Articles for tag: Technology

February 22, 2020

Justin Horey

Can Online Churches Create Offline Connections?

Three Churches Share Stories from the “Wild West”of Worship on the World Wide Web By Justin Horey From smartphones to social media, Facebook to FaceTime, the Internet and the tools we use to access it are often advertised as ways to help people relate to one another. Dating apps and websites aim to bring people together in person, while social media platforms and videoconferencing were created to help people stay in touch when they can’t be together in the same room. Technology experts and ordinary people alike love to debate the effectiveness of relating with online tools, but these tools

February 22, 2020

Tim Cole

Your Digital Screen Door: 6 Common Church Website Mistakes and How to Fix Them

By Tim Cole The Internet is the most disruptive force in church communication since the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press in 1439. Your church’s front door may be located on your property, but in many ways the church’s website serves as the new digital screen door through which your potential guests will decide beforehand if they will venture to and through the physical front door. Recently I consulted with an older church overseas about why they weren’t attracting and keeping enough visitors to spur consistent growth. My onsite visit revealed several potential problems, but one stood out. The urban church

February 19, 2020

Rusty George

How to Develop an Online Church Campus

By Rusty George “Church online isn’t church.” Yep, that’s what I used to say. Of course, I also thought texting would never last and Facebook was a fad. But hey, what do I know? I guess you might call me a late adopter. Needless to say, starting an online campus wasn’t at the top of my list. But six years ago we decided to add an online option at our church, and I’ve changed my mind about its importance. The First Question: Why Mess with It? It sounds like a lot of work when a simple website with service times

February 19, 2020

Justin Horey

Can Online Churches Create Offline Connections?

Three Churches Share Stories from the “Wild West” of Worship on the World Wide Web By Justin Horey From smartphones to social media, Facebook to FaceTime, the Internet and the tools we use to access it are often advertised as ways to help people relate to one another. Dating apps and websites aim to bring people together in person, while social media platforms and videoconferencing were created to help people stay in touch when they can’t be together in the same room. Technology experts and ordinary people alike love to debate the effectiveness of relating with online tools, but these

February 19, 2020

Mark Kitts

If You Lead Alone, You're Doing It Wrong

A Cutting-Edge Way to Find New Ministry Partners Online . . . and in Person By Mark Kitts I’m still smarting from the recent closing of my alma mater, once known as “the Flagship College” of the independent Christian churches (ICC). Our schools, publications, and national gatherings have historically been unifying bastions of the Restoration Movement. But these institutions have been losing influence as people have voted with their feet and their wallets. Is it because Restoration ideals have lost their relevance? I don’t think so. I see these ideals being adopted as never before. Denominationalism is declining at an

February 19, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Church Tech without the Technobabble

By Michael C. Mack Most of us know the value of using modern technology for both personal and church use, but some of us—especially those of us over a certain age (and I’m uncertain what that certain age is anymore)—simply don’t have the expertise to use it well. Truth is, we’re afraid we’ll bumble the technological language well before we bumble the technology itself. I’ve experienced this while trying to talk to a 20-something wisenheimer at Best Buy. I stand there with a blank look on my face as he lays down some impressive technobabble. Just tell me which watch

February 2, 2020

David Dummitt

Six Reasons Your Church Needs a Mobile-Giving Option

By David Dummitt IBM created the first smartphone in the early 1990s, but it was Apple’s release of the first iPhone in 2007 that effectively changed the world at large. Fast-forward to today and approximately 81 percent of people in America own a smartphone. The world has literally moved into the palms of people’s hands. The advent of smartphones over the past quarter century has revolutionized the way people prefer to learn, shop, and, yes, give. While many churches are embracing financial technology in new ways and are experiencing the positive impact on congregational generosity, many churches in America continue

January 2, 2020

Christian Standard

Ministry Behind Bars: How God Used a 'Reluctant Prison Chaplain' to Reach Hundreds on the Inside

By Bill Twaddell After trying my best to avoid him, I found myself face-to-face with a murderer. I didn’t like this guy. He had done horrible things to land himself at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mt. Sterling, Illinois. In the casual parlance of American jurisprudence, he was a “poster child” for the insanity defense. Many years earlier, he had committed a murder, pleaded insanity, and been found not guilty. After being set free, he committed another murder. By the spring of 2011, this man had spent most of his life behind walls and razor wire. He had sent several

July 17, 2019

Christian Standard

Executive Pastor Online Aims to Fill a Gap for Smaller Churches

By Chris Moon Kevin Stone wants to be the executive pastor many churches want but simply can’t afford to hire. Years ago, the executive pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Royersford, Pa., began thinking about how he could serve small and midsized churches that simply don’t have the capacity to hire ministers to manage their operations and administration. So in 2006, he founded the first iteration of what has become known as Executive Pastor Online. “The site is your online executive pastor,” Stone said. “The idea is to provide that skill set and those fundamental concepts to the

March 6, 2019

Christian Standard

Milligan Freshman Honored for Volunteerism (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon Milligan College freshman Chase McGlamery won a big award for his service to his community and church. McGlamery received the Governor’s Volunteer Stars Award; he was one of 108 honorees this year. McGlamery completed more than 300 hours of community service during 2018, even while acclimating himself to life at Milligan, where he is majoring in communications. In total, he completed more than 1,000 hours of community service during high school. He began volunteering at age 8. Much of his work has involved technology. “Since I was in elementary school, teachers would ask me to help

February 2, 2019

Christian Standard

It All Boils Down to Faith

By Emily Drayne Organizations and missionaries face an uphill battle with regard to donations. When we see a photo of a half-clothed child, a disaster-torn house, or a village that lacks clean water, our natural reaction is to want to help. Sadly, there are many needs, and not every single one can be captured in a photograph. Missionaries and their families need everyday support . . . so their children can get glasses . . . because the cost of living in their chosen part of the world is high . . . because they are starting a new ministry

February 2, 2019

Gary L. Johnson

3-D Church Finances

By Gary Johnson  Most Americans welcomed in the new year by making a resolution. By far, the most popular resolution is to lose weight by exercising more and going on a diet, and most of us do not enjoy either of those. Likewise, money issues are a necessary part of church life that needs periodic attention. As elders, we enjoy dealing with church finances about as much as we enjoy diet and exercise. Like it or not, money is an everyday aspect of ministry. Bills (salaries, utilities, insurance premiums) must be paid. Missionaries need our support, and ministry programs must

September 19, 2018

Christian Standard

3 Imperatives for Healthy, Effective Rural Church Planters

By David Dummitt The U.S. Department of Agriculture quantifies rural areas as the 14 percent of the U.S. population that lives on 72 percent of the land. That 14 percent sounds deceptively small, but in reality it’s 46 million people . . . real people with real lives, real joys, real problems . . . and a real need for the gospel. It’s fanciful to think rural areas are saturated with picturesque, steeple-laden churches where everyone in town gathers for potlucks, prayers, and tight-knit biblical community—Mayberry, if you will. But the realities of modern, rural America are more sinister than such stereotypes.

April 11, 2018

Christian Standard

3 Ways ‘Blade Runner’ Predicted the Future of Church and Why We Should Pay Attention

By Mel McGowan A highlight for me during 2017 was the opportunity to revisit the world of my favorite movie of all time—Blade Runner—with the release of an updated installment called Blade Runner 2049. More people likely would have seen the original Blade Runner in 1982 but for its misfortune of coming out the same summer as E.T. But for me, the original was life-changing. It is the movie God used to drive me to study film and architecture and, ultimately, to instill in me a lifelong passion for creating the future. Sci-fi author William Gibson said, “Blade Runner changed

February 16, 2018

Jerry Harris

The Dot.

By Jerry Harris Whether it happens intentionally or accidentally, every church fashions a product that is more effective with at least one subset of people. Every church has a target. It may not be a deliberate target, as traditions tend to take on lives of their own, but it’s there just the same. Consider the style of your music and worship. Who is attracted to it? Scan the church budget. Who gets the most money? Study the use of the building. Who gets the most space? Assess the style of the building and its furniture. Is it antique? Do the

November 21, 2017

Christian Standard

Maximizing the Role of Women in Church Planting: A Conversation with Debbie Jones  

By David Dummitt The local church is the hope of the world. Church leadership, whether as a church planter, church leader, or lay leader, is full of adventure and purpose, but it can also take a toll on families if they aren”t equipped with the wisdom and practical skills needed to remain healthy. I recently spoke with Debbie Jones, director of Stadia”s Bloom, which empowers women to maximize their role in starting churches. Debbie and her husband, Tom, have planted two churches and have witnessed firsthand the challenges church planting and leadership can have on families.   Tell me about

October 17, 2017

Christian Standard

An Inside Look at Rural Communities and Churches

By Kent Fillinger In September”s issue, I examined statistics and trends primarily affecting urban and suburban communities and churches in the United States. This month, I”m focusing on the rural counterpart. Rural America In 1950, more than a third of the U.S. population lived in rural areas. That rural percentage has consistently declined through the years to less than 20 percent today. The Wall Street Journal recently reported (“Rural America Is the New “˜Inner City,”” Janet Adamy and Paul Overberg, May 27-28, A1), [A]n unprecedented shift is under way. Federal and other data show that in 2013, in the majority

April 21, 2017

Christian Standard

Forgotten Heroes

By Mark Atteberry Philo T. Farnsworth. You should know who he is. You don”t, but you should. He made a gigantic contribution to mankind, one that most people experience every single day, often for hours at a time. But I suspect you couldn”t find one person out of a thousand who could tell you what he did. On January 7, 1927, Mr. Farnsworth, then a 19-year-old farm boy, filed a patent on an invention called “television.” A few years later, he transmitted a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, from his Philadelphia laboratory to his home a few miles away. Ironically,

February 15, 2017

Christian Standard

Technological Passivity

By Jim Tune The workshop was called “Technology, Social Media, and the Church.” As the presenter spoke enthusiastically about opportunities new technologies offer the church, he explained that technology is neutral, and that it can be used for good or evil. The important thing, he said, is that we use it to advance the gospel. I”ve made similar remarks. While it”s true technology can be used for good or evil, I”m not so certain it is neutral. Christians say, “The methods change, but the message stays the same.” Not so. The medium always affects the message. In the mid-1960s Canadian

February 3, 2017

Christian Standard

ICOM 2016: Disciples Making Disciples

By Doug Priest Mitchell and Luis looked a little lost in the exhibition hall at the Lexington (Kentucky) Convention Center, home to the 2016 International Conference on Missions. They came from the Dominican Republic. Mitchell had come to the convention once before, eight years ago. But the convention had grown a lot in the past eight years, and there were 300 different exhibitors! It is no wonder they were amazed at all they saw. These men are pastors. They belong to Centro Cristiano, an association of Christian churches in the Dominican Republic that has 23 pastors. Four of the pastors

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