Many church websites are outdated in both it’s design and it’s content. Why? Many times it’s because the church website is done by volunteers or by someone who knows very little about web design.  However, there is no excuse today for an outdated, poor looking website.  You may argue that your church has no money or no one with experience.  Well, WordPress has enabled people with no web design skills to create a good looking church website easily and affordably. Here are the easy steps to create a church website using ... Read More

“Is it worth it?” Have you ever asked that question? If you work with the media of the church, you undoubtedly have asked that questions before. The church graphics are not produced in minutes. Videos for your ministry are usually not produced in a day or two. Websites are not created in a night. Creating media for a church or ministry is not an easy or a quick task. Maybe you can relate with this, it’s 3:00a.m. in the morning, you are on your 4th all-nighter in a row, and you are running on coffee, energy drinks, or a combination ... Read More

For 30+ years the North Valley Baptist Church has had a yearly theme.  Since 2001, I’ve had the privilege to create a logo and a look for the new year.  We also have an annual youth conference, pastors’ conference, and missions conference.  For each of these conferences, there is a theme and design that goes along with each.  I must admit I’m not the greatest at coming up with the logo and theme.  It is usually a challenge, but a challenge I welcome and enjoy.  Here are some thoughts on how I design the logo and ... Read More

I get asked the same question a lot.  “How do you come up with all your ideas.”  I usually proceed to tell them that I get ideas everywhere and anywhere.  Next, I usually show them is a large filing cabinet in my office.  The top large drawer is filled with brochures, mailers, postcards, magazines, advertisement, and a lot of other junk.  At least others may think of it as junk, but I view it as an invaluable resource.  My wife sometimes laughs at me, because everywhere we go I am picking up new brochures and stopping to ... Read More

View the screencast on your iPhone. Photoshop actions save a great deal of time, if you have multiple images to work on.  This screencast shows you how to create a Photoshop action of an image reflection.  It also explains how to run the action on a whole folder of images using Batch in Photoshop.  You can create a Photoshop action for anything that you have to do repeatedly. For instance, if you need to resize multiple photos, or if you have hundreds of photos that you want to make black and white, actions are the way to go.   I would ... Read More

Create a realistic bordered photo effect using this Photoshop action.  Watch the screencast and download the action. Download the Photoshop action here. You will need to unzip the action, then follow the screencast. I would recommend watching the screencast in HD for better viewing. Watch the screencast on your iPhone. Michael ... Read More