The next M2LIVE webinar will feature Cynthia Ware — A technology and church development consultant, Cynthia also serves as the executive director of the Center for Church Communications. While presenters have opportunity to share their message, the format allows you ample time to ask questions and engage the presenter.  To access the webinar, visit http://www.M2LIVE.org/live on August 17th at 11:30 a.m. (EDT).

I had a great conversation this morning with Tony Dye. Tony is a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. He spends a lot of his time consulting business and churches on technology and his passion for finding new tools is inspiring. It’s evident when you speak with him, visit his blog or do anything Church IT RoundTable related. This morning Tony mentioned that back in the day, everyone was so excited for “software” because it was going to make our lives so much easier. So, has it? That’s the question that Tony is still asking today.

Has software made our lives easier? Has the quality of life been improved with software or has it added complexity to our lives? Now I know that there are so many factors to consider here. Like age group, industry, and type just to name a few, but I’m asking a more rhetorical question. While software and devices such as the iPhone have revolutionized the way we live our lives, there still seem to be so many people that fight day-in and day-out with software. One of the funniest (albeit very crude) articles I’ve ever read was a post on The Onion which was a fictitious counterpoint argument between a bubbly staff receptionist and her computer. Let’s just say that the computer had some pretty ugly things to say about the receptionist.

But what’s the deal? Especially in the church world. Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of folks feel as if they are constantly battling their software and making their lives more difficult. What do you think?

[I don't know who to give credit to for that image. It's from the movie Office Space.]

This may seem a little crazy at first, but I wonder, should churches and nonprofits buy Facebook ads? Our business has been running some ads on Facebook and finding some great success. It’s easy, hyper-targeted and based on demographic information in your Facebook profile. So I started to wonder if I should share my experience with creating Facebook Ads..and we will, in another post. But for now, I’m wondering what would it look like for a church to be “advertising” on Facebook? Why would a church ever do that?

I’m sure this topic has been debated somewhere on the Internet before (although a quick search didn’t reveal anything fascinating) but I think it’s brilliant. Why not pay for clicks on Ads in Facebook? Why not target people in specific zip code and draw attention to your organization…to your ministries, events, message…your website. Think about it, I bet for roughly $1/click you could have your specific message being place on Facebook and reaching folks right where they are: Facebook. You could have literally millions of impressions and pay for only 5 clicks a day. Would it be worth it?

• Would it increase the likelihood of that one guy that drives by your church everyday to actually show up one Sunday?
• Would it increase the participation in a local outreach event? Think service project or Good Friday festival!
• Would it bring recognition to your organization on a local level that may ultimately lead to serving the community on a greater level?

I think so. I think it’s worth a try. Have you ever considered this? What churches and nonprofits are doing this and finding success? Leave some links to interesting posts or thoughts below!

(Note: The image above was produced by Church Ad Project. Check them out: http://www.churchad.com)

If there is one thing that I’m surprised about as we continue to serve churches, it’s the number of folks that are unhappy with their current technology. Countless times I’ve spoken with customers and church leaders who have a laundry list of complaints with their current “IT” situation.

Many times it’s just about one particular piece of outdated membership management software. Other times it’s simply the challenge that comes with having too many tools adopted. On top of all this is the pressure to get involved in social media and enhance communication among their members.

So what is the silver bullet? What would the perfect church technology tool look like? Is it even possible?

Here are just 5 things that I think churches are looking for in technology:

1. SIMPLE. Simple membership management for example. Less features.
2. Private communication tools; NOT private social networking tools.
3. Technology that enhances real relationships somehow.
4. Tools that empower ministry and group leaders to get organized.
5. Reporting on member activity.

Do you agree? Please add more in the comments!

This week Pastor Geoff Surratt, over on his personal blog started rocking the boat with his multi-part post entitled “Why Small Groups Don’t Work”. Catchy enough title to bring plenty of conversation. Grab a cup a coffee before you settle in. Geoff spent plenty of time framing up and delivering his argument that essentially says that the “missing link in church small groups” is a “driving missional focus”. Cool. Well I have zero authority to speak to the theological implications of the current “dilemma” with small groups in the church (if there even is one) but if they are broken, how can technology assist in fixing it?

First off I’d like to point out the obvious. Technology made this discussion possible. If the church is due for a change in small groups then my guess is that it would be delayed several more years if it wasn’t for the internet and the various platforms that connect so many church leaders so effortlessly. I’m sure Geoff’s thoughts had been bubbling up and forming for several months but in a matter of hours if not minutes, he was able to publish his thoughts to thousands and spark a very awesome discussion. But onto the real point of this post

How are you using technology for your small groups?

Why are you using technology for your small groups? In what capacity does it help? For example, we’ve had requests before to add attendance tracking to MemberHub to help small group leaders report attendance to their “small group coach”. I didn’t even know that sort of thing happened in small group ministries.

Help us technology folks out by providing your insight into where YOU think small groups are heading and how technology can help make them a powerful tool in the Kingdom.

Undoubtedly, the church has always lagged behind the marketplace with regards to technology. Generally speaking, it could be years before a popular new service, product, or widget becomes widely used and implemented by churches. Is this by design or does the church need to “get with it” when it comes to technology?

I recently caught up with John Saddington, aka Human3rror, who suggests that the gap between the rate at which the church adopts technology versus the rate at which the marketplace adapts technology is “God’s grace”. He went on to say “let the marketplace do their thing and when they get bored with it [new technology] let us then adopt it and use it wisely”.

I, for one find this surprising coming from John, who says that “whatever servicing the church through technology looks like; that’s what I want to do”. He is recognized as one of the industry thought leaders when it comes to technology. ChurchCrunch, John’s well-known blog, has the tagline: Exploring the Intersection of Technology and the Church. He is also the Creative Web Director as North Point Ministries, one of the front-runners when it comes to technology, media and online strategy within the church. Logic would suggest that these influences would drive a passion for faster adoption of techonology in the church.

What do you think about this? Should the church strategically place itself 2-3 years behind the marketplace with adopting technology? Even more, is the “chasm between the adoption rate of technology between marketplace and the church a movement of God?”

Recently, I caught up with Kevin Joyce of Imagine Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas. I would call him the lead pastor but he actually goes by the title “Lead Life Changer”. And I would call Imagine Fellowship a church, but it’s more like A.A. And that’s what they want to do, duplicate the model that A.A. has leaned on since the 30′s to help people all over the country. A very ambitious and inspired vision that Kevin shared with me.

You see Kevin has a hunch that “God is trying to change the church model” and in conjunction with that leading, Imagine Fellowship has made a pretty amazing change to their model. In Kevin’s words:

We have decided that we are stopping our weekly Sunday service (starting the end of November). We will meet once a month to do a big community service project on Sunday, and will only have one Sunday service a month. What will we do the rest of the time? We will meet weekly in groups, serve our community in creative ways, and love God and people with all of our hearts.

They put “all the purposes of the church in groups.” A small group setting is basically their “main church” and through a discipleship process they call “1on1″ new leaders are raised up. Kevin commented that “most people will share their life with one person or one couple” and it’s in these settings that real relationships are built and life is really experienced. By identifying a series of ten opportunities the 1on1 process helps people and potential leaders open up and really experience change. After this 1on1 discipleship process, the new leader is encouraged to start a new group. And just like AA, they want to have groups all over the country, not just in San Antonio. According to Kevin the vision is “less about a local church and more towards a movement.”

This past Sunday was Imagine Fellowship’s last corporate worship until January 3rd. What will their members do without a church service on Christmas? My guess: love God and people with all their hearts.

What do you think about this? Do you think that God is trying to change the church model? If so, how does the church embrace this change and prepare for the future?

Yesterday I listened to a webinar put on by Drew Goodmanson and Cynthia Ware on the State of the Church Online. You can read an excellent review of the research findings that they presented over here and the slides from the presentation are here.

These guys are doing a really good work. I personally believe that this research and the motivation behind it is edifying, reverent and inspired. God’s timing is perfect. Churches are undoubtedly trying to make some sense of all this social networking, private community tools and online technology. And they have nothing to guide them.

Kevin does an excellent job of pulling out the conclusions that have been reached. He points out:

One thing that stands out to me when I look at those key findings is the overwhelming awareness in the church market of Facebook yet very little brand awareness of comparable tools designed specifically for churches. You might chalk this disconnect up to ineffective marketing strategies but I believe it points to a more crucial issue which is: churches aren’t approaching social media strategically.

Kevin goes onto to point out that:

Churches dive headlong into social media (primarily on Facebook and more and more on Twitter), investing their time and their churches reputation without a solid sense of how exactly their efforts are going to redeem lives and bring glory to God.

Let’s also take into consideration the top 5 requested features/functionality sought in church/Christian social networks:

1. Ability to find, register and/or get details for events.
2. Ability to post prayer requests or needs.
3. Ability to find serving opportunities at the church based on interest of gifts
4. Ability to join and interact with home/bible study groups.
5. Integration with existing church website.

Here’s my conclusion so far: The respondents are NOT looking for another social networking tool!

In fact, there are so many instances where churches are looking to use social networking for communications, logistics, planning, etc. when that’s not at all what social networking is intended for. It’s intended to “network”. Facebook is definitely not the best way to connect your members and groups. When you’re in a church and are involved in various ministries and groups you don’t need to network with these folks, you need take care of the business of being a member. You need to plan, share a calendar, get reminders, have discussions and generally be accessible to each other. Technology and the internet is perfect for that! It’s not about social networking. It’s about giving the groups in your church and other organizations a place for them to connect, share information, share ideas, plan, and again, be accessible to each other. This takes the burden off the administrators of the organization, by empowering the groups to connect and get things done on their own accord! What they want is a private, groups communication tool.

The Phase 2 of this research and its findings will be a very powerful step forward in helping churhes sort through the options of online private community and group communications tools (of which MemberHub is one, of course). We are looking forward to that research that will be available in the fall.

Seminaries face unique challenges. Secular universities and colleges are up to their eyeballs in the new world of communications that include social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. There are few if any filters on these offerings and they generally pose more problems for a seminary environment than they do solutions.

Does that mean that seminaries are to be left in the Dark Ages with regard to communication? Let’s hope not. One of the main needs for future pastors and church leaders is to be in constant communication with their peers and to learn how to best handle the church congregation of the 21^st century. It ain’t like your grandaddy’s church anymore .

One way that future church leaders can be prepared is to have more modern means of communication within the seminary environment itself. Of course you can provide courses to help students learn the ins and outs of how the new world communicates (and even reads the Bible for that matter) but there is nothing like learning by doing.

While seminaries are often strapped for capital to implement these types of programs there are now web based software apps that can help facilitate the communication necessary to help them grow as leaders. Of course, MemberHub is one of those options (you didn’t expect me to not say anything about that now did you?).

Here are 3 very simple yet powerful applications for web based communication tools that should be considered.

1. Classes can have collaborative activities that strengthen their learning and help to reinforce what is covered in the class
2. Seminary wide communication can be taken beyond just e-mail lists and there can more information disseminated in a more efficient and effective manner
3. Seminary staff and departments can have greater continuity with less face to face meetings and more time doing what they do best; equipping.

Is your seminary living in the past in the way that it communicates with students and staff? Could there be greater learning and preparing taking place if there were quicker and cleaner communication for these groups? Could seminaries be using software to help improve communications and prepare students for using technology once they go out to shepherd their flocks?

We think so. Tell us what you think.

In the last week I have gleaned a stronger vision for what I think churches really want from online technology. They just don’t know it.

Social media, social networking, Facebook, Twitter…churches are being bombarded by a slew of social technologies and online tools to help build “community” and connect their members and staff. It’s absolutley mind-boggling how fast all this technology is moving and being adopted. Churches are looking around asking not only What? but also Why?

Churches are hiring consultants to come in and establish a social media plan for their church. In the words of Lee Corso (ESPN’s College Gameday) “Not so fast, my friend”. The market is flooded with social media gurus who simply aren’t *that* at all. Be careful before you pay someone to teach you about social media that takes your money and provides no value. Or perhaps even worse, plugs your church into the grid, only to find out that it doesn’t line up with your church’s vision and value. Churches are being advised to put together a plan and execute it accordingly. But so many churches and other organizations act without really, really thinking about what they want.

What I’m hearing is that churches definitely want private online groups for their ministries, small groups, teams and staff. Internally, churches want to use the power of the internet for logistics, planning, coordinating and communicating. But the other big one that some churches don’t even realize they want or need right now is the ability to communicate with other churches! Learn from other churches, share resources with other churches, and generally learn from each other. After all this is what this “social” media thing is really all about…the sharing of information, ideas and networking. And if churches are sharing information and strategies isn’t this a good thing for the Kingdom? I think so.

What do you think? What does your church use social networking or online technology for? What do you want to see with online technology for churches? What do you think about partnering with and sharing with other churches as opposed to competing against them?