Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; we can help.

FREE, legal music tracks for your videos and podcasts

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ccmixterIt isn't easy finding truly FREE music  that is legal for your videos and podcasts. Though this site does not have a lot of specifically Christian music it does have many instrumentals that can be used in videos and podcasts. In addition, it is one of the most honest, easy-to-use, free music sites I've looked at.

Below is a short video that shows how easy it is to select, download and give proper credit to the songs you choose. This is the site I used for the music for the POWTOON video I created . I simply downloaded the music from ccmixter and imported it into the POWTOON file. I copied the attribution and put it in the YouTube video file and on my website. Super easy--I may try putting music on some more of my videos in the future.

Here is the site: http://dig.ccmixter.org/

Fun and FREE Illustration creation software

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This is a situation where I had so much fun playing around with this, I couldn't wait to share it--even though I don't know very much about it. This software, POWTOON is still in beta, but it is very easy to play around with and allows you to create some sketch-like presentations without actually having to draw anything. It would be great for church announcements.

One bothersome thing--it has a pretty obnoxious credit ending--that you can pay to get rid of. If you decide to use it frequently, you definitely want to do that.

Below is the short video I created with it.


CLICK HERE for more information on the program.

Play around and have some fun with it!

Attribution for the music:

"heavenly harp" by Tomas PhUsIoN
http://ccmixter.org/files/phusion/34462
is licensed under a Creative Commons license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Linotype, the Film…..or how typesetting was done before computers

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Typography is a topic of almost endless fascination to many of us who love words and work hard to craft our messages. Though our message is unchanging, during my lifetime the methods for communicating this message have changed dramatically. One part of the history of type has recently been made into a movie and one of the ECC readers sent me this fantastic movie trailer about Linotype machines, which were extraordinary for their time in how they were able to cast an entire line of type rather than a typesetter having to assemble them letter by letter.

Take a minute to enjoy it. The brief material and link below the movie tell you more about it.

More about the film from the website:

Linotype: The Film is a feature-length documentary centered around the Linotype type casting machine. Called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by Thomas Edison, it revolutionized printing and society. The film tells the charming and emotional story of the people connected to the Linotype and how it impacted the world.
The Linotype (pronounced "line-o-type") completely transformed the communication of information similarly to how the internet is now changing communication again.

Although these machines were revolutionary, technology began to supersede the Linotype and they were scrapped and melted-down by the thousands. Today, very few machines are still in existence.

The highly-skilled operators of the Linotype are in a battle against time. If their skills are not passed along to a new generation of operators, the machine will die completely. There is a small group of former operators that want to save the Linotype from the scrap yard, but some see this as a fruitless endeavor.

What place does the Linotype have in the age of new technology? Should the machine be shoved into a museum and left to rust? Why should anyone care about typography or the technology of communication? The film seeks to answer these questions.

For more about the film, go to: http://www.linotypefilm.com/

Video: How I create training videos–software, process, tips

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Over the last few years I've created over 100 videos on a variety of topics to help church communicators. I get great feedback from many of you on how much they help and in addition to that I've had a number of requests for questions on how I do them.  Several church communicators have suggested that this type of video would be great to do to help church volunteers learn various tasks and I agree.

The video below is an overview of the software I use, my process and some tips. If you have additional questions or if you do this and want to share your video or ideas, PLEASE put them in the COMMENT section below on this website--that way everyone can see your comment or question and my answer.

HD Video Version for Effective Church Communication Members

The video below is a higher resolution and is suitable for large screen and projection viewing. These options are for ECC Members only. For information on how to  become an ECC Member, CLICK HERE.

 

 

Mobile Check-in–a new way to accommodate the needs of young families

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Children's checkin
Make your children's ministry check-in a service and not a bother for parents--check out this system for how.

The church management software company, By the Book. has stepped into the digital age in a big way with their new way of checking in children at church with any mobile device. Here is how they describe it:

Imagine deploying your volunteers throughout your church building, armed with iPads or smartphones ready to check folks in.  Then by the time those same folks walk over to the  printing station, their name tags and security tags are already printed and waiting for them.  Do you have a bus ministry?  Now you can check those kids in as soon as they hop on the bus.  When they get to the church, their name tags are there waiting for them.  Well, this is now available using Roll Call Mobile CheckIn.

What a great way to minister to the tech-savvy families attending your church! It may seem like a little thing, but when so many churches want to meet the needs of young families, a system like this shows you are willing to go the extra mile to accommodate their life-style needs with the systems in your church. We communicate to visitors in many ways and a system like this communicates you want to meet needs.

Below is a video that illustrates the system and following that a press-release with lots more information about it:

 

Unshackle Your Children’s Ministry with Mobile Check In Church Software

Mobilize Your Children’s Check In Routine Using iPad®, Tablets, and Smartphones with Roll Call Mobile CheckIn

BYRON, IL., July 26, 2012– Keeping children secure through the use of a computerized children’s check in system is a prerequisite for nearly all children’s ministries. By the Book has taken children’s check in a step further to provide churches with ultimate flexibility by offering Roll Call Mobile Check In, which allows churches to use iPads, tablets, and smartphones for kid’s check in procedures.

“We feel the mobile check in option will give the church the ultimate in flexibility in how they do children’s check in,” says Kim Conley, co-owner of By the Book, software for churches and nonprofits.“Roll Call Mobile CheckIn allows the church to deploy volunteers throughout their facility to check families into classes or even worship services.”

Imagine a church that offers a bus ministry: Armed with an iPad that has 3G capability, the volunteer could check in kids as soon as they arrive on the bus and have name tags printed and waiting for them upon arrival at church.

The Roll Call dashboard will give ministry workers real time headcounts so the children’s ministry leader will know right away if any classes are getting too full or if they need to enlist more volunteers.

“They’ll also be able to check in visitors right from the mobile device and even walk them to the appropriate classroom if they’d like,” adds Conley.

“This children’s check in system has been the easiest out of any I have used. I love the ability to grow with more computers, tablets, or key cards as our ministry expands,” comments Angela C. from Summit Ridge Church.

Children’s Check In/Out Process

The child check in system in Roll Call allows users to check students into their classes, record attendance, and print nametags and security labels. With Mobile CheckIn, volunteers can check students in using a mobile device by looking up last name or last four digits of their phone number, then print labels at a centralized print station. To check students out simply compare the security code on the child’s name tag with the security code on the parent tag.

Technology Specifications

In order to run Roll Call Mobile CheckIn, churches will need to have Roll Call church management software installed on at least one computer. This computer must be running Windows Pentium 4 (minimum) or Mac (Intel) OSX 5.8 or greater. More details on technical specifications can be found here.

Churches will also need a mobile device such as an iPad, tablet, or smartphone that can connect wirelessly to their local network. If using the mobile device outside of local network, that device must be able to access the internet through a 3G or 4G network. If churches will be checking students in from outside the church’s local area network, they will need a fixed IP address for the Roll Call Server machine.

About By the Book

Founded in 2002, By the Book (http://www.bythebook.com) offers robust desktop and internet accessible church and nonprofit management software. Roll Call Church Management Software meets the needs of churches from small to large through membership management, attendance monitoring, visitor follow up, contribution tracking, and background check management. Roll Call Child CheckIn and Mobile CheckIn add on solutions offer churches peace of mind by securing children through PCs or mobile devices. Honor Roll Fundraising Software offers nonprofits complete donor management tools, pledge tracking, and contact management. Free trials are available of all of By the Book’s software offerings. Email, call, or sign up today: info@bythebook.com or 1-800-554-9116 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 1-800-554-9116 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Press release from: Lauren Hunter, http://churchtechtoday.com/