10 Uses of QR Codes for the Church
QR codes are growing in rapidly in usage in large part due to the cultural adoption of smartphones. QR codes have been around for a long time, but the smartphone makes the codes highly usable. QR codes are basically links to content. This content can live on the internet or in the case of text, the content can be imbedded within the code itself. You can use a QR code to direct people to a variety of content: Text Hyperlink Browser bookmark Contact information (like a vcard) Calendar event Email address Phone number SMS Geo locations...
read moreWhat Every Church Planter Should Know
If you read this blog, you know I believe strongly in the Church Planting Movement and that church planting is one of the best ways to open up more seats for the Gospel. Church Planters are faced with a unique set of challenges – mobile ministry, fundraising, creating ownership amongst their volunteers, creating momentum for survival, self-propelled leadership and building something from nothing. That’s why, every time I have a chance to meet with, coach or provide resources to church planters, I do. One new resource I’m excited about is...
read moreThe Church Planting Supersite
I just learned about a new resource for church planters. It’s the church planting supersite at www.churchplantingsupersite.com. It’s billed as the ultimate gateway to all things church planting. It has three main resource sections. Directory of vendors and service providers for just about anything you need for church planting from Bible Study to marketing to coaching. It’s not exhaustive but its a great start for such a new site. Free Stuff. All planters love free stuff. Unfortunately this area is empty so far....
read moreChurch Planting Fundamentals
Championship teams in sports are always great at the fundamentals. Right now all over the country kids are being coached in the fundamentals of football. Every team starts the season out with an emphasis on these fundamentals. So what are the fundamentals of church planting? At Stadia, we measure 5 key vitals of church planting, or the fundamentals. Team Players. Commonly called a launch team, Stadia classifies team players as being people 16 or older who are actively serving in a ministry role and/or giving financially. For...
read moreVault Conference: A Unique Church Planting Experience
The Vault Conference is coming up soon and its a church planting experience you don’t want to miss. Vince Antonucci has planted two churches. Most recently he planted Verve Church in Las Vegas. Not on the edge on Vegas or in a Vegas burb but right on the strip. Vince is a hard core evangelist and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning from him over the years. Here’s the details on the event. If you can make it, you should go. Vault will bring you deep inside the thinking and methods Vince Antonucci and Verve Church use in...
read moreChurch Planting Resource: Square Card Reader
What’s the easiest way to accept credit card payments in a mobile setup? Square. Chances are you’ve seen it. It’s a small square attachment for your iOS or Android device that allows you to swipe credit cards for mobile payments. The concept is so simple the Square website only needs one page to describe it. Fees are very reasonable at 2.75% of each transaction. Compare that to Paypal which is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. I could easily see this replacing the offering tray in many churches and that the very...
read moreChurch Planting Recommended Reading
One question frequently asked is what should I read if I’m planting a church. Here are some of my reccomendations: All About Church Planting: Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer. This book is not for the faint at heart. It’s long and theological. If you can be disciplined to read it, you will find the book to be very valuable. Ed brings the wisdom of scholar with common sense of a practitioner together in this book. Church Planting from the Ground Up by Tom Jones. This book covers a lot of the basic categories...
read moreChurch Planting Resource: Video Blocks
Video Blocks is a royalty free stock video footage site. They offer backgrounds loops, special effects and stock footage. Church planters could use the footage for video editing, background loops for worship songs, websites, and I’m sure many more things you creative types would think up. The footage is all royalty free and they regularly add content. They offer a free 7 day trial where you can download up to 20 clips a day from their library of 30,000 clips. Not bad for free. The service normally costs $79 a month. While...
read moreChurch Planting Resource: Church Unique Visual Summary
Church Unique is a fantastic book for church planters to read as they begin to develop the vision for the church plant. I’ve posted a review of the book before and included my notes from the book. The book will help you focus your vision, help you understand how to better reach your community, how to develop your mission, values, strategy and metrics, and how to say no to ministry opportunities that aren’t a fit. It’s really good stuff. For detail guys like me, the book is a great resource. But if you hate to read and...
read moreChurch Planting Resource: Pixlr
Maybe I’m late to the game and everyone already knows about Pixlr, but I just found it a couple of weeks ago and had to share. Pixlr is an online image editor with a feature set that blows other online editors out of the water. It’s basically like a lite version of Photoshop. The best part is its FREE! I’m not proficient with Photoshop, and I was still able to go in and quickly figure out how to do some photo editing with Pixlr. For church planters on a tight budget (I know that’s redundant) this is a great...
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