The Worship Well 2.0 Continued
Posted June 30, 2009 at 8:09pm
The Machines of Ministry
There are more products for you to use in your worship ministry available than ever before. And you can have them at a moment’s notice. No need to make a special trip to the downtown Bible bookstore. The machines of ministry have now come to you through the transference of millions of zeros and ones—a place otherwise known as the Internet.
What’s Your Take?
We have a lot of tools represented here. And even though we have had a chance to try out quite a few of these, there’s no we could test them all in the context of ongoing ministry. But we bet you have. Would you mind sharing your insight with us (and each other)? Go to worshipleader.com to share your wisdom, and maybe get some insight on a product you are considering.
State of the Union for Social Networks
Usually in the State of the Union Address, we hear about the condition of the nation and it allows the President to outline his plans for legislation. Here at Worship Leader, we don’t claim to know the state of the nation. But, we try to keep our ears open to the trends of the Church. It’s no secret that the Online Networked Church has become prominent, and for those of us evaluating our involvement as Church leaders, it can be confusing to navigate through all the social networks that are being used to serve churches. In our best effort to smooth that road, here is the State of the Union for your church’s social networking choices.
Presentation Tools
You go out and grab a great video or visual image but realize there is no way to show it to anyone. This category tells you who has your back.
Visuals
In the Western world, visuals have become standard fare for all forms of communication. Thank you MTV. But no matter who we blame, we have to remember that it’s not just the pastor who needs to be thinking visually anymore, it’s anyone who puts a toe on the platform. Here are some options for you.
Website Support and Design
Don’t have a fulltime Web developer on your church staff? Well, you are not alone. Plenty of churches don’t have the budget to put a coder on the payroll. But there are some solutions for you.
Team Organizers and Planners
These handy tools are for getting your team to answer those pesky questions for themselves: What songs are we doing? What time should I be at church? Am I playing this week? What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow? Since, as the title suggests, these are Web-based, team members can access their answers from anywhere.
Posted June 30, 2009 at 8:07pm
Tangle: What used to be called GodTube, tangle.com is a site where users can upload videos, pictures, and music while connecting with one another.
Pros: Similar to many social networking sites, with the ability to upload lots of user generated content: blogs, videos, songs, and more. It also has great networking for churches and ministries, as well as a prayer wall. All the groups are Christian focused, so it is a great site for youth ministries to connect and not worry about any unwanted content.
Cons: In competition with the other social networking sites, tangle’s biggest struggle will be keeping up with the rest. However, the access to so much user-generated content will encourage community, and their ability to keep it clean will allow them to stand firm on their own.
tangle.com
MySpace: An online community best utilized by musicians and bands. Contains direct messaging and customized profile capabilities.
Pros: Great place to promote a worship band because of the capability to stream music.
Cons: Because Facebook has become so popular, many people are using it instead, especially since Facebook has developed streaming applications. In addition, the average user often gets spam messages that contain content that is less than desirable.
myspace.com
The City
Started at Mars Hill church in Seattle, and recently acquired by Zondervan, The City is basically a customizable online network for your church, but it is software that calls itself “community networking” in contrast to “social networking.” With it you can create an online gathering place for your congregation to pray, plan events, post classifieds, and more.
Pros: Because it is built specifically for churches, you have ample opportunity to get more ministry minded with your networking site.
Cons: There are already lots of social networking sites out there, it may be tough to get your members to join yet another one.
onthecity.org
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:56pm
Flock: A social Web browser built on the open source code for Mozilla Firefox. It allows you to social network without having to constantly log in and out because all of your existing network sites stay live in a sidebar on your screen.
Pros: Stay connected with friends also using Flock, or from other social networks on your “Friends Sidebar,” edit blogs easily, read friend updates, upload photos, share content, get emails, and more. Supports Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Gmail, YouTube, AOL, and others.
Cons: This might make you “too connected.” And if you are at the office, you will be the most up to date person, but you will be the most behind on your work.
Flock.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:55pm
Relevant and Radiant Communities: Social networking communities set up by Relevant and Radiant magazines, providing readers a place to set up a profile, blog, start a discussion, post photos, and more.
Pros: Because these communities center on the magazines, most interested will easily have something to discuss. However, it still provides room to start your own discussions as well outside the topics of the magazine.
Cons: Lacks the community that a church may be looking for, which some of the other sites may offer, but still is a great place for discipleship and small group connections.
Radiant (for women only)
Pros: Great place for women’s groups and Bible studies to both connect and find resources.
Cons:Because it is focused on women’s ministries, there is a large chunk of the church that will be missing from the conversation.
relevantmagazine.com
radiantmagazine.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:54pm
MyChurch: A Christian community similar to Facebook, allowing users to have a personal profile, while connecting with fellow Christians and churches. Has capabilities for blogging, audio sermon uploading, small group profiles, events, announcements and more.
Pros: There are already about 34,288 churches in this network, so it’s a great place to come together in community. Privacy controls allow personal profiles and groups to be as public, or private as you want.
Cons: It is a lot like Facebook, so it will take an understanding of the features Facebook does not offer in order to get your congregation to join yet another social networking community.
Mychurch.org
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:46pm
Twitter: A form of “micro-blogging” designed to update followers on a person’s upcoming events, or thoughts of the day.
Pros: A great way to point people to articles, keep them updated on events, or let them know a change in schedule at the last minute. Since many people now carry this application on their iPhone, it is an up-to-the-minute communication. It also has keyword capabilities to make your church or event searchable.
Cons: There are only 140 characters offered in each “Tweet.” This is not for the long winded.
twitter.com
Facebook: A privately owned social networking site, it is free and open to the public.
Pros: Most everyone in your church will have at least heard of it (many will already have profiles), so it will be easy to integrate. It has multiple options for messaging, discussion groups, and event posting. Due to the limited space given to ads, the likelihood of getting unwanted pictures or messages is very slim.
Cons: Because it is so big, if not used to its greatest potential, your church’s page and updates can get lost in the massive notifications the average user is exposed to.
facebook.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:43pm
Christian Copyright Solutions
One of the beautiful aspects of the digital revolution is the leveled playing field as far as producing art. Videos, posters, CDs, just about all you need for your communication purposes can be done in house, and look great. But is it legal?
Christian Copyright Solutions is ahead of the curve for keeping you covered. Their newest one VIDEOready gets you the rights to use your favorite music in your videos. So the next time your youth pastor blasts an artistically excellent video of their trip to an orphanage in Mexico with a Switchfoot soundtrack, you don’t have to squirm in your seat thinking of breaking the law in the house of prayer.
copyrightsolver.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:20pm
Grove Films
Along with illustrations and short films, the Grove is a collected network of artists looking to transform the world. Check their film site, and then continue on to the parent site for a broader view.
thegrovecenter.org
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:19pm
Highway Video
Vibey and high quality, Highway Video brings a slick professional look to strong ideas. The Flash animations are a nice addition to their worship offerings. Try “I Am.”
highwayvideo.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:18pm
Visual Reality
With their DVD packages, you will have enough material to make sure you or your youth leader can have a visual impact every week for over a year. Try “Good Company.”
visualrealityonline.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:18pm
Radiate Films
Short films and visual backdrops with a bit more visual grit and as well as being a little more focused on youth audiences. Try “What Would You Die For?”
radiatefilms.com
Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:17pm
