21st Century Ministry

Get People Talking

2012-02-14T14:15:00.000-06:00

One of the great things about being a minister in the 21st century is that communication is so easy. I can remember sitting with my youth group and my youth pastor just begging for us to talk. There might be a few people here and there that talked but it can be difficult for people to speak up. However, I think that social media has helped young people feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. This openness might create a few #theawkwardmoment but in the end, it opens up great conversations and allows us to learn from each other and address issues faster. The next time somebody post something on Facebook or sends out a tweet that they shouldn't have, don't be upset. They were already thinking it or talking about it in private. Think of it as an opportunity to have a learning experience.

Here are some great tools you can use to get your youth group, small group, or entire congregation talking.

www.todaysmeet.com

TodaysMeet is a great website because it allows you to create an unique backchannel discussion board for any occasion. Just name the room, say how long you want the room to be open, and click create. It will give you a link people can go to where they can give there name, no sign-in required, and then you're off and running.

www.gosoapbox.com

GoSoapBox requires that you set up an account. Once you do there are four main features that GoSoapBox allows you to take advantage of. The audience can ask questions. If somebody sees a question they like they can vote on it. Popular questions rise to the top. There is a place to create discussion boards. The confusion barometer allows the audience to vote if they are understanding the topic or not. You can also create polls for the audience to take.

www.tweetchat.com

TweetChat is great for twitter users. It's pretty simple to use. Go to the website and sign in using your twitter account. Choose a #hashtag to follow. Converse in real time. The most difficult part of this is picking a good hashtag. You want it to be unique and memorable, but not too long because you only have 140 characters to work with.

www.chatzy.com

Chatzy is a cool website I learned from Richard Byrne. Chatzy allows you to create your own chat room, set privacy settings (you can password protect it), and sent out invitations. If you don't want to send out invitations, you can post the link on your website, Facebook, or in your church bulletin.

All of these are great ways to get your church members engaged in the discussion. I have also found that this is a great way to get those quiet ones talking. I hope these helps and if you would like a video demo of any of these websites just say so in the comment section below!

Get The Word Out

2012-01-28T00:15:00.000-06:00

Every Wednesday night at my church is our Worship and the Word Bible Study night. It is always a great night and I always leave feeling like I've learned something. When I was in college I was an usher in my church and on the Wednesdays when I ushered I would walk around the church after service and pick up all of the bible study handouts people had left behind. It's not that people didn't care about bible studies or enjoy them but what were they really going to do with them when they got home? How many people in your church keep a running file of all the bible studies you taught last year?

However, in today's world, we can provide digital copies for the members of our congregation. This will not only help your members have permanent records of the word of God, but also cut down on the cost of paper. Everyday I work with teachers in my district as an elearning coach and my main goal is to help teachers integrate technology into what they do. One of the biggest ways I have helped teachers is teaching them how to share out information quickly without running hundreds of copies. Here are a couple of power tips on how you can share out information quickly, efficiently, and cheaply.

1. Invest in learning how to effectively use google docs.

If you have not familiarized yourself with google docs, then I highly suggest you take time to learn it. It is a program offered to anyone with a gmail account. This is by far the best way to create and share information. I will spend a great number of post talking about the ways we can use google docs to better the work we do in our churches.

In the meantime, I would highly recommend Cybrary Man's website about google docs. In the world of education, there is nobody better at curating information. With many of the post you will easily find ways the church can take advantage of the technology. He is on twitter @cybraryman1. I would also recommend following @web20classroom. He puts out great information on technology tools.

2. Learn how to shorten links

Let me give you an example. Lets say you are having a youth week and there is a great bible study you want to share with your young people. Here is the link:

http://download.pentecostalyouth.org/Youth%20Week%202012/Youth%20Week%202012-%20NEXT.pdf

Now try to put that in a bulletin, on your sign out front, or an advertisement. The great thing is you don't have to. There are several ways you can shorten a link. My favorite tool to use is called bit.ly.

bit.ly screen shot

From here you can copy and paste the large link above and it will shorten it to this: http://bit.ly/xgqloG. Once the link is shorten, then you can easily put it in your bulletin or project it during service. Then people can pull it up on their smart phones or tablets. Having a working wifi system in your church is also essential.

You can also look at my previous blog and see how to take that link and make it a QR code.

Scan this QR code for this week's bible study

To help show you the process of how this could work and demonstrate the power of google docs, I put together about an 8 minute video demonstrating how easy this can be done.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave below! I hope you enjoyed the post!

God bless!

4 Ways Your Church Can Use QR Codes

2012-01-16T12:58:00.000-06:00

The picture above is a QR Code or a Quick Response Code. Simply put, it is a 3D barcode. You will find these on all types of products in your local stores and they gaining a lot of use in education. However, there are also several ways a church could use these codes.

How They Work
First let me address how they work. Once a QR code has been created a person has to use their smartphone to scan it. Once it has been scanned, it will take you to where the QR code has been designed to take you. If you scan the QR code above, it will take you to this blog.

There are several apps for the iPhone and Android that will read these codes. I personally use RedLaser Barcode and QR Code Reader.

How They Can Be Used

There are several ways a church can us QR codes to get a message out.

1. Church Business Cards

Most churches have business cards. They are great for getting out information about your church like location, service schedule, and contact information. However, with a simple QR code a church can link the new contact to their website, a YouTube message from the pastor, a map to find the church, or to any other information you can't fit on the business card.

2. Church Bulletin

Each week we hand these out and pick them up off of the pews after service. They are very useful and do a great job of sharing the week's information with a visitor. The QR code in a Bulletin might link them to a calendar of the month's events, or maybe the notes for the Bible Study or the Message.

3. Posted around the church.

A QR code next to the nursery could give a mother information about the nursery ministry. One next to the Sunday School office could inform new parents about the classes available or link them to the material.

4. Youth ministry

Want to change up your next scavenger hunt? Hide QR codes at different spots around town with clues programed into them to lead your youth to the next spot.

How They Are Made

They are pretty easy to make. You can simply google or search on YouTube "how to make a QR code" and you'll find a bunch of sites that will make them for free and videos that will explain it. I personally like this website from Kaywa.

I hope you find this useful and if you have any questions or other ways you could see using QR codes at your church, please leave a comment below!

21st Century Highways

2012-01-16T09:40:00.000-06:00

Matthew 22:9
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

The charge of a born again christian is pretty simple; find people who are lost, just like you once were, and get them prepared for the marriage supper of the lamb.

The other Sunday morning Bro. Keith Fox (@K2_Fox) was preaching and he made a great point about technology and the church. He said that the most technological tool the disciples had at their disposal were ships and they used them like crazy to spread the gospel.

I could not agree more. I am convinced that if Paul were alive today he would be blogging, on Twitter, Facebook, have billboards, or anything else that would help him spread the good news.

That's what this blog is going to be dedicated to; finding new ways to spread the good news. There will be times on this blog when I just share some simple thoughts the Lord has placed on my heart. However, for the most part, I will be sharing creative ways to share out what God is doing at your church and ways you and your church can connect with people in your community.

I hope you enjoy this blog and I'm looking forward to learning with you. Please leave comments, ask questions, and contribute in the comment section.

For a brief introduction: I am the Youth Pastor at Abundant Faith (@AFC_UPC) in Evansville, IN. I am also eLearning Coach for our school district where I help teachers integrate technology into their classroom. My wife (@Ruth_A_Clark) and I have been married for over 11 years and have 3 wonderful boys.