Fall08
http://www.seacoast.org/
http://www.citrt2008.com/

Church IT Podcast Wiki is now open for public

Software as a Service (SaaS)

CITRT - SP07
from http://brettlive.com/

Training - Tony’s goal is to build the ultimate knowledge base.  Some documentation is better than no documentation.  Where should that crucial documentation be stored?  One church uses small blocks of time for very specialized specific training - 15 minute blocks are much easier to squeeze in than a half day session. The concept of a super-user has worked well for some - train the trainer.  So far all the super-users have volunteered to be the go-to person and it’s working well.

Policies/Procedures - ideally would like an online (intranet) repository of policy/reference materials.  Willow initiates the new hire process with an email from HR to IS.  New staff who need email/account access must fill out email covenant, data covenant, security form, etc.  One of Tony’s core values is to jump through every hoop possible in order to get a new hire productive asap.  Then go to the supervisor who dropped the ball and spank them.  Also has a 3o minute handoff process to quickly orient them.

Service Desk - IT helpdesk/tracking - http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/service-desk/index.html

SoftGrid - http://www.softricity.com/ - virtualize applications, like MS Office,

http://www.scriptlogic.com/products/desktopauthority/

Katharion vs. Postini - Postini higher priced.  Less infrastructure, less cost.  Katharion interface very clean & well organized in comparison.  Perimeter is with Katharion because they returned his calls - Postini didn’t.  Katharion uses Clam AV - open source AV compan - http://www.clamav.net/

Sharepoint - stick with Sharepoint Services as long as possible, before going to Server.  Lots of free add-ons.  Great place to consolidate all the different databases & interfaces - EventU, Shelby, helpdesk, etc.  Make simple things simple.  SOAP interface with ServiceU?  Many intranets came from indirect requests - not direct requests.  A central repository.  SharePoint 2007 more powerful than 03.  Use the intranet as a resource for orientation.  Many have on-staff development, but even Perimeter outsources development - currently in a SharePoint development.  Also look at 1 and 1 - hosting company for hosted Sharepoint http://order.1and1.com/xml/order/Sharepoint;jsessi… - also “web host 4 life” - http://www.webhost4life.com/.  Also look at dotnetnuke as alternative.

Staffing - how do you justify new positions?  First ask “Are you utilizing the staff you have now?”  Of course it’s better to have a more independent entity recommend the need for additional staff.  Willowcreek has a technology advisory board.  Must track metrics - how many help desk tickets per day/week/month, how long does it take to close, etc.  Then you have statistical data necessary for requesting additional staff.  Volunteers - Willowcreek has 800,000 sq. ft under roof, 7000 volunteers to keep it running every week.  Has computer connection ministry that started with infrastructure - cabling, hardware, etc.  Now is more independent ministry that takes donated computers and refurbs them (I knew I had a good idea there).  Get a pool of volunteers, and then you can pick from that pool the people who have the skill set you need.  Send out an email every month or 2 announcing upcoming projects and see who has the necessary skills.

from http://tonydye.typepad.com/

ServiceU: Tim Whitehorn

Web Empowered Church Mark Stephenson

Blackbaud: Jim Bush

Proclaim CRM: Steve Bauserman, Bill Walker, Stephen Noe (Product Announcement)

An interesting thread throughout the day was the "big boat, slow to turn" analogy that was initiated by Mark White and picked up by various vendors through the day.

from http://www.distractible.com/

http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/index.html
http://www.dotnetnuke.com/
http://www.webhost4life.com/
http://www.nagios.org/
http://mon.itor.us/
http://www.arenachms.com/
http://www.mbsinc.com/
http://www.fellowshiptech.com/
http://www.3dministry.com/

from http://www.eldeiry.com/fadyblog/default.aspx

How to Create a Virtual PC

virtual machine product for a single computer.

I have a rather interesting question regarding check-in procedures on
the IT side.

KidzPro is a child check-in system that is suitable for large and small churches.

Just display that bar code on your cell phone's screen,

 use cell/pda instead of card for check-in?

considering adding fingerprint scanning to their self check-in module

I am testing a new check-in stations with a Dell touch screen monitor.
> My goal was to set up the station and not have a keyboard attached.

I've been asked to create a proposal for buying/implementing/using/etc
Shelby's Check-In system...

What kind of stations (stands, Cabinets etc..)do your church use for the Check-In Stations?

Communication w/ Churches

Call w/ Scott Reichling @ sagemont.org
blogs.sagemontchurch.org
using for 7 years
one of the 1st churches to use it

700K - 800K w/ 13 stations

all touch screen
ppl like touch screen better
lose cards

some have bar codes
can use license, store cards
card printer broke
cards expensive

zebra label printers
3x2 labels

started w/ children

not really IT intensive
reliable printer - printer most problem - zebras best
Check-In reliable

starting computers up issues - old computers

30mins for set-up

9A - 930A for kids to check-in

2 machines @each station

thin clients - terminal server
patching n maintaining 13 computers
xp box - computer
wall mount

virtual SQL server

good network - critical

label designer - weakest component

2 name tags (labels) & receipt
receipt - info printed twice w/ strip down center - parents tear in half and both have receipt

stations - counter space
wall mounted - suggested

terminal server not required
easy software update
IT management
cheaper - hardware cheaper, less software,
one TS goes down - all goes down
less to manage

going to 20+

accuracy

10 stations -
minitowers -

Check-In not CPU intensive
shift old computer to Check-In give staff new computer

9 or 13 original computers Pentium 3's

quirky - 

provantage.com

offered 13 brother printers

Call w/ Mattew Irvine, IT Manager @ 1st Baptist - Belton TX
his story...


Call 1st Pres Church - Newark DE
Shelby attendance - Y
Check-In - N

Call GRPC


Call Abundant Life Church
No Chek-In

Call Penn-Del Dist
use HQ Module

Call Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, TX - Bruce Hammond - data systems director



























Call Monroeville Assembly of God
No Check-In

current process -
attendance
bulletin card
volunteers

Call w/ Crossroads Christian Church
Parent Pager pricing



Call w/ Bethany Church of the Nazarene
b4 process?
rosters - similar to CAG
not doing away w/ - in case technical issues

cost
10 kiosks
cabinets
=$25K

2 different printers
pick-up labels - paper
nametag labels - labels

fully customizable labels
width constraints
length non-constraints

timetable?
5 months

shelby demo
customize labels
1) layout
2) info on
training

IT
wiring
software install

training
use
procedure

number of kids?
SS - 350

consider other system?
Yes - other data source

roll out to all childs at once?
Yes
possible all church

easier ID cards?
Yes -
possibly to lose/forget
price

individual or family check-in



excited  -
roll & attendance
security

anxious
how well it will works
ppl reactions
ppl follow procedures

Call Higher Ground Tech
entire package - consulting, installing, etc.

2 different printers - local printers good, network printers not good
Zebra printers - used in UPS warehouses

terminal server -
common - yes
best - yes

if you dont consider TS, missing opp

costly - opp cost better w/ more usages/factors

only check-in, only 5 kiosks - not useful

process times - family mode - 2-3 families per min / 20-30 sec per fam

30-40 families per kiosk

dont buy brother printers
buy zebra 2844 - even refurbished

touchscreen - ELO's - premium price

barcode - check-out purposes
slow down process
lose cards

tech services -
generally

typical problem -
printer issues
network issues
usually terminal specific
every 3rd week

crisis - usually low # of kiosks - no back-up plans

Prices - $100 / hr



Call w/ Shelby
# of labels



Call/Email to K-Mc
A)
my current process discussion
folders
no crowd control/flow

B)
Shelby options
1) kiosk at each classroom

2) central kiosk w/ receipt printed in room

3) central kiosk w/ printer at kiosk - Oasis

determents
hardware budget
barcodes/id cards

touchscreen - to determine who is checking in
last # of ph# or last name - high turnover

no barcodes
high turnover
guests not different - us vs them
fees

3 labels per kid

family check in all at once

print frm special comments - NameID per fam

zebra printer
cheaper labels

terminal server - troublesome/complicated
 - multi-site - VPN & terminal server

guests - quickprints

15K - hardware

mirrors F1

Shelby checking into organizations

simple -

quotes

C)
page parents?
HoH NameID

other systems considered?
nope - designing own system


need pose-n-print?
no id cards

check-out - purpose? necessary?
not computerized
'check-out' when parent turns in 3rd label

real-time IT issues

kiosks per kid?
3 kiosks w/ kids
50 kids / kiosk = 30 mins
1 min per kid

guests seperate kiosks -

events? -

preregis - only adults

start small - why & lessons to be learned? things to look for...
no issues - plenty of hardware

too familiar, ppl dont care check-in/check-out done correctly

devil in the details - process very important

b4 process
manual check-in

rosters - our process

transition
rosters
no pick-up tag

laminated card per age group = sheep


IT
terminal server issues

timetable - very beginning to final edition implement
6 months - already had hardware plan

launch - 2 months
learn terminal servers process

terminal server - complicated - 1 month

per stage?
most learning terminal server issues

build team frm/for CHM - check-in ppl
specialities
 - basic IT
 - customer service


customer service

parent response
not intrusive to guests
only name & grade

visitor card - best/practical place to obtain info

experience - follow up procedures

security - label onto roster, purpose of 3 tags,
pic on label - not feasible

3 labels - nametag, label for roster, pick-up label (kinda like pager)


fee per fam?
no id cards

from K-Mc's check-in blog
but Quick Print is the way to get a nametag and receipt for guests not in the system.

The big goals are to simplify check in for parents and to give teachers more time with the kids. Both of those were accomplished and they make the hassle and cost worth while.

There are some smaller benefits. Our security is now better. Our attendnace is now automatic. We look more "with-it" for having the kiosks. However, these things alone weren't worth the hassle and expense. They are the icing on the cake.

Pricing
Software
Check-In = $1000
Support/Year = $160

Hardware
5 Computers @350 = $1750
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5982771

5 Touchscreen Monitors @$400 = $2000
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2367999&CatId=1449

5 Flat Screen Monitors @$160 = $800
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7812642

5 Zebra Label Printers @$350 = $1750
http://www.barcodewarehouse.biz/webstore/eCat/zebra_printers/zebra_desktop_printers/lp_2844_direct.aspx

Zebra Labels @$120 = $120
http://www.barcodewarehouse.biz/webstore/ShowProduct.aspx?ProductId=3351375&GroupId=&CategoryId=&SubCategoryId=&ActionSource=

 = $6780

Best Practices
Start small
see issues
not too much confusion

Guest Kiosk
best/most practical place to obtain all info
feel welcome
jam 'regular attendee' lines

No ID Cards
marginalize guests
high pricing - initial & upkeep
easily forgotten

Upkeep Process
ppl get too familiar/complacent

Zebra Label Printers - best label value

safety of the children in our care is very important to us. That’s why we are excited about our Shelby Check-In System.

We are about ready to put into place the Shelby check in component in our congregation

click here for the Children's Ministry Check In Kiosk Blogs

LambsList is a web-based church nursery check-in solution

label do you use for check-in in

fingerprint and background-check all the volunteers

high quality color photo ID’s

Your photostream / Tags / checkin

LRS has been helping churches provide for almost 15 years with our church nursery paging systems.

youth finger print check-in

rapid work we were doing on the new child check-in system for Heartland Church.

how many labels it takes a Zebra to recalibrate itself

 from IT Specialist @GCC

self check-in station @ Prestonwood

...if there is no sense of vision for your volunteers it will be easy for them to become disillusioned...

I want to empower people to serve in ways that they are gifted and interested.

We’re also rolling out serving functions to allow people to volunteer for opportunities within the church.

simple ways to reduce operational expenditures.

Thanks to Shelby Inc. we now have the ability to email our staff with an attachment containing their payroll direct deposit voucher. 

Our goal is to have good email communication.

some principles I use when writing emails.

Sugar Sync is a service that keeps files on 2 or more computers in sync.  It does this by placing an agent on each computer.  The agent copies the files and folders you decide need to be in sync up to a central disk on the Internet where other agents can then download them.  Having this central disk also allows Sugar Sync to provide a web interface for viewing the files from any computer on the Internet. 

54 RSS feeds that are church and ministry related. 

Textmarks.com for txt msging

Demo Notes
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhfcmhpm_63gdb69xf3

how we decided on using Fellowship One for our church management system

Communication w/ F1

early emails from Jeff Hook - CEO/Founder - 06.05.2008
We have an extension of our product called WebLink that extends the database functionality to your website for online giving, activity registration, small group management, volunteer applications and contact (prayer request/additional information request) entry. It is as simple to do.

The key to this is that the giving is integrated with our contributions module; the activity registration is integrated with or check-in system and provides a closed loop so that you can anticipate the attendance numbers for an event (very helpful if food is involved) and can easily follow-up with people who registered by missed; the volunteer application process is integrated with what we call the volunteer pipeline for background and reference checks as well as volunteer assignments for check-in purposes; the small groups module is integrated with our portal so that church staff can manage the follow-up of the small group lay leaders; and the contact function is integrated with our vitals dashboard to ensure that staff members are following up on people who need answers to their questions. WebLink truly helps a church become more “bricks and clicks” enabled so that the church can improve its “customer service” via the web.

With our WebLink product, you could integrate it so that you could replace your “shopping cart” method of giving. People could also see their year-to-date giving at your website. Our Activity Registration would streamline the event registration portion as well. Do you have small groups? I did not see that on your website.

called Mark Matthews - sales consultant - 06.06.2008
demo
webEX Link -
speakerphone *mute*
define each zone

no resource calendaring / AR/AP
-people care defined

AR/AP - projected end of 08
Resource Calendar - projected end of 08
-room inventory

Clients -
GCC
Lakewood
LifeChurch.tv

Email Engine included

From the May08 DC-CITRT

1) Shelby vs F1

F1

- no accounting modules

- does track CN

- works w/ Shelby

- will  help you switch, very proficient at helping you switch

McLean Bible Church

discontinued Shelby use

- couldnt grow - ??

- non-user-friendliness created atmosphere of

+ users resistant to use

+ users creating data silos

- 2 years to move

- batch transfer single CN into other software

+ used Shelby for accounting - now uses GreatPlains

St Marks

- F1 & QBooks

Basically, if you are serious about looking into F1 you should contact
them. They are NOT the most expensive ChMS solution out their ... nor
are they the cheapest ... but there must be some reason that many
churches are ditching their old solutions and moving to F1 J

10 Stupidest Leadership Mistakes

If all I've known is straw houses and I control every detail of their construction, then my leadership will never generate brick house ideas.

four characteristics of innovative leaders.

think about what the small, but important tasks we do as a team that need to be monitored/coached to ensure we make the biggest difference possible.

key aspect of leadership, perhaps one of the most important, is to clear any barriers or impediments to success for your team.

six strategies when dealing with primate transfers:

the books that helped shape his philosophy -- political and economic -- Rove came up with a list

How Much Do You Use Shelby?

http://kevmccord.typepad.com/weblog/2008/05/how-much-do-you.html
Copy and paste this code into ShelbyQUERY and you may find out how much your church uses Shelby v5.

ChurchInfo is a free church database program to help churches track members, families, groups, pledges and payments.

CCB "2.0" to offer current and new clients cutting edge tools to better manage and connect their congregations

We've done some integration work with OneBody (http://beonebody.org) and Twitter so that ministers and other staff can d message the church twitter account and get an automated response containing contact info for church members. This is especially handy for ministers on the road needing a phone number.

Twitter allows us to use SMS text technology without a dedicated cell account and fancy equipment.

OneBody is free, open-source, volunteer-built software that connects churchgoers on the web¹.

 was promising, but needs to be installed on the server. only a unix server too.

Weekly Data Entry Report

I strongly believe that SaaS (Software as a Service) will have a significant value proposition over in-house systems as people costs continue to rise.

In a big church it’s hard to see the patterns of involvement and relationships that are constantly growing and changing. 

Call-em-all calls at the rate of 1,000 calls per minute, so what used to take us days now only takes minutes. 

the switch to a new system will be easier if you simplify things in the ChMS you have now.

What are you doing to make sure that your staff are well trained in your Church Management System (ChMS)?

Has anyone had much success at getting staff to really use the ChMS,
instead of all the other options?  If so, how did you do it?

key needs of a ChMS

How do you count weekend attendance?

None of the big text vendors, such as Google and Yahoo, use databases;

Keeping a database is one of the best tools that you can use in ministry.

If every ministry or department is allowed to make their own software decisions, the usefulness and validity of the data for the entire organization is compromised. 

SugarCRM is just one option of many, but for church’s it is a solid solution to most any information system need.

a way to access contact information from the Shelby database outside of Shelby.

began end user training on Arena today as we hurtle towards go live on May 6. 

After a long, grueling process spanning four separate months, HDC has
made our choice for a new Church Management System.

I have blogged the whole process here:

http://transformingrenewal.blogspot.com/

The short version: we chose Arena.

Joel

church management software (CMS) providers and what they say their software can do

how to use existing open-source web apps (usually free) for managing a church's databases of information

A peek inside FT's Executive team meeting

carpe digital

Once a marketing gimmick, free has emerged as a full-fledged economy.

some simple steps to insure that your organization  isn't accidentally ignoring inquiries from online visitors.

to have a great church website, keep in mind the following seven areas

Quick CSS based tab navigation

the first rules of optimizing web sites for search engines is that if it isn't clear to people, then it won't be clear to a program.

want to spy on your church's website, especially if you're in charge of it.

Churches should stop thinking JUST about their website and start thinking about their web presence.

Ubiquity 0.1

• Lets you map and insert maps anywhere; translate on-page; search amazon, google, wikipedia, yahoo, youtube, etc.; digg and twitter; lookup and insert yelp review; get the weather; syntax highlight any code you find; and a lot more. Ubiquity “command list” to see them all.

These CSS tips are gathered from some of the most respected designers on the planet.

launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.

You need WordPress. It's not just for blogs anymore. It can be a fully functioning content management system (read: online software), letting you build and manage your site without breaking the bank. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use WordPress for your website.

An excellent article in the New York Times about the phenomenon that social scientists call "ambient awareness"

this is an amazing case study to learn how be successful with your online strategy.

Activating PHP WP Speedy instantly reduced the page load time to 14.08 seconds

Twitter is an excellent tool that can help you accelerate...lonely, lost posts will eventually find readers. Here are 10 ideas:

comparisons of the three major Content Management Systems (Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal)

The 960 Grid System is an effort to streamline web development workflow

Idealware report comparing WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Plone

Is social media the lone reason for USA Today's success?

The following is a list of the resources that have substantially changed my view of the internet.

A Short Rant On Usability

Church using texting in service
http://www.news9.com/Global/category.asp?C=116601&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3413619

For the first time, a large-scale study has quantified what many experts suspect: there is a constant membership turnover among most American faiths.

The reality is that Willow's surveys are finding new insights on spiritual growth issues for all kinds of churches including plenty of churches (40%) that do not consider themselves "seeker-focused" or "seeker-friendly."

Megachurches Impacting Local Economies

redesign of a church website from the perspective of a pro.

use Social Networking media like MySpace and FaceBook as a tool for reaching people

assimilating people into the life of your church

hey use the Internet as a primary planting tool.

When’s the last time you listened—really listened—to another person’s painful story?

I wish there was more talk about seeking people than about attracting seekers.

I really appreciated how the campus pastor opened the service. He didn't assume that people had been there before. In fact, he took a few moments to update guests on what had happened in the the series in prior weeks. I loved the intentionality of communicating as if people were going to show up for the first time.

Forget about the mystique and start blogging not because it’s trendy, but because it is communication. Share everything about your church through your blog and use other means of communication to point back to the blog. Educate your church members on how to use and subscribe to your blog. In short, make the blog the center of your church communication. It will benefit your church and also give you a better church website than all the flash animation in the world could provide.

Jim and Casper have gone to a First Presbyterian church, Lawndale, a house church, Imago Dei, Mars Hill in Seattle, The Bridge, and Lakewood.

Jim and Casper Go To Church I read about their visit to Willowcreek.

Book review- Jim & Casper Go To Church

Jim and Casper go to Dream Center and Mosaic

We are opening the church from about 9 - noon to allow church members and others to bring in their ailing PC’s and a group of us will be available to attempt to fix them.

congregations in America are growing

Mars Hill Church makes good use of social networking tools on Myspace and Facebook. 

Speaking about church decline in general, McManus concluded: “I think the bottom line really is our own spiritual narcissism.

Online communication is really a modern-day parallel for getting to know your neighbors.  

Since the Good News is meant to be shared, it will only serve the Kingdom if we use online means to augment our physical world relationships.

Chasing Cool: Standing Out in Today's Cluttered Marketplace by Noah Kerner and Gene Pressman. This was one of those books that's right in my wheel house. It spoke to everything I'm most passionate about when it comes to getting our message heard in today's culture. Here were some of the highlights for me...

Does that mean Easter was a success?

We may be spinning our wheels by spending a lot of time trying to figure out what will bring people to our open doors. In fact, most of our effort is aimed at the people we already have.

First Impressions of Granger, IN and GCC

Twitter Sunday

Lessons in Church Marketing from College Football

the promises that the back cover of Christian books

If “new wine must be put into new wineskins”, I think new strategies and tools to reach, connect, engage and mobilize people must be employed with new mindsets.

The Reason Your Church Must Twitter gives you all of those options. 

today’s religious facilities are using technology and savvy marketing to transform themselves into community hubs.

 a website with a "Story Driven" approach.

Give customers what they want, or more than they expect, and they will reward you with their loyalty.

the best marketing solutions should be evident.

sight of church goers typing messages into mobile phones during a service is becoming an increasingly common sight as clergy seek new ways of reversing declining attendance figures

Should be cheaper than phone tree most likely, def. cheaper than mailing postcards and you’ll probably get more teen response than from either of those anyway