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MinistryTech.com | December 2015 1
3 EDITORIAL Do young people understand how the Internet works?
16 FEATURE Technology, Christmas gifts, and keeping kids safe
19 HIGHER POWER WITH KEVIN Best tablet and smartphone for Bible study
24 STARTUP Ethos
27 MINISTRY COMMUNICATION 6 Communication strategies for Christmas
29 NICK AT CHURCH Serpents & doves
PARTNER ARTICLES
7 MINISTRY LEADERSHIP How do you know you are really making disciples that last?
10 PROTECTED WITH PURPOSE Keeping your battery charged
14 DEEPER IMPACT The difference between an opinion and knowledge
COVER STORY
THE e-GIVING GAPA Comprehensive New Churchgoer Survey
By Steve Hewitt4
December 2015CONTENTSFOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEFSteve Hewitt [email protected]
EDITORKevin [email protected]
CONTRIBUTING EDITORSYvon Prehn Nick Nicholaou Kevin A. Purcell Russ McGuire
COPY EDITOR
Rachael Mitchell
OUTREACH INC.5550 Tech Center Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80919Phone: (800)-991-6011
Ministry Tech® is a registered trademark of Outreach, Inc. Written materials submitted to Ministry Tech® Magazine become the property of Outreach, Inc. upon receipt and may not necessarily be returned. Ministry Tech® Magazine reserves the right to make any changes to materials submitted for publication that are deemed necessary
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MinistryTech.com | December 2015 3
Do young people really understand how the Internet works?
Financial Times released a study that revealed that young people may know less than we think about how the Internet works. Granted, the Internet was created as a way of accessing information. However, things have changed, and it seems that most information posted online is designed to generate revenue. This revenue is not even about selling a product for a price, but in many cases it is about gathering any information about you that can be obtained, and then selling this to someone to help them to market even more things. They no longer want to know your name and address, but rather where you go every day, what you look at, what you eat, what you think, etc.
Most young people today don’t realize the deceptive nature of things on the Internet. The study released shows that only 1/3 of those between the ages of 12-25 could show you which of the results from a Google search were adverts and not really legitimate results of their search. One in five stated that all information returned by search engines must be true. You would think that this should be true, but, again, the Internet is no longer about providing, retrieving and finding information, it is about money, sales, spying and marketing.
Almost half of young people surveyed in the study did not know that YouTube was now advertisement based, yet most young people said that YouTube is their number one source for information. Overall, young people between the ages of 12-15 now spend almost 3 hours a day online, which is more time than they spend watching TV. There is a lot of government oversight to patrol how television is allowed to market to our young people, but laws and regulations are very behind when it comes to the Internet.
And, of course, most young people are not aware of how recurring billing works. To read the article on Financial Times, I had to pay $1, plus I had to give out a lot of personal information as well as a credit card. The fine print states that if I don’t log back in after I finish writing this editorial, after three days Financial Times will charge my account for a full subscription. Few things are sold on the Internet without a lot of fine print. I hope our young people figure all of this out soon!
Together We Serve Him,
Steve [email protected]
FRO
M T
HE
EDITOR
MinistryTech.com | December 20154
By Steve Hewitt
December is the most giving time of the year for churches, so we were interested in learning about comprehensive new churchgoer research
conducted by Vanco Payment Solutions — a leader in the electronic giving market since 1998. The research shows a significant giving gap between churches and their members who would prefer to support the church through online, smartphone and other electronic payment options. We sat down with CEO Kevin Lee to discuss the early findings and key takeaways of the survey.
How and when was this survey conducted?
We surveyed 1,002 U.S. Christian churchgoers online over two weeks in August, focusing on their attitudes, preferences and behaviors toward giving. Participants were picked from a national panel of adults over 18 years old. To make the pool represen-tative of the overall U.S. population, it was controlled for age, gender, house-hold income and religious denomi-nation. Qualifying participants said they had attended church at least once, and had contributed money to their church at least once, in the past 12 months.
Why undertake a survey this large?We saw a need for authoritative
and comprehensive research on how churchgoers view electronic giving methods. We could see in our own data, as well as data from our part-ners, that e-Giving was growing, but we wanted to understand the drivers behind that growth.
Churches need to know how their members feel about giving so they can offer the methods that will best support their mission. We’re always working to provide churches with the most updated strategies, tools and data so they can make informed de-cisions about their stewardship.
THE e-GIVING GAPA C o m p re h e n s i v e N e w C h u rc h g o e r S u r v e y
COVER STORY
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 5
We released an Early Find-ings Report to the marketplace in early November. We wanted to let churches know in time for their big-gest giving season that they could better connect with members by providing them the giving methods they want.
What was your key takeaway?Many churches are not keeping
up with how their members want to fulfill pledges or make payments for other activities, events and school tuition. The survey revealed a signif-icant giving gap between how mem-bers want to give and the methods their churches offer.
Overall, two to four times as many churchgoers would give elec-tronically if they could. Only 25 per-cent of churchgoers in the survey reported that their churches offered electronic giving options, but 60 percent either are using e-Giving now or would use it if it were offered.
The rest preferred traditional giving methods, which include giv-ing in person by cash or check, or mailing in a check to their church. And while some church members may always want to give through traditional means, more and more churchgoers no longer carry cash or checkbooks and are asking for other avenues to give.
Churches have been passing the plate during services since the 1800s, but the plate or basket is be-coming a symbol of giving instead of the way members prefer to give. Our research indicates that many churchgoers are eagerly waiting for their churches to catch up techno-logically and add more electronic options so they can donate to their
churches the same way they pay for bills and services or donate to other organizations.
What does the survey say about specific giving methods?
The churchgoers surveyed were asked to rank the top three ways they would most like to give, re-gardless of the options their church offers today. They were also asked, “What options does your church have for you to make monetary con-tributions?” The survey responses are from churchgoers, not church-es, so these findings represent the percentage of churchgoers who say their church provides each option.
Seventeen percent of church-goers said they have the option to make a recurring donation through a credit card, but twice as many (34 percent) said they would give with a credit card if they could.
While only 7 percent listed text giving as an option provided by their church, 29 percent listed it as a preferred giving method, so de-mand is high.
Churchgoers listed kiosk giving as the option least offered by their churches (6 percent), but 22 percent in the survey listed it as a preferred option.
Almost twice as many (or 22 percent) would prefer to give by smartphone — by text, mobile app or mobile web browser — but only 12 percent say they have the option.
What would churches find most surprising in the survey results?
The highest demand for e-Giv-ing options comes from people who participate in at least two or more church groups or activities.
This counters the perception many churches have that e-Giving is not important to core members, but a tool to help occasional or absent members give more conveniently.
Active members who attend two or more activities per week, includ-ing church services, prefer e-Giving the most. The survey found that overall 60 percent of respondents give electronically, or would if they had the option, but that percentage is higher for members who partic-ipate in leadership or committee roles (70 percent), or have children involved in activities like Sunday school (67 percent), after-school activities (76 percent) and in youth sports (80 percent).
Helping inactive members keep up with their pledges is a valu-able benefit of electronic giving for churches and their members, but the survey shows it may not be the most important reason. Churches can also connect with their most
“Overall, two to four times as many churchgoers would give electronically if they could.”
MinistryTech.com | December 20156
engaged members through faster, more convenient ways to give.
What does the survey say about seniors and electronic giving?
Millennials and younger mem-bers are leading the way, but they’re not the only ones driving demand. The survey results show a clear preference for e-Giving options among regular churchgoers of all ages. Younger churchgoers who have grown up with the Internet as a normal part of their lives are more likely to want to give electronically, but the difference between that age group and others isn’t as large as you might think.
Preference for e-Giving was highest for the youngest respon-dents with only a 4 percent differ-ence between the 24-34 (79 per-cent) and 35-44 (75 percent) age groups. But those aren’t the only ages to significantly favor e-Giving — 50 percent of churchgoers aged 45-54 and 55-65 expressed a pref-erence for e-Giving, and almost 40 percent of seniors aged 66-72 said they would prefer to give electron-ically.
We’ve seen anecdotal evidence that seniors will embrace e-Giving when given the opportunity, and that they’re more tech-savvy than they’re often given credit for, but these results put to rest miscon-ceptions that seniors as a group are too conservative or traditional to give electronically.
What information will be added to the full report and when will it be available?
We intend to release the full report in January 2016. It will have
additional insights about church-goers’ preferences, attitudes and perceptions about church giving. Findings will include the most prevalent motivations for church giving, current attitudes toward e-Giving, as well as communica-tion and technology preferences. We’ll share meaningful correla-tions between age, church en-gagement, income levels, giving preferences and behaviors.
What’s the advantage of start-ing an e-Giving program now?
This is the most important giving season for churches. There is still time to get in alignment with member preferences in
time for Christmas giving. Ac-tive members, whether they’re in attendance or away for the holi-days, can fulfill their year-end giving plans simply and securely through e-Giving. And, occasion-al members or holiday visitors can have a convenient way to express their generosity through elec-tronic options. We make getting started with e-Giving easy for churches, and provide coaching and success strategies. Churches who move now to solve the giving gap can help regular members and holiday churchgoers fulfill their intentions to give.
Contact our experienced team to learn moreconnect.vancopayments.com/holidaygiving | 800-675-7430
Get started with e-Giving for Christmas
This is the most important giving season, and there’s still time for churches to o� er
members the electronic options they prefer for Christmas giving.
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 7
How do you know you arereally making disciples that last?
Real discipleship is hard. You need every idea, tool and all the help you can get. You need a really practical strategy that gives next steps, fills the gaps people normally fall
through, a solid teaching process and measurable accountability.
What can really help is a single platform tool for your whole church to use. A tool both your staff and congregation will want to use because it is easy, intuitive and totally mobile. It must be a tool that can inform, connect and even multiply your ministry in ways that save you time without becomeing burdensome to an already overworked church staff. You need a real ministry helper. You need Realm Pathways.
Pathways is a compelling, leading-edge feature of Realm from ACS Technologies. Realm Pathways provides the framework that moves people through the processes that make both them and your church stronger. Pathways are customizable and provide the communication platform that churches need to help people fit into the organization. Making disciples is what it’s all about. And Realm’s Pathways help people close the gaps between what they’ve planned to happen and what actually happens in their journey of giving, volunteering and growing.
In fact, they are so useful, we’ve identified five particular ways that Realm Pathways can help your ministry. 1. Strategy. Creating a Pathway forces churches to
think strategically and put their plans on paper. Scripture says that without a vision people perish. Pathways holds the answers you’ve found from the problems your church faces. How do people become members? How do they get involved in small groups? What happens with visitors? How can people start serving in the youth ministry? How does someone come to lead a small group?
2. Providing Direction. Realm provides leaders with reminders and updates every time they log in. It’s like a living to-do list of kingdom ministry. They can see who people are and where they are in the organization. They see where they are in the Pathways and what steps they, as leaders, need to take to help others move along.
3. Filling the Gaps. Pathways set up in Realm help
By Michael Jordan
MINISTRY LEADERSHIP
MinistryTech.com | December 20158
leadership find and fill the gaps people fall through. If people continually get caught in one place of your process, you can fix this area or review the whole process. Maybe people are bottlenecking in the “training” step of your pathway. This may result from a failure of the leader providing the training, the time the training is offered or the communication of the training.
4. Teaching Processes. You will hire new staff members and appoint new leaders. They will need to be trained to do ministry the way you do. The Pathways you’ve set up in Realm are easy to communicate and easy to understand. Leaders will know the ways things get done because they are in Realm for them to see. New leaders will implement things faster and ministry will be more stable because your pathways communicate your processes.
5. Accountability. Pathways hold people accountable for completing a process and they hold staff and leadership accountable for walking people through the process. Realm allows churches to assign each part of the process to a specific leader. For instance, a potential children’s worker may need to walk through the following pathway.
Application—>Interview—> Background Check—> Background Check Review—> Assistantship—> Training—> Teacher—> Coordinator.
MINISTRY
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 9
At every step of the way, Realm is there for you with guidance through Pathways. It’s powerful, informative, easy to use and comfortably helpful. There is so much to making disciples that last. Pathways is one way to help you just a little more in doing it right.
Realm’s benefits go way beyond pathways. Realm is a true whole-church solution that is optimized for the convenience of all users, both staff and congregation. For giving, groups, contributions, dashboard reports, engagement, and much more, it gives you secure access to your data, is easy to use, and makes your info usable from any device. This includes Macs, PCs, mobile phones, or tablets. Totally cloud. Totally secure. Totally there for you 24/7.
Learn more about how Realm can help you do real ministry in new and meaningful ways by requesting a personal demo at www.realmchurch.com.
MINISTRY
MinistryTech.com | December 201510
Keeping Your Battery Charged
I’ve taken numerous business trips to the San Francisco area over the years; however, this would be our first business travel to the Los Angeles region. And because this was new territory and a family friendly conference, we made the decision to travel together as a family. I will say that the conference provided me (and my family) an opportunity to temporarily get away from the norm, and it re-energized my passion and appreciation for my job and the talents God has given me to share with the world.
Now, that being said, the re-charging of the soul was slightly delayed. I am a person who likes direct flights, but sometimes given the Departing and Arriving airports, it simply isn’t possible. This was one such case…we had a connection in Denver with a small layover. Our flight took off on time (5:00 AM EST), however, when our plane was 70 miles out from reaching our Denver destination, the flight attendant alerted us to the fact that there was dense fog at the Denver airport and that our plane would be doing
“donuts” in the sky until the fog lifted. Two hours later (Yes, two hours later!), the flight attendant made a new announcement that our plane only had about 20 more minutes of fuel (Yikes!), so the fog either need to lift within the next five minutes or we were going to be re-directed to the Colorado Springs airport to re-fuel. (Is anyone else hyper-ventilating?) Praise the Lord we eventually landed in Denver. Every passenger’s connections on the entire plane had been missed, and we were told that the quickest route to Orange County was for our family of five to board a new plane (headed to San Jose: Northern California), hangout for a 3 hour layover and then hop on an express jet to head to our final destination. To say it was a long day of travel is an understatement (arrived after 7PM PST), but the important thing is that we got there safe.
As I mentioned, my wife and three children (age 8 and under) accompanied me on this trip. My wife is amazing at preparing “things to do” to keep the kids busy and happy on flights (i.e. School work, travel
By Steven SundermeierPURPOSE
Protected With
I think we all get to the point, at times, where daily life can feel a bit repetitive as we go about our normal routines. Given that (and the fact that we experienced our first snow during last weekend’s
soccer games), when an opportunity arose for Thirtyseven4 to sponsor a major church/technology event in Southern California, I immediately saw the personal…eerrr professional benefits! I knew it was a fit for our business, and my soul needed a little Cali sunshine. I was all in.
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 11
surprises—have you seen those “blink watches”?, tiny crafts and of course markers and crayons.) And though we try our best to keep it at minimum, plane activities for the kids (especially in desperate situations) can include mobile devices, and as you know it may seem impossible at times to keep those gadgets juiced. With minutes turning into hours, and hours morphing into many more hours, planned activities dry up, and school work is finished. My article this month will focus on getting the most out of your smartphone battery in case a situation like our west-bound flight happens to you. As much as we all hate to admit it, sometimes these devices come into handy.
Before we begin, I think it is important to differentiate between two common terms regarding smartphone batteries: Battery Life and Battery Lifespan. Battery Life can be thought of as how long a device can work on a single charge before needing recharged. Battery Lifespan is how long your device battery lasts until it dies or needs to be replaced.
Let’s start with some obvious performance suggestions to maximize your devices Battery Life- 1. Turn down the Brightness of your screen. The brighter the screen, the more drain on your battery. 2. Utilize a Wi-Fi connection rather than your device carrier’s data plan when possible, as accessing data over your cellular network increases the strain on a battery opposed to a Wi-Fi connection. However, please note past articles, where we outlined security risks of keeping
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The new, integrated web form designer simplifi es small group and ministry sign-ups, prayer requests, event registrations, and more! The drag-and-drop interface allows your church to easily create an unlimited number of custom forms and accept payments, including timed and volume discounts.
Learn more about this new feature of ELEXIO DATABASE on Elexio.com today!
PURPOSEProtected With
MinistryTech.com | December 201512
a Wi-Fi connection available on public locations. 3. Make sure that high-usage, power draining apps that utilize GPS, etc. are turned off when not in use. There have been times when I use an app like Maps for navigation, arrive at my target designation and forget to turn the app off. 4. Avoid using or storing your device in extreme temperatures. Research has shown that mobile devices work best and at peak performance at temperatures ranging from 32 F to 95 F. I understand that sometimes, especially during harsh Ohio winters or even an October weekend in Orange County (can you believe temperatures topped 104 degrees for two days of our visit to Cali!), that isn’t always possible. But when applicable, having your device in a safe temperature zone will certainly help preserve your battery. 5. Lastly, while it may seem like a hassle and ‘one more thing to do’, installing manufacturer suggested upgrades can help as well, as the upgrade may include energy saving / performance updates integrated within the upgrade. Btw- Many of the manufacturers of mobile devices now
incorporate a ‘Low Power Mode’ or similar feature. This type of feature will automatically do many of the things (i.e. brightness, turning off some app functionality, etc.) listed above for the user to conserve battery life.
With the general performance tips covered, let’s move on to maybe some not so obvious methods for maximizing both Battery Life and Battery Lifespan. Let’s first start with the idea of “convenience” over “long term health”. Let me explain what I mean by this regarding our mobile device battery…how many of us after a long hard day (and I am totally guilty of this one!) plug in our phones right before we call it a night so that by the next morning the phone is fully charged and ready to go? Did you know that leaving a mobile device continually plugged in after it has reached a full charge can (and often times will) shorten the overall Battery Lifespan? The complication here is that when the battery reaches a full charge it continually receives small dose electric charges keeping it at 100%. These tiny charges place excess and unnecessary stress on the battery of the device. My son found this out the hard way as it occurred not with a smartphone but with his Wii U GamePad. Excessive charging damages batteries.
Keeping with the idea of “convenience” over “long term health”, another sure way to limit your Battery Lifespan goes hand in hand with the plugging in your battery at night- that is- waiting until the end of the day to first begin your battery charging process when the battery charge has dipped below 10%. While it may be inconvenient to continually plug in your phone at short intervals through the day, it will save life on your battery. Many times we wait until the charge has dropped below the 10% mark or even more detrimental the 5% mark. Charging a battery from these extremely low levels up to 100% is very harmful to the battery. Instead don’t wait until the battery is about dead before charging. Charge the battery at intervals throughout the day and disconnect the charge before it hits the 100% fully charged mark.
And finally, in addition to everything else mentioned, you could also invest in a couple power banks to have on-hand to keep your devices charged. But in the end, it is also one more thing to remember, to plug-in (…and un-plug!), and to carry about with you.
PURPOSEProtected With
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 13
In summary, it’s possible that some of our basic tips may be fresh to you (dimming screens, utilizing a local Wi-Fi (responsibly!) instead of connecting to your carriers, and turning off unnecessary apps. And I hope the tip about not over-charging can shed some light (or longer-lasting light!) if you have questions about why you lose a charge so quickly.
Phones have become such an essential and personalized accessory that we all have a vested interest in keeping them powered up and useful for as long as possible. I learned many things through our California trip, and it’s uncanny how many parallels I began to make concerning me and cell phone batteries as I made the comparison:• Don’t wait until your battery
is almost totally drained to recharge!
• When you are fully charged—get back out into the world and do your job. Don’t just keep sucking energy.
• Embrace technology. Get the “latest updates” on the world and for your device. It will make you a more informed person and positive changes are always being made.
And my last tip: Take direct flights. Okay, so this isn’t a direct correlation, but this one relates to mobile devices because if you are delayed (our trip out to California lasted 17 hours of travel), your battery will die, your kids will cry, your wife will sigh.
PURPOSEProtected With
MinistryTech.com | December 201514
Deeper ImpactBy Steve Caton
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OPINION AND KNOWLEDGE
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. In Colorado the air is crisp, perfect for mountain hikes, the aspens are ablaze, and I can again watch my beloved Georgia Bulldogs play football. While I
am enjoying the turning of the season, this fall has been tough for the Bulldogs. That isn’t my opinion; it is a measurable fact. After taking a public beating by Alabama, we lost to unranked Tennessee and to top it off, Chubb, our star running back, blew out his knee and is done for the year. They can still turn the season around, but there is no question that this is not a good start.
For better or worse, sports is full of data. The data speaks for itself. Tackles for a loss, average yards per play, turnover ratio, your number of wins. These are facts that are not contested, and if someone asks you how your team is doing, you have access to the knowledge to answer definitively.
Not all areas of our lives benefit from these objective and measurable metrics. Lacking that information doesn’t stop us from using our opinions as facts though. Here’s an observation I’ve made watching hundreds of churches over the years: Usually when you ask a church leader how their ministry is going, you get opinion, but that may not be based in knowledge. Few churches effectively measure and monitor their church’s performance. But as the old adage says, knowledge is power, and in ministry, that’s the power to grow in influence and change lives.
How do you know where you are and where you’re going?
There are a few things that you have to do as a church leader if you want to objectively answer the
question ‘how’s the church doing’. As a leader, you need to develop a data-friendly culture that measures output as well as impact and then uses that data to refine ministry areas, increasing your effectiveness.
1. Define your goals and metrics. The work we do in ministry has eternal significance — it deserves the best we can bring. The problem is that our best can be hard to quantify. The only way to clear up the murkiness in our answers to how our ministries are going is by defining clear objectives and ways to measure our progress toward them. Define the ‘wins’ you’re looking for in your ministry, and track the metrics that can tell you if you’re getting them. You may not pick the right metrics the first time, but refine them as you go. Take advantage of technology like your church management software to manage the important data all in one place.
2. Set clear expectations. Wherever you want your ministry to go, you can’t get it there alone. Your staff and volunteer leaders have their
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 15
Deeper Impactown areas of responsibility, and they need to be on the same page. Set expectations for performance, both on the individual level through job descriptions and on the ministry team level through your mission statement and business plan. Make sure all documentation is clear and success is measurable. People do their best work when they know what is expected of them and know how to gauge their progress!
3. Keep seeking improvement. Now that everyone has clear goals, it’s time to monitor how well you’re reaching
them. It’s not wrong to listen to your intuition, but it needs to be balanced with hard numbers too. When you have data, you can dig into it to figure out what it’s telling you about the current state of your ministry and the trajectory you’re on. Be ready to change strategies and try new things when the metrics tell you the old ways aren’t working as well as you want. Remember, neither your existing processes nor the data points you collect are sacred — if a process isn’t working, or data isn’t telling you anything useful, change it up and try again!
By implementing these three steps, you can begin to clear up the murkiness around what a ‘win’ is to you and how you’re going to get to them. The work you do matters. All the effort you put in to change, measure, and improve processes is aimed at making a more lasting and far-reaching kingdom impact. I think that is why college football is played on Saturdays. After a loss to the Vols, I have a day to rage and mourn and then the next morning, sitting in church, I get my priorities adjusted back to what is really important. I just still don’t want to talk about the ‘Bama game.
MinistryTech.com | December 201516
By Jonathan Smith
I am very pro technology, but like most things in life you have to earn the privilege to use it and then continue to use it responsibly. For example, when you learn to drive you don’t get behind the wheel of a race car at Indianapolis right away. That isn’t saying that race cars in Indy are bad, but that you have to earn it and work hard to use it properly.
In the real world we have curfews, so why not in the virtual world? Parents should set boundaries on their kids use of technology and devices. I don’t agree with the notion that as parents we should let our kids fail first and then pick them up and help them along and allow them to continue making bad decisions so that they can “learn”. That is how many kids end up viewing porn or participating in online activities that are not appropriate – oftentimes long before
mom and dad are aware. And by the time mom and dad become aware it is too late. (Prov. 22:6 and Ephesians 6:4)
It is also important to encourage Godly relationships. Positive peer influence is critical as over 80% of kids ages 7-10 years old view pornography online at the encouragement of a friend. Do your kid’s friends model a Godly example and help them live a life that strives to become more like Christ? Those peer influences in the physical world also impact actions in the virtual world.
Proverbs has a few things to say about this. Proverbs 27:17 talks about iron sharpening iron. Remember that this iron sharpening can happen virtually as well. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” What
Christmas is a great time of year for ministries as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. It can also be a challenging time for parents as kids’ Christmas lists are full of the latest high tech
gadgets and whatchamacallits so they can visit websites you’ve never heard of. Here are some tips for parents to help keep children safe on Christmas Day and every day.
Technology, Christmas Gifts,
and Keeping Kids Safe
FEATURED
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 17
FEATURED
did it say? Too many friends can be a bad thing? That seems to fly in the face of the goal of having as many online friends and connections as possible.
As a parent I expect obedience. The Bible is pretty clear about the whole children obeying your parents thing (Eph. 6:1), but often the rules seem looser when it comes to online obedience or obeying mom and dad when they don’t understand the technology. Internet use, cell phone use, tablet use, video console use, etc. is not a right, it’s a privilege that is earned through responsibility. It is not an inalienable right. After all, who is paying for it?
Removing the technology should always be an option that is on the table when it comes to expecting obedience. Granted, some technology is required for school, but there must still be a way for young people to accomplish their education and then not use their devices for anything else. If there is a sin issue in their life as a result of the technology then it must be removed, whether that sin is something obvious like pornography or something less obvious like gossip.
The story is told of a traveling salesman back in the good old days before the internet and cell phones who struggled with pornography on hotel room TVs. Recognizing this challenge in his life he decided that he would not stay at hotels unless they would physically remove the TV from his room, and if the hotel would not remove the TV from his room then he would stay at a different
hotel. What lengths are you willing
to go to in order to help your kids stay pure? It might not be easy but I believe that if we are going to stand before God and give an account for how we raise
our children then how easy or convenient it is shouldn’t matter. (1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:23-24)
Finally, we should provide accountability and set a good example. How are mom and dad using the latest technology and
MinistryTech.com | December 201518
gadgets? Who helps hold mom and dad accountable? What’s better, for mom and dad to learn about the latest technology, gadgets, and social media and teach their children, or for the kids to learn about it from someone else?
A recent study of 13 year olds by CNN found that parental involvement and accountability “effectively erased the negative effects” of their kid’s online interactions, whether through social media, games, chats, etc. When a secular study says that, it
seems like we as Christian parents should take notice and provide accountability.
Here are some accountability suggestions:1. Spend time with your children
online and learn from them. Ask them to show you what they like to do online and their favorite sites. Ask them to teach you how to use the latest gadgets.
2. Check up on their logs and history, across all devices.
3. Use other software for filtering and internet tracking. The goal is not to remove independence but provide accountability to help the children grow and mature spiritually.
4. Find out about other points of access. Where else can your kids get online and use other devices? School? A friend’s house?
I believe we are all accountable for our actions. I think we tend to forget what “ALL” means and who it applies to. We are accountable for our actions both in the real world and in the online world. We are accountable for our children, and our kids are accountable for themselves before God. God is still God, even in the virtual world filled with high tech gadgets and toys.
If you’d like to learn more about keeping kids safe and technology, visit http://faithlafayette.org/parenttech.
FEATURED
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 19
The majority of Digital Bible Study happens on a computer, but increasingly users want to study their Bibles on the go with a smartphone or tablet. The desktop or laptop still offers the best in-
depth Bible study experience. Be sure to go back to our October 2015 (http://ministrytech.com/back-issues/) issue to read my recommendations for the best computer for Bible study. Today I’d update that to include the new Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book (http://www.microsoftstore.com).
iOS or Android for Bible StudyLet’s start our discussion by thinking about which
mobile operating system users should choose. Don’t bother with Windows phones or low-end Windows tablets. There’s only one decent Windows Store Bible app, from Laridian (http://www.laridian.com). The platform’s terrible for Bible study. Pick from either An-droid or iOS.
For a few years iOS Bible apps were far ahead of Android. The best Bible study apps worked great on iOS but their Android versions had some of the best features missing. For the most part, that’s not the case any longer.
Let’s look at the major Bible study software companies and see what they offer. We’re not talking about simple Bible reader apps, like the YouVersion Bible app (http://www.bible.com). Those apps work great for reading the Bible, even searching the Bible and keeping up with a de-votional reading calendar, but they don’t offer enough tools to help students understand the text in a deeper way.
To pick a good mobile Bible study app, first look at the app from the company that makes your desktop Bible study program. If you’re a Lo-gos user, then you want to install the Logos app. If you’re a WORDsearch user, then you’ll want their mobile app.
Higher Power With Kevin
By Kevin Purcell
Best Tablet andSmartphone forBible Study
MinistryTech.com | December 201520
Here’s list of the major programs and what they offer in the mobile sphere:
• Logos – iOS and Android with powerful features.• WORDsearch – iOS and Android apps, but they’re
little more than reader apps with few advanced features. See their Android app in a YouTube demo: https://youtube.com/watch?v=u8qpi3BFsTY
• Olive Tree – iOS and Android apps with great fea-tures on both and a recently updated set of apps. Olive Tree is a mobile first platform that also does versions for Windows and Mac.
• Bibleworks – no mobile apps.• Accordance – only an iOS app that’s mostly a book
reader, but now offers some advanced study fea-tures and getting better all the time.
• PC Study Bible – no mobile apps.• Laridian – decent apps for both iOS and Android
and the only good Windows mobile app for Bible study. They are also a mobile first company, that offers programs for Mac and Windows.
• eSword – a simple iOS app, one for iPhone and an-other for iPad.
Based on the list above, iOS offers slightly more than Android. That doesn’t matter if your desktop software company offers both. Still, if you want more options in the future, then go with an iPhone and/
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or iPad for the best Bible Study experience. Howev-er, if you’re one of those people who avoids Apple products, then Android works great for users of Lo-gos, Olive Tree and Laridian. If you don’t use one of those, then consider Mantis Bible for Android or iOS (http://www.mantisbible.com).
What’s the Best iPhone and iPad for Bible Study?
On the iOS side, this is easy. You can choose be-tween and iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus. One’s a 4.7-inch screen and the other sports a 5.5-inch screen. If you don’t mind the larger body of the iPhone 6s Plus, go with that. It’s got more screen real estate to use for reading and studying the Bible. You’ll want a Bi-ble pane and a commentary pane open at the same time. That’s harder on a smaller screen.
To save money you can find older versions still on sale. Avoid the iPhone 5s or older since they’re so small it’s hard to do much serious Bible study.
Get as much space as you can afford. Apple sells the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. Don’t get the 16GB version as it’s not enough space to hold your apps, pictures, and Bibles and books. Whiles 64GB is probably enough, if you can afford it, go with 128. You’ll never need more space than that.
All of these phones and tablets include beautiful-ly crisp screens that show text and images really well.
The decision gets harder with an iPad. Apple of-fers three sizes (http://apple.com/ipad/compare/). The iPad mini 4 offers a 7.9-inch screen that’s great for reading. You can comfortably view two panes at once. Jump up to the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2. Few apps allow for more than 2 panes, but the Laridian Pock-etBible app does. It works great with 4 panes.
Apple just released the new iPad Pro. The The-otek Podcast spend most of the hour disussing how good it works for study, teaching and preach-ing on episode 46, recorded November 13, 2015. Watch or listen to it here: http://wp.me/p2D1s2-9P. You can also subscribe to the YouTube chan-nel at https://youtube.com/channel/UCg3J-3l3h-VWE8UbOPb9KqOw or the audio Podcast at http://kevinpurcell.org.
Take a look at the Accordance Bible app for iPad alongside Word Mobile. That’s Rick Man-sfield’s iPad Pro. He’s a co-host on the Theotek Podcast mentioned above. He’s with Accordance Bible Software (http://accordancebible.com) and you can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thislamp.
If you can afford about $1,000 the iPad Pro will do the best job. That’s a lot of money, so many will want to get the iPad Air 2 instead which starts at $500, but most will want to spend $600 to get the one with 64GB of storage.
Android PhonesInstead of asking which phone works best for
Bible study, you should ask which phone works best for you. All of them will handle Bible study about the same. My colleague Cory Gunther at Got-taBeMobile.com posted a list of the best Android smartphones for 2015 at http://gottabemobile.com/2015/11/12/best-android-phones-of-2015/.
Higher Power
MinistryTech.com | December 201522
Cory’s list includes:• Google Nexus 6P – a great 6-inch phone run-
ning the latest version of Android called Marshmallow. It’s one of the only large screen phones with Marshmallow available.
• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 – an awesome phone with a great stylus that you can use to take handwritten notes. I own one and use it often to take notes. I use the button on the lower left that switches between apps. It also lets you put two apps on screen at once. Put a Bible app on top and the S Note app on bottom.
• Moto X Pure Edition – often a favorite of peo-ple who want a pure Android experience with-out a lot of extra junk like what we get from manufacturers like Samsung, HTC or others.
• Samsung Galaxy S6 & Galaxy S6 Edge – of these two, don’t bother with the Edge version. It’s a gimmick not worth the extra money. The S6 is a great phone with a slightly smaller 5.1-inch screen and still does split screen.
• LG V10 – the latest from LG and one of the newest phones available with Android. It also runs Marshmallow, the only one besides the Nexus 6P above. It’s got an awesome camera. My son owns the LG G4, the previous genera-tion, and he really likes his.Any of the above phones will work well. I
chose the Note 5, but my second choice would be the Nexus 6P since it will always get the latest ver-sions of Android first.
Android TabletsThe only decent Android tablet that I’d buy is
the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, which comes in ei-ther an 8-inch model or a 9.7-inch model (http://samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-tab-s2/). The larger screen will let you do more, but it’s not as mobile. The screens are incredible. You get bright rich colors and amazing crisp text. The tablets run fast!
Microsoft SurfaceI included the Surface in the best computers
for Bible study, but it’s also a tablet so it has to be listed here too. If you want to run full Bible study software, then this is the best option. They cost anywhere from $500 for the Microsoft Surface 3 or up to a few thousand for the most powerful Mi-crosoft Surface Pro 4. Get the one with the most storage you can afford. The Surface 3 has a 10-inch screen and is lighter, making it more porta-
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one to tell you what to get and don’t want to think about it, here’s what you should choose based on my preferences.
PHONE: iPhone 6s Plus, unless you don’t like Apple, then get the Samsung Gal-axy Note 5.
TABLET: Microsoft Sur-face Pro 4 unless you really want an iPad, then get an iPad Air 2 with 64GB of RAM.
ble. It still runs full Windows software. The Surface Pro 4 is a larger screen at 12.3-inches. It starts at $900 with 128GB of storage and 4GB of memory on an Intel Core m3 processor. The m3 processor isn’t as power-ful as the iX processors. For an Intel Core i5 add $100. You can spend as much as $2,699 for an Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of flash storage. That’s way more computer than most Bible students need. I’d recommend getting at least 512GB if you can or 256 if you can’t afford the extra $400 for the 512. A Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a 512 SSD costs $1,699. Add the Type Cov-er for $130.
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MinistryTech.com | December 201524
Ethos
In this article series, we’ve defined a startup this way: a new venture working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed. We’ve also
defined a Christian entrepreneur as: a person, driven to glorify God in all he does, and ruled by the Word of God, who starts a new venture and is willing to risk a loss in order to achieve the success of the venture. Each month I’ve been introducing you to specific Christian startups and entrepreneurs, some of which may be helpful to your church, ministry, or business, but my main intent is to encourage, inspire, and educate you.
So far, all of the startups I’ve featured have been businesses, but startups can be new ministries as well. This month, I’d like to feature a new technol-ogy-enabled startup within an existing, traditional Christian organization.
Daily Chapel is GoodFounded in 1950, Oklahoma Christian University
(OC) has just over 2,500 students. According to their website, “Oklahoma Christian University is a higher learning community that transforms lives for Chris-tian faith, scholarship, and service.” This fall I arrived on campus as the new Entrepreneur in Residence and I was excited to hear a story that combines my passions for entrepreneurship, Christian faith, and mobile technology.
Daily Chapel has been a valued tradition at OC since the school’s formation. Most students attend “Big Chapel” but other options include Missions Chapel, Seekers Chapel, Women’s Chapel, Great Songs Chapel, and weekly chapels for each academic college or department. Historically, students have been re-quired to attend chapel each day, with a set number of absences allowed.
Spiritual Development is BetterSummer Lashley, an OC alumnus, had spent a cou-
ple of years early in her career at a web startup compa-ny. That entrepreneurial spirit must have been appar-ent because, after she returned to campus as part of
the student life team, she was asked to move into the spiritual life office and figure out how to “reboot” the university’s approach to spiritual development. Chap-el has always been good, but she realized that it may not meet every student where they are in their spiritual growth. Summer observed that “Today’s students are raised with more choices and are more empowered to control their own life. This new generation was asking for more than just chapel.”
In true Lean startup mode, Summer started doing Customer Development. She would pull students out of chapel, both those up front and fully engaged and those in the back corner with ear buds in and hoodie pulled over. What did they like and what didn’t they like? What was missing? What was their real need? She started creating alternatives, forming small groups, and working with YouVersion to launch an OC reading plan within the popular Bible app. She gave a small group of trusted students the freedom to pursue their own spiritual development plan and to journal what they did and how it impacted them.
As Summer and the campus minister read their own reading plan and considered what they were learning from the students, the Holy Spirit seemed to focus them on the two great commandments that Je-sus clearly outlined in Mark 12:30-31 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” and “ ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no command-ment greater than these.” What if OC could model
STARTUPBy Russ McGuire
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 25
spiritual development off of these great commandments?
Summer began planning a new program for spiritual development, named Ethos, where students would be encouraged to practice spiritual disciplines in five dimen-sions: Community, Discipleship, Discovery, Servanthood, and Wor-ship. But how could the university pull off such a radical redefinition of its spiritual life and how could students be encouraged to adopt the new model?
One day, Summer realized that she was increasingly using her iP-hone to discover and to track im-portant things in her life. In addi-tion to YouVersion, she was daily using RunKeeper and the Starbucks
app to track her progress towards important goals. She realized that, for today’s student, their phone is like the remote control for their life. There’s an app for everything, so why not an app for spiritual devel-opment at OC?
Summer engaged with the OC marketing team and used an online tool to mock up a beautiful Ethos mobile app for creating, discover-ing, and tracking spiritual develop-ment activities. She showed it to the university leadership team who loved it and brought the IT team onboard as excited partners. Next she took it to the university’s board who was cautiously supportive, concerned about the school’s tradi-tions. With the help of a champion
on the board, in time, this group also became strong supporters. A university donor stepped forward to provide funding for the develop-ment and launch.
Spiritual Transformation is the Real Goal
The IT team built the Ethos front-end using the Ionic frame-work to simplify launch on both iOS and Android smartphones. The mobile and web clients interfaced with the API core backend, with da-tabases for students, check-ins, etc. it also interfaces to the university’s student information and event sys-tems and to AD for identifying and authenticating users.
IT also gave Summer a tool for
STARTUP
MinistryTech.com | December 201526
generating reports. Who is attend-ing which events? What are the patterns by college, by class, by ser-vice club, etc. This may not qualify as “big data” but it certainly started to provide insights that the spiritual life office could use to fine tune how to enable spiritual development for students. But, Summer is quick to point out that students are already doing that fine-tuning themselves. In the first year of operation, stu-dents attended over 4,000 distinct events, 1,700 of which were spon-taneously created by students (and approved by the spiritual life office).
“For Christian universities, a graduate who can tell the sto-ry of how her campus experience transformed her life demonstrates
the distinctive value of the Chris-tian university,” Summer explains. “Ethos is not only enabling that transformation, but the software is helping capture that story for the student - recording the spiritual events and enabling the student to capture her comments on how it impacted her.”
Ethos is one of many examples of how God can use technology to change people’s lives, but it is also an example of how God can use an entrepreneurial leader to start a new ministry that can help “reboot” the spiritual heart of an established institution with a rich Christian heritage. Summer is quick to thank God for blessing Ethos and enabling it to be a blessing to many.
Russ McGuire is a trusted advisor with proven strategic insights. He has been blessed to serve as an executive in Fortune 500 companies, found technology startups, be awarded technology patents, author a book and contribute to others, write dozens of articles for various publications, and speak at many conferences. More importantly, he’s a husband and father who cares about people, and he’s a committed Christian who operates with integrity and believes in doing what is right. Learn more at sdgstrategy.com
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By Yvon Prehn
Ministry Communication
Communication Strategies for Christmas
Christmas outreach is not only a time for you to bring in new people to your church, but it can also be a time to remind your congregation about the importance of sharing their faith and
an opportunity to give them the tools to do it. Technology provides us with resources unimaginable in the past, but we need strategies to use them effectively. Following are six communication strategies that will help:
1. Spend time in prayer asking God to impress on your heart the seriousness and the privilege of your communication opportunities at Christmas.
People who don’t come to church any other time of the year will come to Christmas events to be with family. This might be your one opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus with them. Far beyond giving people a pleasant Christmas experience in music, drama, traditional ser-vices, or watching the cute things children do, their eter-nal destiny can be altered.
In addition to your personal convictions, pray for fire in your soul as you motivate your people to be part of your churches Christmas communication outreach. Re-mind them that Jesus is the reason for the season, not because we needed a reason to buy stuff, but because we needed salvation from our sins. What prophets and peo-ple anticipated for millennia as they looked forward to the Messiah, we must be careful not to trivialize.
2. Based on your time with the Lord, as a ministry team, decide what you want your Christmas com-munication message to be.
Come up with one overall theme and a slogan that summarizes it. This is key because you want all of your
advertising, digital and print publications, and preaching to reflect that one theme. You will change the medium that you use, but your core message must stay the same for maximum retention and response.
Where to get a theme? One of the best places for inspiration is from the lyrics of Christmas Carols. Here is an article that lists the carols in the Public Domain along with some ideas on how to use them: http://www.effectivechurchcom.com/christmas-carols-as-inspira-tion-for-christmas-outreach-sermons-website-content/
3. Select graphics, colors, and images to portray yourtheme and use them consistently throughout all your advertisements.
Along with the theme, select a primary graphic im-age and colors that you will use in all your holiday out-reach. I emphasize the word “all” because churches often want to change colors or images they use to promote the same event.
They do this because a common misconception is: “If I keep saying things the same way, my audience will get bored.” Wrong. Audiences don’t get bored, audiences get confused.
The most successful companies in the world have an
6
MinistryTech.com | December 201528
Ministry Communication
image that never changes--think Target or Apple--you immediately know what their logo looks like. On a small-er scale, if you continuously change the image that goes with your Christmas theme, people will see the image first and assume it’s for a different event.
You may get bored using the same image again and again, but it’s better that you get bored than your audi-ence becomes confused.
4. Decide on a variety of ways to communicate your message; use and repeat as many as you can.
We live in a time of multi-channel communication where we need to use different communication chan-nels to reach different ages and interest groups. Com-municate your message through postcards, bulletin an-nouncements and inserts, invitations, web page entries, email blasts, verbal reminders, phone calls, social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever you can, as many times as you can.
5. Once you have the overall approach and the communication pieces, equip your congregation
For any church holiday outreach to be successful, ev-ery person in the congregation has to be convinced that THEY need to be the ones inviting their friends, praying for them, and working hard to get them to Christmas events at church. Remember the primary responsibility of church leaders and communication creators is not to bring in new people to the church; your job is to equip the saints so they can do the work of the ministry. You decide the theme; you create the communications; then you equip your congregation to do the inviting.
Not only is this the best way to get a large group of people to your events, but even more important, your people will grow in their outreach skills if they take part in it.
6. Share your personal convictions and outreach plans.Share from the pulpit, blogs, Facebook and tweets, mes-
sages like this:• “As I look ahead to Christmas, I remember what it was
like before I knew the Lord— my brother’s invitation for me to come on Christmas Eve changed my life.”
• “I’m praying for Peter, the barista at my local Starbucks and an opportunity to invite him to church.”
• “My kids are sharing invitations to our Christmas Eve service to their friends along with cookies they made.”
• “My relatives back home don’t know Jesus—so I’m send-ing some links to our blogs about why Jesus really is the reason for the season.”Share with your congregation who you are praying for,
how you give out or send out invitations, and how you fol-low-up to be sure people attend. Never, ever expect your congregation to do more than what you are doing.
There will always be more you can do, but if you try these six strategies, you’ll be sure to increase the committed , involved members in your congregation who will not only bring friends to your Christmas outreach events, but who will learn how to do personal evangelism in the process.
___________________________For many more ideas on how to effectively communi-
cate at Christmas, for ready-to-print templates, and PDFs, of Christmas outreach materials, go to: www.effectivechurch-com.com/category/seasonal/christmas-seasonal-commu-nications/
MinistryTech.com | December 2015 29
Serpents & Doves
The word translated as shrewd sometimes means being prudent, sensible, and practically wise. Jesus gave this counsel to his disciples, and it may also have had the sense of acting with prudence regarding to their own safety. Being innocent, on the other hand, means to be pure. In other words, negotiate wisely; but always honor the Lord by loving those with whom you negotiate. Be willing to ask, and to do so in such a way as to bring the other person closer to Jesus— or at least in a way that doesn’t drive the other person further from Jesus.
What does all of this have to do with computers? Let’s take a look.
Off-The-Shelf SoftwareSome software, such as off-
the-shelf productivity suites, offer very little over which to negotiate an improved position. Open for discussion, however, are:
• If you’re actually buying software in a store, don’t be afraid to make a “counter-offer”— a price lower than that posted on the package. If the salesperson won’t reduce the price, ask that another program or some supplies be added at no extra charge. While you may hear, “No” fairly often, you’ll be surprised at how often you hear, “Yes”!
• If available, always ask for charity pricing! Many software providers offer SKUs that steeply discount their solutions for charities.
Vertical Market SoftwareSoftware that isn’t normally sold over the counter by a local retailer is often called vertical market software. Vertical market software usually has a narrow market niche, thus its name. Church, school, and donor management software are examples of vertical market
software. When buying any of these, open for discussion are:• Ask for a full-system
demonstration. Automated online demos don’t always tell the true story. If there isn’t a representative in your area, maybe they can do one live over the Internet via WebEx or some similar system. Perhaps this could also be accomplished by asking for an extended trial period to help you determine whether the system will meet your needs. Most will be willing to give you at least a thirty day, no questions asked, window within which to return the software if you’re not satisfied.
• One of the greatest causes of church, school, or donor management software dissatisfaction is due to poor implementation and a lack of understanding how to use the program. Require the seller to include implementation guidance and training in your package. You may be required to do it over the Internet, but try to get someone onsite if possible (that’s always the most effective way). This is a major investment for your ministry, so even though it may have a cost attached, it’ll be worth it.
• Insist on getting documentation that details the formats and/ or tables of the software’s data.
NICK AT CHURCHBy Nick Nicholaou
Jesus made an interesting statement in Matthew 10:16b, “...be as shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves” (NASB). I believe these
words of His are good guidelines for Christians to apply in every aspect of doing business. We are to be shrewd, yet innocent.
MinistryTech.com | December 201530
NICK AT CHURCHRequiring this as a provision of your license agreement up front may save you a lot of grief and frustration if you decide to change systems a few years down the road. If a publisher is unwilling to grant this request, they may not be one with
whom you want to do business. Remember, it’s your data.
HardwareThough hardware profit
margins are fairly thin, computer prices are almost always open for negotiation. When buying a
computer, consider asking for the following:
• Suggest a lower price for the system, maybe 5% - 10% lower. Most hardware, if it can be purchased, is at least a little outdated (manufacturers are always working one or two generations beyond what is currently available), so asking for discounts is often something they’ll agree to.
• Always ask to upgrade the memory (RAM) beyond that offered in base models. You’ll never be sorry with more memory. And if the price is fixed, maybe this is an area for negotiating a compromise.
• Ask for a large capacity USB flash drive to be included with the system. If one already comes with it, ask that a full-featured software package be thrown in rather than the “software-lite” packages usually included.
• The system should come with an operating system and will probably have some software “bundled” with it. Look over the software, and ask to exchange any of the pieces if you prefer different products. For instance, if the system comes with Norton Anti-Virus software, but you prefer Sophos, ask that the two be exchanged. The retailer will often accommodate such a request.
The Greatest of These Is LoveRemember when negotiating
to love your neighbor. There is nothing wrong with knowing what you want and asking for it. And certainly there is nothing wrong with challenging the profit margin of the seller by asking for more than is normally offered for
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NICK AT CHURCH
For the scholar, the seeker, the servant.OC is home.· Recognized as one of the best universities in the west by U.S.
News and World Report and The Princeton Review.
· More than 60 areas of study.
· More than 30 current National Merit Finalists.
· Named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll . www.oc.edu
Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, an IT consulting firm specializing in church and ministry computer networks, VoIP, and private cloud hosted services. You can reach Nick at [email protected], and may want to check out his firm’s website (www.mbsinc.com) and his blog at www.ministry-it.blogspot.com.
the same price. But there is everything wrong with negotiating in a demeaning manner. Remember to love and respect those with whom you are negotiating. Jesus died for them. Be wise, yet innocent.
1 Vine, W.E., Page 222, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, page 222.2 Vincent, M.R., Word Studies in the New Testament, Volume I. McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company. page 40.
