MinistryTech Online

OK – I apologize to the Windows users out there, but today’s tip is for MAC users only.

The latest version of Logos 4 for MAC has added a great new feature for MAC users. You can now cut and paste Bible passages from Logos into any program that uses the Services menu from MAC OSX – all you have to do is update your Logos if you haven’t already (type Update Now in the Command Box), then you need to turn the feature on in the MAC OS.

Open System Preferences and select Keyboard. Select Keyboard Shortcuts at the top of the dialogue box and Services in the right hand column. Scroll down the list and select Copy Bible Verses and Replace with Passage. Note the keyboard shortcuts for each, this will help later. Once these are checked you can close System Preferences.

Now open a document in Pages or MS Word for MAC (it should also work in Keynote, PowerPoint and other programs as well). Type a passage reference in the document, then select it by clicking and dragging. Once selected, you can use the keyboard shortcuts (shift+command+J to copy that verse text to the clipboard, or shift+command+E to replace the reference with the Bible text). You can also use the Services Menu provided to access these keyboard commands.

Now, basically anywhere you can type a verse and need to paste the text in, you can use the universal keyboard shortcuts provided and you are off and pasting.

IMPORTANT NOTE  for MAC users who are running Logos 4 for Windows in Fusion or Parallels – This feature has a bug right now that when invoked, tries to open the Windows version to do the copy and paste even if you have the MAC version installed as well. Logos is aware of the bug and is working on the fix.

This is a bit of a different post. Many of you know that I teach a course at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver on Ministry Technologies. This post is to see which of my current students have been paying attention. If they have, they will be able to find this post and download the Study Guide I have attached here to help them prepare for the Midterm exam they have next week. If they have subscribed to this blog using Google Reader they shouldn’t have any trouble spotting it. Fun huh?

STUDENTS: – If you find this, remember that you may not tell any other students about it directly. You may post a link on Facebook or Twitter to help others find this, but that’s it. Happy studying!

DOWNLOAD STUDY GUIDE HERE

Lifeway Research just released a new survey (two actually) on the use of websites and social media by churches. Over 1000 “protestant” congregations were included in the survey. The first report addressed churches use of websites. Here are some of the basic findings:

WEBSITE USAGE

• 78% have a website
• Less than half use their website for interactive purposes
• 43% get and distribute prayer requests from members
• 39% for registering people for events and activities
• 91% provide information to potential visitors (although the survey doesn’t specify what type of information. I would think worship times and driving directions would be enough to qualify as a yes here)
• 79% provide information for the congregation
• 57% use their website to encourage increased attendance and involvement
• 52% solicit interest or volunteer opportunities

How often these churches update information on their websites was also addressed.

• 40% update information once a week
• 15% update more than once a week
• 42% update once a month or less
• 7% update their website once a year or less (yikes!)

Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research stated, “Many churches are using their website like a Yellow Pages ad characterized by basic information and infrequent updates. This is in sharp contrast with churches that use their website like a bustling church receptionist registering people for upcoming events, collecting prayer requests and obtaining volunteers”

SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

A second survey addressed churches use of social media tools. Here are some basic statistic reported from that survey:

• 47% of churches actively use Facebook
• 40% do not use any social networking tools at all

The size of the church and its location dramatically affect the use of social media tools:

• 81% of congregations with 500 or more (avg. worship attendance) use social media tools
• 27% of congregations with 49 or less use it
• 49% with 50-99 attendees, 46% with 100-199 attendees, and 56% with 200-499 attendees use Facebook as well
• 57% of suburban and 54% of large-city churches use Facebook
• 46% of small-city congregations and 39% of rural churches are on Facebook

Some interesting numbers are reported as to who these churches are trying to reach on Facebook.

• 73% use social networking for interacting with the congregation
• 70% for distributing news and information in an “outbound only” manner
• 52% for fostering member-to-member interaction
• 41% for managing the congregation’s ministry groups
• 62% use social networking to interact with individuals outside the congregation

Curtis Simmons, vice president for marketing and community at Fellowship Technologies stated;
“Social networking tools have become an integral part of most people’s daily lives and relationships. If churches desire to connect with their congregation and community in meaningful ways, then they need to establish a strategy for actively engaging in the social media conversation. Thousands of individuals are sharing support and encouragement through these tools. The church needs to be an active participant in these conversations and connections.”

Additionally, 1000 “pastors” were surveyed with nearly half (46%) personally using Facebook, 16% using a personal blog and 6% using Twitter. 84% use email to send information to groups.

These surveys confirm that many churches are reaching out through these digital technologies. Is your congregation taking advantage of today’s tools to expand its audience and reach more people with the gospel? If so share with us what you are doing and how you are doing it.

A recent trip to Atlanta to visit family for the holidays was the first major test for my new VirginMobile MiFi device. We were visiting my wife’s mother and she had no Internet connection in the house. So for six days, two families with kids (young teens no less) all equipped with Internet capable devices put the MiFi through it’s paces. The most frequent users we’re laptops (both MAC and PC), iPhones, iPod Touches, and my iPad.

There was no noticeable difference between connecting any of the these devices. The Mifi itself is the size of a 1/4 inch thick credit card. You simply power it up and in roughly 10-15 seconds a wifi signal can be seen on the device you are trying to connect. As advertised, the is a 5 device limit for access. The only issues we discovered all week seemed to be related to exceeding this limit. When 5 devices are already connected, trying to log in a new one results in a “connection timed out” error. As soon as one device was turned off or disconnected, another was able to connect without issue. This did bring up one issue. Once you sign an iPod or iPhone the connection stays active. A number of times we had to ask the kids to turn their wifi connection off on their iPods to make room for adults using laptops.

The other issue that came up involved the downloading of apps. Armed with new iTunes gift cards received as Christmas gifts, the kids started the downloading frenzy. I was immediately thankful for Virgin Mobile’s unlimited data use plan. For $40, you purchase 30 days of unlimited data without a contract. I haven’t checked the actual data use yet, but I am confident that we got out money’s worth out of this month’s fee. It should be noted also, that iPods and iPhones balk at downloading any app over 20MB in size unless you are connected to a wifi signal. Since the MiFi creates a wifi spot through the Sprint 3G network, these large apps did not want to download to these devices and large downloads even from laptops didn’t work well.

All in all I was very impressed with the MiFi 2200′s performance. We left it available almost 24 hours a day during the week. By leaving it plugged into AC power we never had battery issues. It works great at both airports during our waits to board planes and I and happy that I don’t have any ongoing monthly costs.

If you are looking for a mobile wifi hot spot, the VirginMobile MiFi 2200 should get a serious look. I LOVE IT!