This Article is printed in the October/November 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

This month we are going to look at tips and tools for building an effective Internet ministry team. To address these topics, I recently spoke with Lonny Nelson, support staff for Adventist Church and School Connect (ACC). He shared some important things you should know about Internet ministry.

A misconception about Internet ministry is that you have to know a website programming language, such as HTML or PHP, to be involved. That is not the case at all. New website technology available to churches today, such as the ACC content management system, allows for quick and easy publishing with very little technical experience. If you can send an email or type a letter on the computer, you already have the knowledge needed to update your local church website.

Nelson says the first step in starting a local Internet ministry at your church is to identify a committed lead person-who is also a good listener-to direct your team.

The youth of your church are a great resource and asset to this type of ministry. Often they are tech savvy and able to commit the time and energy to do a great job.

Your team could include photography enthusiasts to capture great photos for the website, writers and text editors to produce great content, as well as graphic designers, an audio/visual team to add media, and many others. Your audio/visual team, for instance, will be instrumental in hosting videos online. Nelson says the best tool for this is Vimeo because it allows you to embed videos right in the church’s website.

The next thing to consider when you have one or more people involved in an Internet ministry at your local church is the audience you are connecting with. Nelson suggests that there are three important audiences to keep in mind.

The first and most obvious audience is your local church members. Nelson says an Internet ministry team can “supply the members with dates and information online to help the church programs run more smoothly.”

The second audience is the surrounding local community, which your church should, no doubt, be praying and working to reach. “Anything that we can do that can be opened up to the community should be on the website,” says Nelson. He suggests that the home page of your church website be used to display the latest information and upcoming events because it is the first contact many will have with your church: “If you can put something in front of them that is news and interesting to them, they might bite at it.” He also suggests that each website have an up-to-date, well-organized and displayed visitor page that details information about your church environment and culture.

The third audience to be mindful of are the people around the world who may stumble upon your website in the quest for truth. Search engines have bridged the gap between you and any location on the globe, making it easier for people to find God.

Nelson also says, “everyone on the Internet ministry team needs to be thinking about how to get the information out.” Remember that people may not necessarily be visiting the church website; they may be going to the church’s Facebook page, Twitter account or other online source instead. Your local ACC website has integrated a system that allows for a quick and easy way to push out the latest website content to a Facebook page or Twitter feed. Displaying familiar social media icons – such as “visit us on Facebook” and “follow us on Twitter” – on your home page visually grabs people’s attention and provides multiple opportunities to connect.

I want to leave you with this thought: “You will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world” (Acts 1:8, The Message). May God bless you as you continue to discover avenues to reach souls for Christ.

This Article is printed in the September 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

It started when word got out that the Japanese government was planning a huge science experiment that involved killing 50 humpback whales in the Southern Ocean, studying them and then selling their meat. When Greenpeace heard about this, they were irate and decided to hold a poll to name a specific humpback whale and raise awareness of this predicament.

Social media giants such as Digg, Reddit and Facebook got hold of this story and started promoting it on their websites, which literally spread the news from one end of the globe to the other.  In turn traditional news agencies started airing the story on local TV stations worldwide.  People responded to the Greenpeace name poll, and after receiving over 150,000 responses, the name “Mister Splashy Pants” was the winner.

The slogan, “Save Mister Splashy Pants” rang out as people displayed signs and logos, wore printed t-shirts and created website flash videos that put a face to the name and created a very famous whale.

The worldwide publicity regarding the future for “Mister Splashy Pants” got the attention of the Japanese government and they decided to scrap their previous plans, which in turn allowed for the safe journey of “Mister Splashy Pants” and his friends across the Ocean.

What a great story and one that demonstrates the power of the internet.

A quick search on Google will confirm my previous prediction about the Internet and reveal that you and I and approximately 2 billion other people have caught on.  Even more, experts are predicting approximately 3 to 4 billion active Internet users worldwide in 2 to 3 more years.

Did you know that approximately 80% of the population in Canada and the United States are active users of the Internet?  We have gotten so use to the always connected, always available attributes of the Internet that it has become an extension of our brains.  More and more people are experiencing what I call Internet Withdrawal Anxiety when they are not able to connect online.

I want to share with you a quotation I found recently, “”More of us are using the web regularly, most especially the over-45 set. Email is far from dead, and the top search on-line is for health info…” May 2010, Professor Matrix (Queen’s University, Ontario).

It’s interesting that the above statement mentions the top internet search being health related information.  People want to know how to live healthier live styles – how to eat healthier, how to live longer – and they are going to the Internet to find answers to their questions.  Do you have a health related ministry in your church?  If so, is that information on a website so it can be found by those searching in your local community?

Let me tell you a well-known fact; if your church or ministry does not have an active, up to date website, to the rest of the world it is as if you don’t exist.  That’s the digital mobile reality we live in.  No other option to get off the digital train; in fact, it is not going to be slowing down anytime soon, so we must make the best of it.

I am reminded of a bible text that says, 1 Chronicles 12:32 that says, “from Issachar, men who understood the times and know what Israel should do…”  I think this bible text is very relevant to us today because the more we can understand about the digital reality we live in, the more effective we can be today and the more prepared we are for the future.

There are many reasons for an internet ministry in your local church, and next month I will share with you, from a conversation I had with Lonny Nelson, support staff for ACC, some useful tips on how to start an effective internet ministry and some online tools for connecting with your local community.   For past articles, check out my website, http://www.mcquesview.com.

This Article is printed in the MayJune 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

Did you know, approximately 925 million people on planet earth will go to bed hungry tonight?  And, every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. That’s one child every five seconds!

Wikipedia describes poverty as, “the lack of basic human needs, such as clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them.”

Poverty is a rising concern that prevents many people from having the basic needs for life that you and I living in Canada, everyday take for granted.

Instead of just talking about poverty, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the worldwide agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for humanitarian outreach, relief and development, is hard at work to help combat its deadly effects on our society.

The story of ADRA begins shortly after the Second World War when the Church established the Seventh-day Adventist Welfare Service (SAWS).  To reflect its worldwide involvement, in 1973 its name changed to the Seventh-day Adventist World Service and then in the early 1980’s the familiar name ADRA was adopted.

Pastor James Astleford, Donor Relations Director for ADRA Canada, told me that in the early 1980’s the Adventist church realized they needed to do more then just hand out “fish to the hungry”, they needed to be teaching people how to “fish so that they could feed themselves for a life time”.  This concept led not only to a name change in 1984, but also to a philosophy change focused on helping people beyond the immediate needs of the day.

The ADRA mission is to “work with people in poverty and distress to create just and positive change through empowering partnerships and responsible action.” In 1985, a year after the reorganization of ADRA International, ADRA Canada was formed and it is currently part of the network improving lives in 120 countries.

In its day–to-day operations, ADRA Canada uses many types of technology to connect and share with people the needs of a world in poverty.

For the past 22 years, ADRA Canada has been sending out video presentations to every church in the Canadian Union.  Originally, these were sent out on VHS tapes, and currently are sent out on DVD, two to three times a year.  These video presentations are an excellent tool for educating each congregation to the life-changing stories of ADRA’s development and relief efforts.  Besides being available on DVD, the video presentations are also made available online through YouTube and the ADRA Canada website at http://www.adra.ca.    James Astleford told me that ADRA Canada is working on integrating a dedicated video platform with their current website that will allow for HD content and an overall enhanced video viewing experience.

Also, in utilizing the technology of video, It is Written Canada recently aired three programs with interviews of Pastor Ronald Kuhn, Executive Director for ADRA Canada and Pastor James Astleford.  And, to aid awareness of the work of ADRA Canada, a short video clip was regularly aired on CTV during the Japan disaster.

Alicia Sawyer, Donor Relations Assistant for ADRA Canada, said that ADRA Canada is currently connecting with people through the online technology of social media including Facebook (ADRA Canada) and Twitter (@adracanada).  “Social media are great ways to get immediate information and inspirational stories out to people”, said Alicia, who is hoping for many new connections to build a greater awareness of ADRA Canada.

ADRA Canada’s eNews (email newsletter), generates many responses from the approximately 6,000 subscribers.  James Astleford said,  “people are quick to respond to requests for immediate financial aide from the eNews stories relating to current disasters such as the Japan Earthquake”.   A growing number of ADRA Canada’s supporters are now donating online rather then through their local church. (Provided donors identify their membership, such contributions still count towards the local church goal.)

As ADRA Canada continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology, it is currently exploring some very exciting technological initiatives for the future.  I am told that text donations may soon be an option for donors and the idea of mobile apps is being explored for iPhone and android devices.

For those who want to learn first hand how ADRA Canada is transforming lives, ADRA Canada has launched a new initiative called, ADRA Connections that Pastor James Astleford describes as, “putting Canadians in direct touch with the activities of ADRA Canada”.   Elizabeth Horniachek, ADRA Connections Coordinator, told me that people are positive about the program and are very excited about getting “hands-on” with ADRA Canada.

I look forward to the day Jesus talked about in Revelation 7, “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore;… and God will wipe every tear from their eyes”.  Please continue to do your part in the battle against poverty so that Jesus can say, “Well done good and faithful servant.  Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me”.  Help ADRA Canada save lives.

This Article is printed in the March 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

In the last issue (click to view Five Free Online Tools for Ministry Part 1), I began sharing five extremely useful and powerful online tools that can help you more effectively manage your work, church, ministry and life in 2011.  And, the best part about these online resources is that they are all absolutely free.  In Part One of this article, I featured two of the five tools: Google Docs and Dropbox.  Here are the remaining three: Facebook, Bible Gateway and Picnik.

Facebook:

I am confident that most of you have heard of the social networking website called Facebook (http://www.facebook.com).  What you may not know is that as of February 2011, Facebook has approximately 600 million active users, more than 6 million page views per minute (37.4 trillion per year), 2.5 billion images uploaded every month, and 46.2 years of YouTube videos watched on Facebook each day.

Personally I am not a huge fan of a few things about Facebook, one being the many hours of time people waste on it.  However, it is obvious that Facebook is very popular.   And it does provide an excellent resource for connecting with people and sharing information online.

One of Facebook’s features is the ability to create “pages” and “groups”.  In order to create a page or group, you first need to be a registered Facebook user.

The finer details of pages and groups are beyond the scope of this article, but I will say that they both provide the ability to connect, share and even collaborate on a topic or idea with other Facebook users.   Overall each allow the administrator to send mass emails and publish news/information to it’s connected members.  Groups provide a few options that pages don’t: event inbox messaging and the ability to restrict access.

By creating Facebook groups and pages, churches can do things like send out event reminders, share photos, present and answer questions about God, share related websites or video links, or respond to prayer requests, just to mention a few.

BibleGateway.com

BibleGateway.com (http://www.biblegateway.com) is currently owned by Zondervan and is a free online service for reading and researching Scripture.

Whether you want to look up a Bible passage, search a keyword or topic, Bible Gateway makes it easy and quick.  With a searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages, there are plenty of translations to choose from and compare.  Also available online are multiple bible reading plans that send a daily email with a link to your daily Scripture reading, six English versions of the Bible in audio, Bible dictionaries and devotional content.

I use Bible Gateway to read and compare texts when preparing sermons or devotionals each week.  Another thing I enjoy about Bible Gateway is the mobile Bible Gateway version which provides a mobile-friendly web experience on my iphone.

Picnik

A question that many people ask me is, “How do I crop and resize my photos for email?” Well, the first thing I ask in response is, “What operating system are you using?” Their answer to that question has a lot to do with my response.

On Microsoft Windows you could use ImageResizer or Paint, on Mac OS X, you could use Preview or iphoto.  And of course there is the over priced and extremely complicated Adobe Photoshop.

Well, last on our list of great free online tools will solve the problem of image editing and what operating system you do or don’t have.  Picnik (http://www.picnik.com) is a free online photo editing service purchased last year by Google.  No registration or download is required to start using it.  Picnik works through your computers web browser on any operating system (Mac, Windows, and Linux).

Picnik allows you to grab your photos from many online photo storage sites like Flickr and Facebook or upload directly from your computer.   Once a photo is loaded into the online system, you can crop, resize, and rotate your photos in real-time.  Also, fix blemishes and change colour with the help of special effects and advanced controls.

Picnik is a great service to resize photos for your church website or to do some touch-ups and adjustments for the church newsletter.

There are, of course, many other online tools that are both very useful and free.  Don’t be afraid to explore them and discover how they might benefit you.  And always be prepared that new, better resources may arise overnight and change how we do things hopefully with even greater efficiency and ease.

This Article is printed in the January-February 2011 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

5 Free Online Tools For Ministry- Part 1 of 2

2010 is now another year in the past and another year closer to the second coming of Christ.  It is impossible to keep up with how fast time and technology pass by.

Did you know that the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
And, did you know that we are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet?  That is the society and culture in which we live.  There is no way to change it or stop it.

The busyness of life keeps us all moving in what seems like a fast forward pace.  A blur of events as the weeks and months tend to mesh together.  As we begin another year, I would like to share with you five extremely useful and powerful online tools that might help you to be more effective in managing your work, church, ministry and life in 2011.  And the best part about these online resources is that they are all absolutely free.

None of the tools I am about to share is in any way connected with the Adventist Church.  The only reason I mention them is because their potential usefulness provides opportunity for effective communication and ministry.  Also, please remember that these online resources are available today but may be replaced by something better or not even exist tomorrow.  That’s the reality of technology.

Google Docs:

The first useful tool is Google Docs.  This application allows you to upload, create, share and manage documents, spreadsheets, presentations and images online. The files can be accessed from any device that is connected to the internet – a computer or mobile smart phone like blackberry and iphone.

To get started using Google Docs, all you need to do is create a free online account with Google (http://www.docs.google.com).  If you currently have a gmail account for your email, then you are already setup to use this service.

With the sharing feature of Google Docs, you can make a file public for everyone to see or private and give file access to only a few people.

For example, I use Google Docs in my ministry to share a contact list with the church clerk so that we can both access and manage the information.  When one of us makes a change the other person can see it immediately.  This provides us both with the most updated lists at our fingertips.  No more emailing a document back and forth. Our finished project list is in one place at one time, cutting down on a lot of wasted time and confusion.

Google provides other useful online tools that I am currently using for church management and ministry (Google Adsense for online marketing and Google Calendar for a daily planner & sharing church events).  I’m sure we’ll have the opportunity to discuss these another time.

Dropbox:

Dropbox automatically syncs the files you chose to it’s secure online server, providing you with backup, easy file sharing options, and access to your files anywhere there is an internet connection.

To start using the dropbox service, go to the dropbox website and create a free account that gives you 2GB of online storage.  The sign-up link I provided above will give you an extra 250MB of storage.

Another thing I really like about dropbox is that, just like google docs, it supports access and management of your files online through multiple mobile devices.

I personally use dropbox to print my sermon files from the church location and to share folders of files with several of my church team leaders.  I also like that dropbox provides the ability to create shareable online photo galleries and send large size files with ease.

Stay tuned for the other three tools that I will share in the next Messenger issue.

Click here to view Part 2

Lights, Camera, CTV

“It has stood the test of time, God’s book, the bible.  Still relevant in today’s complex world.  “It Is Written”, sharing messages of hope around the world.”

I think it is safe to say that most of you reading this article are familiar with what you just read above.  You guessed it.  It is the words to the opening video for each “It Is Written” television broadcast.  And for 28 years, that is indeed what “It Is Written Canada” has been doing, “sharing messages of hope around the world”.   Currently, “It Is Written” is “sharing messages of hope” across Canada on CTV every Saturday morning at 11am.

Since it first started in 1973, under the direction of Pastor Henry Feyerabend , “It Is Written” has been on the cutting edge of technology.  Two years ago I had the opportunity of seeing first hand just how important technology is to the production and delivery of the “It Is Written” broadcast.  At the rented studio in Burlington Ontario, the “It Is Written” team had just begun a 2-week marathon of recording approximately 68 programs a week in English and Portuguese.

While I watched and learned for a week over Doug Bruce’s shoulder, the production manager for “It is Written Canada”, I couldn’t help but wonder how approximately 30 years worth of technology had shaped what “It Is Written” is today.

To answer that question, I recently had the privilege of talking to Pastor Bill Santos, speaker/director for “It Is Written Canada”.  In our conversation Pastor Santos told me that technology currently plays a major role in nearly every stage of the production and delivery.  He said that when “It Is Written” began, they were recording 1 program a week.  Today with advancements in technology, “It Is Written” can record up to 12 programs a day.

“Newer technology has allowed us to capture more programs in less amount of time.” Pastor Santos said.  “In one word, it’s faster. Faster to prepare programs and faster to capture the programs.”

The access that the Internet provides facilitates the ability to have a continual online presence 24/7.  “A web presence with the television program has really been a significant enhancement” said Pastor Santos.

He tells me that they receive approximately 600-1000 contacts per month through the phone or online presence.  Out of the many emails received, one particular request has been seen coming in on a more regular basis over the past year.  “People are making comments like,  “I understand you folks are an Adventist ministry, where’s the closest Adventist church?” said Pastor Santos.

Pastor Douglas Pereira, Director of Operations at “It Is Written Canada”, recently received an email from a young man who watches the “It Is Written” Portuguese broadcast.  The young man said he is not Adventist, not Christian, not religious at all but liked the program.  He wanted to know if there was an Adventist church he could attend in his area.  Pastor Pereira emailed him back and gave him the address to the nearest church.  The young man later responded and told Pastor Pereira that he really enjoyed his visit to the Adventist church.  “I found myself praying when others where praying, I found myself following along.” he said, “I even made a few friends and plan to go back again next week.”

“It is Written” has approximately 140,000 viewers each week which makes it the largest congregation in Canada.  There is currently 225 active bible studies and more requests coming in every week by phone or through the website.

“A common misconception we hear is that only old people watch “It Is Written”, said Pastor Santos.  “That is not the case.  There are lots of young people between the ages of 20-55 who regularly watch.”

I asked Pastor Santos if there were any plans for new types of technology in the future.  He said, “I think the audience wants a more interactive experience.” He told me that there are plans to experiment with a Web studio.

“This would allow us the opportunity to invite viewers from the television broadcast to go to our website for a more indebt discussion and to answer questions.” Pastor Santos says that they want to experiment with this type of interactive online technology next season in Portuguese and then try it with the CTV broadcast.

Also, with the television industry moving more and more to on demand programming, Pastor Santos feels that this technology may be the most significant next step for “It Is Written”. “You should be able to watch the program whenever you want.  Whenever it is convenient for you, the viewer” said Pastor Santos.

And now you know the rest of the story behind the production and delivery of “It Is Written Canada”.

For more information about “It Is Written Canada” visit http://www.itiswrittencanada.ca.

This Article is printed in the October 2010 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

Tweet, Tweet, Twitter, Twitter

Throughout history, the communication of information has always been very important. An online source states, “The history of communication is mankind’s search for ways to improve upon shouting.” Subsequently, the lack of communication has often caused loss of money and lives.

“People crave news out of basic instinct.” “Knowledge of the unknown gives them security; it allows them to plan and negotiate their lives.” (Quotes from The Elements of Journalism; page 15.)

Communication Technology has come a long way since Morse sent the first telegraph in 1844 from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, a distance of 40 miles, that said, “What has God Wrought”.

With so many communication technology inventions in our past, I want to mention just a few.  We have seen the invention of the telephone in 1876, the beginning of radio communication in 1896, the introduction of the television with moving pictures and sound in 1936, the internet which was launched and made available to everyone in 1983, satellites, cell phones, text messaging, email, and more recent, in 2006, the launch of a social media application called twitter.

According to the online encyclopedia called Wikipedia, twitter has been called the “SMS of the internet” (SMS means “text messaging”).  Since it’s creation and launch in 2006, Twitter has gained popularity with approximately 100 million users worldwide.

The communication technology of twitter “enables its users to send and read other user’s messages called tweets.” In short, twitter allows information up to 140 characters to be instantly sent then received by other users (followers), making the knowledge of current news available by the second.

I was very interested to know if and how twitter was used during the 59th General Conference Session held in June of this year.   I made a few enquires and was put in connection with Megan Brauner, Media Relations Assistant for the General Conference.

In my conversation with Megan, she told me that the General Conference Communication department used two twitter accounts during this year’s session, @AdventistNews (currently with approximately 2000 followers) and @gcsession.

Regarding the @gcsession account, Megan said, “I spent more than half of my time answering questions on Twitter. People didn’t want to know just the dry facts. They wanted to know what it was like to be there, or what I was seeing and experiencing.”

She continued to say, “ A lot of my followers came to Atlanta for only one or two days, or weren’t able to come at all, so they appreciated knowing behind-the-scenes details and getting the inside scoop.”

The use of twitter during the eleven days of the GC session provided approximately 2500 hits to the news.adventist.org website as people clicked on twitter links to the full story on the news website. “It was important to be as timely as possible.” Megan said,  “I tried to tweet elections the minute they happened, not hours or days later.”

Megan tells me that the comments from the twitter followers were very positive and appreciative of the news and information shared to them.  Several people were from isolated areas of the world and the use of twitter was for them the best way to keep informed of the latest GC news.

Megan said she enjoyed using this new communication technology because, “it’s very rewarding to feel like you’re truly part of a global community”. “It felt good to do my bit” she said, “a process many Adventists may never get to experience.”

The official twitter account of the world church is @AdventistChurch and can be found at http://twitter.com/adventistchurch.

This Article is printed in the September 2010 edition of the Adventist Messenger.

A 17 inch window to the World

An interesting thing about technology is that everyone of us is trying to adapt to it’s continual changes and learn how to utilize it’s abilities.  Whether you are in the medical field, building construction, the restaurant business, or a church organization, technology keeps moving and evolving.

I read an interesting statement from a book recently called, “The Elements of Journalism”.  In the book, the author regularly commented about the impact technology is having on journalism.  Connected directly with the communication age that we are currently living in and the interactive online technology available to us, the author said, “Today, people go from passive consumers to proactive assemblers of their own journalism and views of the world.”

As the author continued, he stated, “people have the ability to interact with the news itself as well as the professionals delivering it.”

Being able to interact with people on a global scale is the heart of online technology.
I recently had the privilege of talking with Gary McLain, the Communications Director for the Oregon Conference, about some of the exciting ways they are using technology to connect and interact with people throughout their conference and abroad.

They recently used the technology of live video streaming to broadcast the Pathfinder Fair that was held in Albany, Oregon on May 16, 2010.   “We had about 350 viewers” Gary said, “that added up to just over 9,300 minutes of viewing”.

Those viewing the event throughout the day were of all ages and from many different parts of the United States and Canada. “There were grand-parents who went online to watch their grand-children perform and many of the Pathfinder’s siblings” said Gary.

Harold Reimche, the father of Pastor Al Reimche, president for the Oregon Conference, told me that he watched his son speaking to the Pathfinders in Albany from their home in Kelowna, British Columbia.

But the most exciting story that came as a result of streaming this event involved the Daisy Mae Yoder Award.  This award is given to those Pathfinders or staff who had a tuff time thought-out the Pathfinder year but stuck with it.  Jacqueline McRae, a leader from the Bonanza Pathfinder Club, was chosen this year to receive the award.

Even though Jacqueline could not be present at the Pathfinder Fair, she watched online from her home in Bonanza Oregon, approximately 380kms away. “She could receive the reward even thou she wasn’t there”, said Gary, “and she heard what they had to say.”

Gary said he received positive feedback from those who participated in the live stream of the Pathfinder fair and, “people said it was fun to be part of the event.”

The next live video stream that the Oregon Conference is working on is called, “Reconnect Weekend”.  An event prepared for the Collegiate/young adults that will have been streamed live on July 16-17.  And Sunnyside church will have streamed their “Super Sabbath” live that same weekend.

Another idea for live video streaming that Gary talked about was the possibility to stream a church service to those multi church districts that only get their pastor once or twice a month.
I asked Gary his thoughts on how this technology can be used to “Lead People to Jesus” and he said this, “People who may never step foot into your church have this technology to watch online within the privacy of their own home.”

With the cost reduction of live video streaming now within reach of smaller churches and conferences, this technology provides a way to engage your community or abroad in your programs and events like never before.  There are even free video streaming services available like, “Ustream” or “Livestream” that are worthwhile checking out.

Adventist Church Connect Features

Last month I briefly discussed the Adventist Church Connect content management system that the North American Division is providing free to every Seventh-day Adventist church and school in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States.

I also mentioned that we would continue our look at the ACC system and highlight some of it’s main features.  With such a powerful tool and so many useful features, it was difficult to build a “best features” list, however I did put together my thoughts on some of ACC’s most useful ACC features.

Prayer Request Feature

The Prayer request feature allows site visitors to submit prayer requests that are directed to any number of emails you wish such as prayer teams, elders and/or church pastors.   The prayer feature immediately sends an email response back to the site visitor with Bible promises that relate to their request.  Prayer requests can then be followed up with a personal email.

I remember one particular prayer request I received approximately three years ago from a mother in Alberta.  She stated that she had reached the very lowest time of her life.  She lost her job, her marriage was in ruin, and she was having suicidal thoughts.  She was asking us to pray for her situation and that God would work in a very special way.  After I received the email, I prayerful responded with some encouraging words.  To make a long story short, she ended up attending my church in Kelowna with her two kids and has made some very good friends.

The prayer request feature has been a doorway to many new relationships and a wonderful tool for providing spiritual encouragement and prayer for many people.

Calendar of Events

The Adventist Church Connect calendar tool allows departments to enter and categorize their own events. You can attach documents such as bulletin inserts, agendas, and special messages to each event.   Another calendar feature provided allows you to add events from the local conference, union and North American Division.

This is a great online resource for church members to stay informed of upcoming events and programs even if they are away or misplace their church bulletin.

Photo gallery

The Photo gallery feature is a great tool to display those church events and special programs you want others to get a glimpse about.  It is also a great way to showcase the churches outreach and ministry programs such as a strong youth program, cooking schools, CHIP, Easter or Christmas events, etc…

Audio and Video Feature

The audio and video feature, which is not free, provides the tools for uploading audio and video files such as church sermons.  These files can then be viewed and listened to by the website visitors.  This feature includes an administration section for adding information about each file.

Adding audio and video to a website has proven to attract more site visitors.  At one of my former churches, the online sermons were being viewed by many people from all over the world.

One of these site visitors included a Christian business man from Australia.  One day I received an email from him explaining that his wife was not a Christian and did not want him attending church. “I watched your sermon online and it really touch my life”, he stated. “From now on I am going to make your church website my virtual church”.

Built-in User Levels

With the Adventist Church Connect built-in user levels, there are several preconfigured levels of access such as; member, author, editor and administrator.  Also added to this section is the ability of the administrator to create additional user levels as needed.

In addition to user levels, Adventist Church Connect allows for individual users to be assigned permission to add or modify specific pages or access specific features. For example, your church’s youth leader could be given permission to add articles and photos to the youth department pages on your church’s website and add youth events to the calendar. Given these permissions, this person could not modify any other pages on the site.

For more information about Adventist Church Connect visit http://adventistchurchconnect.com.

In November 2007, Amazon introduced their e-book reader called The Kindle.  It is a mobile device that uses 3G wireless technology or a Wi-Fi connection to download digital books, magazines and newspapers.

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is; the fact is that people don’t read anymore,”

At the Macworld Expo in January 2008, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers Inc., had this to say toward the book industry that received a lot of attention: “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is; the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” (cited in The New York Times)

Well, since you’re reading this article I would have to say that his statement is not entirely true.

And, if no one reads, one can only wonder why an estimated 410 million books were purchased in the US alone last year?

Well, Steve Jobs was referring to a growing trend in the print industry.  We all know it’s not that people don’t read anymore, it’s that today’s generation are going to more online sources rather than offline media such as paper books, magazines or newspapers.

iPad

It is very interesting to note that in January 2010 at the Macworld Expo, Apple Computers announced they would be selling a mobile device called the ipad.  Similar to The Kindle, it too uses 3G and Wi-Fi to download e-books.

With the billions of websites available and the increase usage of mobile smartphones like Blackberry and iphone, more people are reading and gathering digital content information quickly and on the go.

Castanet with more than 5.6 million site visits per month

Recently, a news article posted on the local news website for the city of Kelowna where I live, grabbed my attention.  It stated,  “According to numbers released by ComScore, Castanet is number 1 in B.C. in general news with more than 5.6 million site visits per month.” (cited from Castanet’s website)

Considering the increased number of online readers, your church website must have written content that is going to provide the information people are looking for in a quick and readable format.

You have probably noticed that writing and preparing content for your church website requires a different approach from writing and preparing content for print documents and publications.

To make the reading experience of your church website more enjoyable for your visitors, here are 5 points to keep in mind.

1.  Less is better

Most people find that reading from a computer screen is hard on their eyes.  Because of this, reading online takes 25% more time than reading a book or article in print.

Keeping this in mind, it is a good practice to keep your website content 50% shorter than what you would have on the printed page.

2. Text Scanners

In a study released by usability expert Jacob Nielson, 79% of online readers scan or skim text rather than read word for word.

3. Lack of Patience

Do you remember the catchy little kids song about a turtle?  It went something like this, “Have patients, have patients, don’t be in such a hurry.”

Well, most readers on the Web are in a hurry to get things done.  They want the information, and move on.
Studies show you only have about 10 seconds to grab attention with your web site content so make sure to use relevant information. Also, try putting the most important information at the top with clear and concise text.

4. Skeptics

With all the misleading and incorrect information that can be found online, many people are very skeptical of what they read.  It is extremely important to show credibility when writing content for your church website.

Use objective language and avoid marketing jargon or exaggerated claims. Don’t use Adventist Lingo on the Home Page or at all unless you explain what you are talking about. (eg. “Our Worship Services are every Sabbath.”, Three Angel’s Message, Sabbath School)

Hyperlinks to the sources of your information or to related information tend to add credibility.

5. Information Overload

With all the information available to us today through the internet and email, people don’t want to spend time and effort reading content that they may not find useful.

Write website content that provides your visitors with information in bite-size chunks, easily digestible.

Highlighted keywords, meaningful sub-headings, bulleted lists, one idea per paragraph and starting with the conclusion, are just a few ways to help them nail the information they want, quickly and easily.

Conclusion:

With all this said, I don’t think technology will ever replace the convenience and enjoyment of picking up a good old paper back book and a cup of hot chocolate.