Insights to Keep You Connected

Innovation

The Harsh Cost of “We’re Not Ready for That”

By | Jun 27, 2016 | 2 min read

In 1996, now megapastor Craig Groeschel was an associate pastor at a United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. As I did, Craig studied business in college before choosing a life in ministry. In his book, Confessions of a Pastor, he alludes to presenting his church leadership with a plan to use modern marketing techniques. In 1996, marketing was a dirty word in the church, though obviously we have softened to the idea A) because it’s effective, and B) because when Jesus is the message, how can marketing it be wrong! The first time I heard this story (admittedly second hand) it was said that the answer Craig got was, “We’re not ready for that.” Evidently Groeschal disagreed. He decided to leave the United Methodist Church and open up his own church in his two car garage. This church became Life Church, which now has over 24 campuses and claims to be one of the largest churches in the United States.

Theology and Technology

Reformation > Disruption

By | Jun 27, 2016 | 2 min read

Disruption: when a new technology significantly changes the way people live or do business, often challenging the status quo. It was in 1996 when then Vice President of Intel, Steven McGeady, claimed that the new tech boom was akin to the Reformation. He called it The Digital Reformation. His argument was not theological in nature; instead he compared the common person's level of access to technology in the modern era — to the mass access to religious freedom during the Reformation. In each case, the new paradigm led to rapid--indeed, “disruptive”--levels of cultural, political, and social-economic change. He noted that the difference between a reformation and a revolution is that reformations change everything, not just a single target.

Theology and Technology

The Glocal Church

By | Jun 17, 2016 | 4 min read

Glocal: The idea that something is both global and local on the internet. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” Jesus said in Acts 1:8. The ends of the earth have gotten a lot closer since the dawn of the internet. My denomination, The United Methodist Church, has a massive SMS text network that expands into the most remote villages in Africa. When the Ebola epidemic of 2014 hit, they used that network to offer hope, education and coordinated medical assistance, saving countless lives in the name of God. Think about that. To do that work in the past, we’d spend years training, funding, and relocating missionaries into the field, so that they could have access to just one village at a time.

Graphic Design

7 Free or Cheap Design Tools for Churches

By | Jan 22, 2016 | 8 min read

Whether you want to do some basic photo editing, create an image for social media, or design a better church newsletter, there are many tools available. But if your church's budget for graphic design is small, don't worry! There are dozens of wonderful tools available for free or for far less than industry standards such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. Here are seven great apps or web-based tools to check out.

Sales, Giveaways & Fun Stuff

Free Church Icons

By | Nov 19, 2015 | 1 min read

We developed these icons to help Aboundant users build out their Beliefs pages on their website, but they're free to you when you subscribe to our e-newsletter. As usual, NO SPAM - we promise! Instead you'll get helpful tips on how to build and maintain a great web...

Featured

12 Top Digital Ministry Experts You Should Know

By | Oct 13, 2015 | 7 min read

One of the best ways to grow in your skill as a digital disciple is to learn from others who are using innovative, creative, and tech-savvy methods in their ministry. In August of this year, Aboundant asked you to nominate persons you know who are effective digital ministers. Nominations continue to be accepted, but we'd like to introduce you to some of the incredible people who were nominated.

Content

How to Strengthen Your Church Blog by Studying Others’ Posts

By | Sep 14, 2015 | 11 min read

What does a blog post about email apps have to do with the blog on your church website? By studying blogs carefully you can learn a tremendous amount of information useful for setting up your church blog and turning it into an effective ministry tool. Let's walk through a terrific post on Zapier.com together as an example of how to do this yourself. As you read, take note of any elements you need to change in your own church blog.

Content

The Top 10 Pages Your Church Website Must Have

By | Sep 4, 2015 | 4 min read

A couple years ago, Aboundant surveyed a group of pastors, lay persons, and church administrators about the difficulties they have experienced in launching a new church website. The number one answer was not the cost of a website or the know-how necessary to create it. Instead, the challenge most often expressed was time. In our follow up we found that "time" was often expressed in one of three ways: The time it takes to create and manage the site, the time it takes to train volunteers, and the time it takes to figure out how best to organize your site. This post addresses that last time-related concern: how to organize your site by using the top ten pages your church should have.

Church Websites

What Should You Pay for a Church Website: The Hidden Costs

By | Jul 10, 2015 | 6 min read

You might think that church websites would be so ubiquitous that a relatively standardized price would have evolved over time. The truth is, though, that there are just too many factors to consider. In this series of articles, I'll talk about the various costs of a church website. While the stated prices can vary widely, I want to focus in this time on the hidden costs you won't find on a sales page and how you can avoid or minimize them.

Theology and Technology

Skype, Mobilegeddon, and Stained Glass Windows

By | Jun 26, 2015 | 11 min read

Many churches struggle with becoming proficient at digital ministry. This is a slightly revised version of a 3-part article series written for my own congregation's newsletter. Screens are going to be installed soon in our sanctuary (finally!) and I wrote these articles to help those in my church to think a bit more deeply about screens than simply, "I love them" or "I hate them." I've added content here and there for this post to reflect the concerns and challenges of many congregations around technology.

contemporary church worship space with two screens
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