Catholic-focused church software solutions have emerged to serve this branch of Christianity specifically.

Does the form of Scripture affect the way that we read Scripture? While pixels (the digital Bible) are useful, print has surprising value. Years ago Marshall McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the message.” He proposed that the message in our words is shaped powerfully by the means we use to share those words. Bumper stickers might have truth, but who takes them seriously? The medium is never neutral. Here are four reasons I encourage print.

Planting a church is hard work. In the early stages, a small group of people handles the brunt of the workload. Sunday set-up, child care, budgets, communications, you name it. Resources may be low, but solutions are still necessary. Thankfully, technology can help ease some of the burdens.

Ministry Brands, a growing Christian software company, announced today it has acquired ACTIVE Network’s faith division, including its Fellowship One® software product that provides a suite of programs to smoothly integrate church administrative functions. By acquiring ACTIVE’s faith division, Ministry Brands adds more than 4,500 churches to its portfolio.

There is no shortage of Bible study tools available today. Entire bookstores are full of resources just begging to be used. The challenge is, many of us struggle to be consistent in our Bible study. Without accountability and community it is easy to spend our lives focused on what is "urgent" rather than "important". Hoping we grow spiritually, rather than being intentional about it. We buy a book, bring it home, and within days it's collecting dust. While it may seem anti-intuitive, this is one area where the move to a more tech savvy church can help.

The mission of ChurchTechToday is to provide technology resources for today's church. Over the past few months we've been wondering as a staff how we could do that better. We've wrestled with questions about... What should we cover more? What should we cover less? What technologies are we missing? Our goal is to provide resources that meet the needs of the local church, without adding noise to an already busy life. To do that better, we need your help.

The core of a missional community is a group of believers who live and experience life together like a family. In a physical family, who live under one roof, keeping in contact amidst all the busyness can be a challenge. Extend that family beyond your household and keeping contact can prove problematic. Technology is a great way to unite the relational and organizational needs of a missional community. When applied strategically, it can deepen your relationships by keeping you informed about life issues and needs.

Recently I took thirteen Christian undergraduate students on a field trip to Southern California. One morning, after our buffet breakfast at the Best Western, we got together in the hotel foyer and chatted about faith and technology. It provoked at least three observations for me. 1. Technology makes information more accessible and learning less common.