Tim Postuma
I work for the CRC as 'web guy'. But that doesn't mean I'm a coder (others are way better at that than me). I'm first and foremost a communicator, so what I love to do is look for ways we can better communicate as a denomination using technology. I get to listen for ideas that are out there, come up with a few of my own, and help them become reality. Examples include the Network website and the Digital Library. I also connect with the web/communications people for each of the CRC ministries. So if you have ideas for how we can better communicate using technology you can feel free to route suggestions through me. We WANT those ideas. I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba - go, Jets - but now live in Grand Rapids, MI (much to my surprise!). My wonderful wife is a CRC chaplain and we have three kids that keep us plenty busy.
Posted in: When to Reopen Church? (And When to Re-Close)
This was shared with a group of pastors last week. I particularly like the first section of 'values that will guide our decision-making'. Seems wise to name and agree on some values first.
Reopening Questions, Considerations, and Strategies (from Harbor Churches)
Posted in: When to Reopen Church? (And When to Re-Close)
Thanks for sharing that helpful perspective, Ken. For many like you, at-home is the way they normally experience worship. So important for us to remember that!
I've really enjoyed my church's new way of at-home worship, and have found it to be enriching in different ways. Sure, I look forward to worshipping in person again. But I certainly don't feel the need to push the envelope or take any unnecessary risks to do it soon.
Posted in: When to Reopen Church? (And When to Re-Close)
I can imagine a lot of issues with that approach, and real potential for hurt relationships and harm to health. Do we pass the offering plate? Do we invite the kids up for the blessing? Will nursery be offered? What happens if someone is wanting to keep distance and someone else sits right behind them and sings down their neck? What if one person is wearing a mask and keeping distance and another church member comes right up to them to chat without a mask? Do we have coffee time after the service, and will the servers take any precautions? Etc.
Even assuming all members are trying to stay fully informed, it may be from different sources and some of it might conflict. The church in the article linked above agreed upon significant precautions, and still ended up with more than half the people attending their event getting the virus and two church members dying.
Communal worship is, well, communal. And like any community, we rely on many social norms that we typically take for granted. Right now, those norms are upended. Before opening for worship, it seems wise for church leaders to help establish what the new norms will be and communicate those so people know what to expect and can decide, for themselves, whether to participate. That's the topic of this thread.
Posted in: When to Reopen Church? (And When to Re-Close)
From Restrictions to Precautions: A Classis Letter On Churches Gathering Again (from Classis Georgetown)
Posted in: When to Reopen Church? (And When to Re-Close)
Just Because the Economy is Reopening Doesn't Mean Churches Should (from The Banner)
Posted in: When to Reopen Church? (And When to Re-Close)
More news stories are appearing about churches that caused COVID-19 spread. Today the CDC issued this detailed study of one such incident:
High COVID-19 Attack Rate Among Attendees at Events at a Church (from the CDC)
Posted in: How Does Your Church Do Photo Directories?
Good topic! Here's what we do...for a few weeks each year, we announce that we'll be taking directory photos after the service. Those photos are taken in a prominent location, so even those that miss the announcement see what's happening and join the line. One of the staff just takes photos on her phone, but it could also be a good volunteer task for someone. A few people choose to email their own photo to the church office.
The rest of the directory info comes from our church management system (ChMS), and then the photos are added as part of the page layout. But this year, with our new ChMS, I believe they'll be adding photos directly into the ChMS so they're available there as part of the online/app directory as well. And then everything - photos and text - are dumped out from the ChMS to build the print directory.
I know some other churches use Instant Church Directory with success, so might want to check that out as well. Especially if you aren't currently using a ChMS.
So that's roughly how we do it....but I'm really curious to hear how other churches do it. Others???
Posted in: Payment Solution to Accept Recurring Donations?
Hi. Are you using a church management system (ChMS)? If so, I'd first look at what electronic donation systems integrate with it, and how their fees compare. The big advantage is then it's all tied together, no duplicate entry, etc (see my comment in this other thread).
If you aren't using a ChMS, then you might want to consider that first, or at the same time. Or at least consider a solution that you know can integrate to some of the main ChMS tools at whatever point you decide you need one. Hope this helps!
Posted in: Recommendations for an Online Church Directory Service
I've heard good things about Instant Church Directory as well (from a colleague who uses it in his church). Also, check if your Church Management System (ChMS) offers this (or has plans to). My own church is moving to a web-based ChMS that apparently has a free app with directory functionality. That way you don't have to maintain directory details across two systems.
Posted in: What Is a Good Web Host for Churches?
James offers some great advice there. I agree that WordPress is the best choice for most churches, especially if they've got someone in the congregation that builds sites in Wordpress, or can hire someone to do so. Can't go wrong with Wordpress.
We use Drupal for most CRCNA ministry sites, but I wouldn't use it for my local church. It's very powerful, but overkill for a church website. And even though the CRCNA has pretty much standardized on Drupal, we still use Wordpress in some situations.
But actually lately we've spun up a couple of product sites using Weebly (similar to Wix and Squarespace). Examples:
dwell.faithaliveresources.org
librosdesafio.org
Tools like that are incredibly easy (mostly drag and drop) with nice prebuilt templates. But you need to be content with their featureset because there's no ability to extend beyond it. So look at the list of features carefully, and especially compare that to some of the church-specific tools that James mentions. They all fall into the 'limited technical expertise required' category, it's just a question of what features you'd want/need.
Wordpress.com is probably between those two options. You get most of the functionality of Wordpress, but avoid some of the more technical aspects (and trade off some customizability).
Posted in: Simple and Confidential Database for Tracking Congregational Visits?
Have you considered a Google Spreadsheet, Jack?
You can give access only to those who are authorized to see it. Those that are authorized can enter their contact as a new row. Having it in a spreadsheet allows it to be sorted, grouped, etc. People use their Google Account to log in (note that they do NOT have to use Gmail, a Google Account is simply a login and can be created with any email address).
When the elder's term is up, you can take them off the permission list and add the new elder to the permission list.
It does mean that all elders could see all contacts. If that's not OK, you could get fancier with a separate tab for each district, and then configure permissions so that elders can only see the tab that applies to them. But to do that you'd need to dig into the Google Spreadsheets help to get it set up correctly. It's a little more complicated, but still fairly easy once you figure it out.
That's just one option that comes to mind. Hopefully others can weigh in with thoughts about this approach, and other alternatives. I'm sure other churches have faced the same question.
Posted in: Simple and Confidential Database for Tracking Congregational Visits?
I haven't heard of concerns about this before. What part of the user agreement are you concerned about? Google Drive is widely used, and if they didn't take data privacy/confidentiality seriously it would undermine their entire business.
There are many articles online about the security of data with Google, and here's one that explains some of the wording in the user agreement. Personally, I'd trust Google Drive more than most other online tools because it's in their best interest to keep their customer data secure and private. And they're big enough to do it well.