Archive for 'Resources'
Creative way to get touch screens without buying touch screens
Posted on31. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
So I’m excited about this little piece of technology. We currently use Fellowship One for check-in, but we’re only using it as assisted check-in. I want to move toward self check-in stations, but I only have one touch screen. I know that you don’t have to use touch screens, but let’s face it, it’s a better experience. I know that there may be others in a similar situation. You have a lot of monitors already, but you want to move to touch screens. Touch screens cost $500 each (let me know if you know of a better deal) and that’s cost prohibitive for most ministry budgets.
Then I came across Magic Touch, a little device that turns any monitor into a touch screen. It plugs into USB and then calibrates with your screen. I haven’t tested this yet, but I’ve got one on order. In a few weeks I’ll post a review and let you know how it works.
You can get more information on this device here. I actually bought it from here. Check out the video below for and idea of what it looks like. However… although this piece of equipment is pretty innovative and new… the video looks like it was made in the 80’s.
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Your Sunday morning playlist: Welcome Music
Posted on31. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Music is a powerful tool. It has a powerful affect on environment. I remember walking through UpStreet Kids at North Point Church for the first time a few years ago on a Sunday morning and they had High School Musical booming loud through the hallways. Upstreet had a great decor, but the music literally put a little extra bounce in my step. Amazing how it affected me.
So, what music are you playing in your environments as the kids are coming in? Do you play music in your lobbies or hallways? If so, what is on your playlist?
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I need help with a report
Posted on30. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, I’m crowdsourcing a problem I’ve run into. I found the PERFECT volunteer report for Fellowship One. We check all of our volunteers in every Sunday. We keep up with our volunteers as well. If one drops out, we make their ministry assignment inactive. This way, I can run a report and pull up the names of only those who are active. Likewise, I can pull the same report of those who are inactive to see who isn’t serving anymore.
As PERFECT as this report is, it’s got one little problem. Actually, it’s big enough to make it report frustrating. I’ve sent in a request to have this enhanced, but I’m hoping that someone out there can help me before I hear back from the fine folks at Fellowship Tech. So, I figure that one of three people could help me out. If you’re one of these three types of people, then read on. If you’re not, then feel free to move along unless this just sounds absolutely intriguing.
- You work for Fellowship Tech and you’d like to have mercy on me and pass my request to the front of the line to have it fixed before the end of the day. (Hey, it’s worth a shot, right?)
- You’re a Fellowship One ninja and know of another report that will get me the same information (or enough to satisfy my needs).
- You’re an Excel genius that can help me extract the information I need that is already in the report, just not in a convenient way to access.
So, I’m betting that at least one of you three are reading this post and are going to have a solution for me. Here we go:
The report is M3739E. It’s a fantastic report that spits out the names, addresses and communication information of all active or inactive volunteers for a ministry. In addition, it tells me where they serve, what their role is as well as the RLC they’re assigned to. Best of all, it shows volunteer requirements, such as when they had a background check run as well as if they’re filled out an application. It’s beautiful!
However, the problem is that this report puts all the communication information in one cell. Every phone number and email in once cell. So, if I want to run this report and quickly cut and paste 200 emails, I can’t becasue all the phone numbers are mixed in as well. At first I thought this was a simple fix as I could just do a “text to columns” split, but the contact info doesn’t appear to be separated by commas, spaces or anything else… so I can’t seem to divide the individual contacts. The only way I’ve been able to do this is manually cut and paste.
So, any advice? Is there a similar report? Anyone know an Excel trick that will do this for me? I need to get an email out to all my volunteers later this week and I totally don’t want to have someone cut and paste 300 emails.
Here is a sample of the report. The names, addresses and such have been changed, but it gives you something to play with to see if you can work your excel mojo on it.
UPDATE:
Within an hour of this post, my friend Mike Niebuhr, both a F1 Guru and obviously an excel ninja created a custom fix. So, if you’re curious about using this report, which you should becasue it is awesome, then you can use this fix as well.
Insert a new column between “communication” (column C) and “work address” (column D). Now column D is an empty column. In column D2, paste the following code:
=MID(C2,(SEARCH(“E: “,C2,1)+3),LEN(C2))
This code/function will extract the email (if there is one) from the C column and put it in column D2. Brilliant, right? To quickly add this function to all the rest of the cells in the D Column, click on Cell D2 and in the bottom right corner of the cell you’ll see a little box. When your cursor hovers over the little box, it turns to a solid black “plus sign” instead of what was a “hand” or white “plus sign.” Click on it (and hold down) and drag it all the way down Column D. This will populate the function in every cell in this column.
Thanks Mike for your help!
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Do you know of any great Bible Songs?
Posted on26. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, I’m going a little old school here. I’m looking for some really good “old-fashion” Bible Songs. Cheesy instrumentation is okay. Before you disown me and unsubscribe from this blog, let me explain… please. 
Every night when I put Titus to bed, we read from his Bible and something that has been significant is singing together. For close to a month, we read the story of Joshua and Jericho because he really likes the song. I know that he’s learning the story and falling in love with his time in the Bible even more because he loves singing the songs. A few weeks later we started reading the story of Zacchaeus and he really likes that song as well. This week, we’ve been reading Daniel and the Lions Den, but I don’t know a song for that. However, I know that there are hundreds of simple Bible Songs and maybe there’s one about Daniel and the Lions Den.
So, do you know of a great resource for simple Bible Songs? Simple is okay, we just need to learn them some we can sing them during our Bible time. If the music is a little cooler and up-to-date, then that’s a bonus… but I’m not interested in techno or rap versions of these songs… my son is 3.
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A big thank you to some sponsors
Posted on20. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
I just wanted to say thank you for the sponsorships this site has recently gotten. I really appreciate it. Other than some Google ad space and some Amazon affiliate love, this is the first time I’ve ever had money come in this direction when it comes to my blog. I didn’t start blogging as a business venture (it doesn’t really pay all that well… at least for me anyway). Over the years I have logged thousands of hours writing becasue I believe in what I get to do and I want to help others in any way I can. If a little green comes my way, then I count that a blessing.
So, this month I picked up God’s Kids Worship and Christianity Cove as advertisers. Thank you so much for partnering with me and this site.
God’s Kids Worship is a great resource for elementary production. If you need great worship tracks for your worship, then they’ve got what you need. I’ve not been able to sample these personally, but I’ve spent some time on their site learning about them. I like what I’ve seen. They have a huge selection of songs and a plan to keep your song list fresh (I think I did Big House every Sunday for the first 7 years of my ministry). What a great resource! Be sure to check it out (click the ad to the right).
Christianity Cove is a comprehensive site of Sunday School, Home School and Church teaching resources. Mary-Kate, the owner and director, has been at it for years and there are hundreds and hundreds (maybe thousands) of games, crafts, lessons and articles. Although this resource is a little different from the kinds of resources I usually promote, I know there are many readers of this site that could benefit from this resource. So, jump on over and ad check out what the Cove is all about (Click the ad to the right).
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Secrets for successful check-in
Posted on03. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Two weeks ago, Fellowship Technologies held a webinar about check-in. It was for any church using any check-in system; however, it was very heavy on the Fellowship One. If you’re curious about Fellowship One and think your church might look into it as a check-in solution, you need to watch this video. However, there were several nuggets that I took away that had nothing to do with F1 specifically. So, even if you don’t use Fellowship One, it might be worth your time to watch this webinar.
It is an hour in length and I don’t expect everyone to watch it, so in the next day or so, I’ll also post some of the things I really got out of it. I’m really excited about some of the things I learned.
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Why Fellowship One rules
Posted on03. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that we use Fellowship One at Gateway Church here in Austin. You’ll also know that I’m a big fan. This week I have a handful of posts about F1, specifically about check-in. However, I thought I’d begin this little series of posts explaining why I’m such a big fan.
- Fellowship One was not the first church management system I’ve used, but it was the first check-in system I’ve used. The church I was at decided to switch to another system, which we used for 18 months before switching to another system. Two years later they switched yet again. I’ll just say that the two years after leaving F1 were not very fun when it came to check-in. Not only have I used other systems, but I’ve researched, tested and explored countless other systems. No other system matches F1. No one. You may find another system that does fast check-in, but it may not tie into event registration or other family involvement as seamlessly. This is why I’m a fan.
- Flexibility. F1 is the most flexible check-in systems available. If I want all kids to be pre-assigned to classes before they arrive on Sunday, I can do that. If I don’t want kids to ever be assigned to any classrooms and allow them to check in to any classroom, I can do that. Even kids with assignments can switch to a different classroom without requiring an act of Congress. It’s all automated and 95% of the time, check-in attendants can just follow what F1 is directing them to do, and they’ll be right. The system is flexible enough that we can even come up with out of the box ideas of how to assign kids to special events, classes or groups and it just works. Nothing is as fast and flexible. This is why I’m a fan.
- Control. With F1, I have control. It sounds bad when I say that, but really, it’s a good thing. At Gateway we experience near-capacity attendance in the Fall and Winter months. Literally, 80% of my Early Childhood rooms will reach maximum capacity. Non-intuitive check-in systems cause you to sometimes have 4 kids in one classroom with 25 in the one next door. With F1, I can load balance rooms so that they fill up evenly. I can close rooms when they get too full allowing kids to overflow into other rooms with more space. Through assignments, I can make sure certain kids always check into the same classroom. Last of all, I can shut down ministry areas to protect ratios or prevent over-crowding (unsafe ministry environments).
There are lots of other cool things about F1 and check-in, but you’ll just have to find out what those are for yourself.
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Review: Childrens Ministry Academy
Posted on02. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by the Children’s Ministry Academy to do an interview about Children’s Ministry. Before that day, I’d never heard of this resource. The concept of an online educational resource isn’t exactly unique, but I really can’t think of anyone else doing it in this capacity. Honestly, I was intrigued. At first glance, I didn’t see this as something I needed, but something I might provide for new key volunteers or a resource I’d recommend to others just getting started in Children’s Ministry.
Here’s what I know. I completed my Masters in Education through an online environment. Although it was a different experience from what CMA offers, I’m a big supporter of leveraging technology to resource and equip people. That’s why I’ve been authoring this blog for the past 3+ years. One of my courses in my graduate work focused specifically on web-based distance education. For a class project, I created (a poorly designed) web site for kids to learn about baptism. Make no mistake, web-based education and training already is (and is growing) a significant method for today’s and tomorrow’s generations. I don’t know of any other options on the web filling this specific niche.
If you’ve been in ministry for a long time, a lot of the information covered in these modules may be more of a review. However, as a student you will have access to CMA’s continuing education material each month which consist of valuable resources and quality interviews of respected leaders in Children’s Ministry. I see the most value in providing this program for new staff or key volunteers/leaders. There are many great books about Children’s Ministry, but few that are comprehensive. Sending a staff member or volunteer through CMA will ensure they have a firm grasp on some of the most important basics of ministry. It’s a lot cheaper than a conference and at the very least, you’ll know what you’re getting. I’d recommend using CMA and supplementing with some of your own stuff (specific to your church and ministry) to make sure your ministry team is all on the same page.
Honestly, I see so much potential in CMA. Like I said before, this is the future in training and equipping and I think CMA is on to something. I believe it is worth your time to check it out and see if it is a fit for your church and ministry.
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Secrets of successful check-in
Posted on20. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
Does that entice you to read below? I’m really late in getting this post out, but Fellowship One is hosting a free webinar (only one hour long) about having a successful check-in process. Anyone is invited to attend the webinar, even if you don’t use Fellowship One. I really don’t know if it’s going to be a big pitch for Fellowship One, but even if you don’t use F1, I’d plan to participate. I’m sure you’ll learn some good stuff.
Here’s what I do know. Fellowship One REALLY knows check-in. Trust me, I’ve seen and used many of the other leading check-in solutions and I’ve not experienced any that come very close to Fellowship One. Seriously, I love Fellowship One. Even if you’re not using F1 and it’s unlikely that you will switch, I’m sure there’s something you can learn from the guys who do it best.
So, here are the details:
Free webinar on the Secrets of Check-in For Children, Events and Rapid Follow-Up.
Fellowship Technologies will host its next webinar on July 21, 2010 at 1:00 PM (CDT) about the Secrets of Successful Check-In. This helpful and informative online session will reveal how to use Check-In for children’s ministry, activities and events with rapid follow-up!
The webinar is free, but registration is required. To register visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/675236104. This hour-long webinar includes insight from the staff of Fellowship Technologies on helping your church take check-in to a whole new level! One registered webinar attendee will win a FREE Godex DT-4 label printer, courtesy of POS Computer Corporation.
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ReThink ReInvents Family Times
Posted on20. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
I must say that I’m very excited about Cue Box, a new resource coming soon from reThink that ties directly into 252Basics. For years reThink has offered virtue packs through Family Times that tied into the monthly virtue. Don’t get me wrong, these are great resources. However, we couldn’t ever really get a lot of momentum behind them. The parents who used them like them, but few committed to using them regularly.
Cue Box is a reinvention of the Family Times virtue packs. The big change is that it’s DVD and Kid driven. Rather than going the route of offering a resource to parents that they “should” use, Cue Box offers a resource that basically does the same thing but because it is Kid-driven, the kids are pushing their parents toward getting it and using it.
Who knows how successful it will be? It probably depends on how you promote it among your parents and how readily available you make it. From what I’ve seen, the production value seems high (personally I think it’s on a significantly higher level than any of their other video content) and I can’t imagine that the content is anything less than excellent.
Click here to visit Studio252.tv and learn more about Cue Box. This resource begins with September’s virtue, so you don’t want to miss your opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
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