Join me at 2013 MegaFest

Seven years ago I was enjoying living in my hometown of Chicago and getting acclimated to married life as I had only been married for a little over a year. I was job hopping between various web developer positions in downtown Chicago as I made my way through over 25 corporate positions prior to coming to work for churches mid 2007. My wife and I were very involved in our local church at that time and we would often watch many pastors on TV such as T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar and Bill Winston. While watching T.D. Jakes back then we saw that he was putting on this great MegaFest conference in Atlanta and there were things to do for the whole family, we both thought it would be amazing to attend but due to our limited budget, we knew we couldn’t attend.

Fast forward to 2013 and there are a variety of changes that make the 2013 MegaFest not only a viable option for us, but I am helping make it a success in a variety of ways. We have moved from Chicago to Dallas with a short 2.5 year stop in Orange County, CA, therefore we are in the same city as this year’s MegaFest conference. I am not only a speaker at the conference (on technology) for the Mega-Youth Experience but I am also employed by the ministry as an Internet Church specialist. This allows me to help in the creation of the Mobile Apps, Mobile Website, Desktop Website, Social Media and Online Streaming.

I can’t say how excited I am to participate in this conference and to really reflect on how far God has brought me and my family. We will all be at MegaFest enjoying the numerous events such as Woman Thou Are Loosed, ManPower, MegaKidz, Mega-Youth Experience, Just Churchin Comedy Show, BallUp Basketball showcase, McDonalds Gospel Concert, Oprah’s LifeClass, The Faith and Family Film Festival and much much more! So if you get a chance to come to MegaFest, let me know and let’s connect offline like we do online!

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/megafest/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=megafest

Digital Ministry – Ministry in Real Time

Continuing The iChurch Method TV series, here’s the transcript from the video above where I am talking about Real Time ministry and the impact of Digital Ministry, positive and negative.

Let’s look at the positives first. What I stated before was social media; the Facebook page was one of three or four ministries that I’m aware of that has over a million fans. That’s a lot of people that you can reach via social media and minister to. We see maybe we’ll put out a daily devotional or some snippet from the sermon or something like that, you see real-time ministry. You see somebody watching a clip of a sermon or reading that daily devotional and you see them saying, “That helped me today. That transformed my life. That impacted me.” So, with those types of results you really get a chance to see ministry going on around the world in real time, and nothing can top that. That’s amazing.

Likewise, with the internet church, when we do conferences or if there are sermons going on over the weekend then we have chat modules that might be next to these online video players and we’re seeing people chatting and ministering to each other or our online ministers are ministering to them. So we see all that stuff happening in real-time.

Obviously if people are online they’re chatting more and they’re speaking more so you’re hearing more than you may hear if you’re in an actual sanctuary. They’re not worried about who’s watching and stuff like that because usually they’re in the comfort of their own home or on their mobile device or something and they’re saying how they really feel about what’s happening.

Now let’s look at the downfalls. Social media gives our pastor a voice, it gives our leadership a voice, but it gives everybody a voice. I’ve seen people who may disagree with the pastor or disagree with the ministry, disagree with the theological approach or just disagree because it’s Tuesday. Those people are able to voice their opinions and some of the things that they say—words are very powerful—and the way that they slander the ministry or slander the pastor or just slander other people who are trying to better themselves or just get ministry for themselves, you just see how hurtful it can be. It takes you back to your school days; if a child hears some encouragement, it really impacts them. If they hear discouragement, that really impacts them too. We see that in the online environment via digital media and social media especially.

For more information on this and other topics, get your copy of “The iChurch Method Volume 1: How to Advance Your Ministry Online.” or The iChurch Method Volume 2: Changing the World When You Login or even sign up for the iChurch Method Online School.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/real-time-ministry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=real-time-ministry

Hootsuite Account hacked

Around 7:30pm CST on Sunday, Aug, 18, 2013, I got a text that said, hey your Twitter account is sending out crazy tweets, change your password. I didn’t think it was a big deal because I hadn’t tweeted from the account in a while but I do know that it’s not difficult to get your Twitter account hacked so I headed to my laptop to fix the issue. Prior to making it to the laptop I got two additional texts and a phone call which meant the issue wasn’t small and wasn’t just my personal account.

What transpired was an issue that seems to have came out of nowhere and just as quickly disappeared back from whence it came. My Hootsuite.com account, that manages my social media networks and two very large ministries that I work with (one with over 3 million social media fans and another with around 100 thousand social media fans) was hacked and sent out two spam email links. My first thought was damage control, so I immediately started deleting tweets from the ministry accounts and my business accounts, which in total was about 20 – 25 accounts.

I then started to research the issue by Googling “hootsuite account hacked” which gave me the following link: http://newthoughtmarketing.com/ntmblog/social-media/hootsuite-hacked-yesterday-july-28-2013/. Now this link highlights that issue that I dealt with in getting my hootsuite account hacked but it also highlighted the main point i’m trying to make with this blog post, there was no warning that my account would be hacked, and once the two links were sent, there was no further indication that my account was compromised. Furthermore, there hasn’t been a statement from Hootsuite regarding the hacks except the common directions to remove all social media networks, change your password on hootsuite and the social media networks and then reinstall the networks. This response is fine but outside of a person in a forum stating that the issue could be 3rd party addons giving hackers access to Hootsuite, there isn’t any information on how this attack occurs and how to prevent it in the future. It’s just a mystery with no rhyme or reason and that’s not a good situation to be in when dealing with multiple accounts for multiple organizations. I have reached out to @hootsuite and @hootsuite_help so hopefully I will hear something back in the near future.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/hootsuite-account-hacked/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hootsuite-account-hacked

Is buying fans/followers/views Social Media Prostitution?

Over the last two years there have been quite a few companies that have sprung up that allow people and companies to purchase followers, fans, views, retweets, repines and a variety of other social media services. These services have been utilized by major celebrities, political figures as well as companies and brands. It wasn’t until recently did the services come to light and start to receive scrutiny from the social media networks as well as other social media experts, but it was only a matter of time before quick fix options became a business (social media services is now on its way to being a 100+ million dollar industry in just a few years).

Facebook continues to update and adjust it’s advertising services and allows you to bid on CPC campaigns to get more fans, which seems to be an elaborate approach to buying fans, is it not? Twitter’s advertising solution allows you to promote your account in user’s stream and thus get more Twitter followers and yes, this service costs, so isn’t just another way to buy fans? YouTube gives you the opportunity to setup video ads that appear before people watch YouTube videos which after they watch there’s a call to action which can include asking them to subscribe, this service costs and gives you YouTube views and subscribers, so isn’t that another way to buy them?

Personally, I have developed social media strategies to help companies build their following using content strategy methods, specific delivery times and two-way interaction but I do understand how social media services you purchase can be useful. I think it all comes down to this, when you purchase services, it’s for perception, to appear bigger than you are and get people to follow you based on that, but the relationships are unreal and non-existent. But when you build your following in a more organic manner, then you develop true relationships with them and create a longer lasting, mutually beneficial online social media relationship.

Which goes back to my title, if your goal is to just get fans in numbers, then take the prostitute route and just pay for it and get the immediate results. But if you want to develop a true interactive online social media following then you have to put in the time and work it takes to wine and dine them, advertise to them, promote posts and tweets and tell them you really care.

For more information about Social Media check out How to Get One Million Social Media Fans by Jason Caston.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/is-buying-social-media-prostitution/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-buying-social-media-prostitution

The iChurch Method TV – Ep 16 – Church Partnership Programs

Continuing The iChurch Method TV series, here’s the transcript from the video above.

The iChurch method will help you develop an online network of your own. I would say look at a network; look at something like Facebook. You see that you have a lot of people that are connecting on there. I would say if you want to have a partnership program, what if you had your own Facebook, your own network where ministries were connecting with you and also interacting with each other via this network. We create that for you so you can have this online network where ministries can interact and they can provide training and leadership for them in this partnership program. We would create that for them and lay it all out, and let them figure out if that was what they wanted to do and if that was the route they wanted to take online.

Participation would be basically the same way you would run an offline partnership network; what is the content you want to get out, what are the levels of membership, what is the goal and purpose of your partnership network, and what do you want to get to the members of your partnership network. Once that content is generated and that overall strategy is dictated, then we just take that offline strategy and just put it online.

For more information on this and other topics, get your copy of “The iChurch Method Volume 1: How to Advance Your Ministry Online.” or The iChurch Method Volume 2: Changing the World When You Login or even sign up for the iChurch Method Online School.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/church-partnership-programs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=church-partnership-programs

How to Advance Your Ministry Online

The world is rapidly changing, and in order to keep up, and minister effectively to your congregation, you need to take advantage of the latest technology that your parishioners are using to stay connected with friends and family, do business, and take care of their personal and spiritual needs.

This can be a confusing set of circumstances to navigate, with all kinds of media sites and technology out there clamoring to be utilized, all claiming to be the best way of reaching your current and potential congregation. How do you proceed? Here is a rough, abbreviated breakdown of the technology that is available to you to help you reach and expand your congregation.

Your Website
If you don’t already have a website, why not? Printed phone books and encyclopedias are nearly obsolete, as the internet makes information so much more easily accessed, from finding local vendors to answering your children’s homework questions. If your church does not already have a website, it should. And if it does, it should be updated frequently with fresh, informative content to keep parishioners checking back regularly to see what’s new.

Multimedia – Interactive Multimedia
Your church building may only hold 100, 200, or 500 members, but your virtual church can reach millions, through the power of media. Do you have a pastor who is a particularly powerful speaker, someone people wait all week to hear? Videotape the sermons and make them available online. You can post them on your website, your Facebook page, YouTube and more, to attract more members to your church, or increase your revenue by offering them for sale, via CD, DVD or audio or video download from your online store, which brings us to…

eCommerce
Take donations online, sell recordings of sermons and motivational lectures, allow parishioners to purchase tickets to special events and more with an eCommerce site.

Social Media
Harness the power of the most interactive technology the world has ever known by leveraging social media to get your message out to more people than your predecessors could have ever dreamed of. With the right message, or a captivating photo, video clip or other post, your church can go viral, and expand far beyond the reach of its physical walls.

Mobile Technology
Almost everyone seems to have a smart phone these days, and they’re always surfing the net. If they’re looking for spiritual guidance, be the one to give it to them with a mobile-optimized website. What difference does it make? Imagine seeing your current website on a 2-inch square screen and you’ll understand. A mobile optimized site shows your visitors what you think is important, and lets them browse through the rest of the site at their leisure.

In summary, as bewildering as it may seem at first, the newest technology that is overwhelming us with its rapidly evolving applications is a powerful tool for churches to reach out to members and potential members in a way never before possible. It’s a brave new electronic world out there. Make sure you’re a part of it.

For more information on this and other topics, get your copy of “The iChurch Method Volume 1: How to Advance Your Ministry Online.” or The iChurch Method Volume 2: Changing the World When You Login or even sign up for the iChurch Method Online School.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/how-to-advance-your-ministry-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-advance-your-ministry-online

The iChurch Method TV – Ep 15 – Ministry Growth Online

Continuing The iChurch Method TV series, here’s the transcript from the video above.

That would be continually ongoing. It would be a subscription-based fee where students sign up per class. It would be continually ongoing because the classes would never stop. Technology doesn’t stop, so the classes that are in the iChurch network won’t stop.

Right now you have five courses because the first book has five chapters. The next book, which is coming out in April 2013 has five new chapters. As we continually release books and eBooks and more products, that’s more training and more online access that we can create for our members.

I would tell a minister that basically you could continue to do ministry as you do it for your local and regional reach. Continue to push out the content that you already are; preaching your sermons and ministering the people in the way that you do. But, understand that now it’s going to be packaged and distributed to an international audience.

I’m not trying to tell them to change the way that they do ministry, I’m just letting them know that I’m giving you a larger distribution of the content and of the ministry and taking the gospel to the four corners of the earth.

For more information on this and other topics, get your copy of “The iChurch Method Volume 1: How to Advance Your Ministry Online.” or The iChurch Method Volume 2: Changing the World When You Login or even sign up for the iChurch Method Online School.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/ministry-growth-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ministry-growth-online

How Churches Can Use Video to enhance Church Online

What kind of video needs does your church have? You probably didn’t even realize you had any. Video capability can enhance the churchgoing experience, allowing you to reach out to thousands of people online, some of whom may decide to attend your church in person, and others who will take what they need from the online sermons.

Live streaming video of your sermons is a powerful tool, allowing you to expand your congregation without having to knock down any walls or even hire a contractor. Regular members will also be able to watch even when they are sick or out of town. These live streaming videos can be posted on your site later as on-demand videos, archived by date for parishioners to access at their leisure.

Other types of church activities can be filmed as well, from church picnics, fundraising activities, charity drives, sporting events and pageants to community outreach messages and public service announcements. Consider cutting apart and editing some of these videos into short clips, which will be more watchable than the long version. Show highlights of events, or create a sort of video montage, so that viewers don’t have to sit through the whole thing.

Videos can be posted on YouTube and embedded into your site for easier loading and to reduce space requirements. Start a YouTube account for your church, where parishioners can go and watch all of the various clips you have uploaded, and be sure to advertise it on your site. And don’t forget about social media sites like Facebook, where you can post or embed videos as well.

Where Do I Get All These Videos?
You should invest in a good digital video camera for your church. With today’s technology, these are not terribly expensive. Make sure you get a tripod for recording sermons. The camera will come with its own software for editing and saving videos in one or more of several popular video formats:

• MP4 – a common format with good compression for internet streaming and digital distribution;
• MOV – similar to MP4 but not as common and does not compress as well;
• M4V – used mostly by Apple, similar to MP4 with good compression for smaller file sizes;
• WMV – Microsoft’s version for Windows; it has very good compression, high quality audio and video with small file sizes, but does not play on Macs without conversion software.

Once you have the camera and the software, start filming, and then play around with the editing software. You’ll be delighted at how much fun it can actually be!

For more information on this and other topics, get your copy of “The iChurch Method Volume 1: How to Advance Your Ministry Online.” or The iChurch Method Volume 2: Changing the World When You Login or even sign up for the iChurch Method Online School.

http://www.ichurchmethod.com/use-video-to-enhance-church-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=use-video-to-enhance-church-online