Discover how to leverage technology in your church

Writing sermons is only one part of a pastor’s work, but it’s one that can take a great deal of time in study and preparation. Every pastor I know wants to be faithful in his preaching and therefore invests time and energy into properly studying the Scriptures and preparing for Sunday morning.

There’s not a lot of shortcuts out there, though, and many of the helpful technology tools cost a great deal. Fortunately there’s a number of tools freely available on the internet to help streamline the process.

To that end, here are my go-to online tools for sermon writing. They’re not the only ones, and I won’t even claim that they’re the best, but they’ve served me well and continue to do so. 

Do you ever feel like you're being followed online?

Have you ever been shopping on a website like Amazon.com or Target.com, and suddenly you start seeing online advertisements for those products on other websites? Did you ever wonder how your favorite blog knew that you were interested in buying that pair of jeans, or that new book that hasn't even come out yet?

Well, wonder no more as I introduce you to the world of remarketing.

Had we talked three or four years ago, I’d have told you that there were some tasks computers were exceptionally good at completing, like calculations or repetitively crunching scenarios.

I’d have also told you, though, that there were some things they weren’t very good at doing, and probably never would be, simply because of the amount of variables involved, such as driving a car, reading emotions, or pretending to be human.

On some level, that changed this week.

Now that we know what a church communicator is and why you need one, what’s next? It’s time to find a church communicator that best fits your congregation. Follow these five steps to successfully hire the right person!

A consistent communications campaign has the power to inspire immediate recognition. It’s like hearing those first notes of a song on the radio while you scan through the stations. Just one a few seconds of the song (or one glance of your communications) can be enough to remind people of the bigger picture!

Creating a coordinated set of website banners, emails, social media posts, and more might sound like a lofty goal for Holy Week, since it’s right around the corner. But doesn't have to take a ton of extra work!

Last week, we touched on the reasons why your church needs a church communicator. Today, I will attempt to define the church communicator role.

There are many reasons why a church needs to consider partnering with a church communicator, whether by hiring a full- or part-time staff member, working with a contractor, or utilizing a volunteer.

Today, I will focus on what I consider the top three reasons why your church needs a communications professional.

“Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?”

Sound familiar? It follows with “I really wanna know.” For younger people (or those that don’t listen to classic music) it’s the lyrics from a 1978 song by the WHO. It is also the question being asked by people who do not know your congregation.

When it comes to defining the identity of your church, the question you need to ask yourself is, “What are we telling them?”

Have you ever heard the saying “Junk In, Junk Out”? If this saying applies to anything, it applies to data and databases.

Output from congregational databases can include membership numbers, small group members, contacts and mailing lists, financial reports, and people outside your church whom you have touched in some way. How you collect and store your data will have a direct impact on the information you draw from your database.

Here at Concordia Technology Solutions, we’ve used webinars for many years to offer training opportunities on our products and about technology in general. But if it’s the first time you’re attending a webinar, it can be a little confusing!

To help get you started, here are the basics of attending a training webinar.