Working for a church is incredible. I get to work on things that matter for eternity. I also get to work on many things at once.  I have the privilege of overseeing all the media for the North Valley Baptist Church. This includes the graphic design, web, and video for the ministry.  I have 56 items on my to-do list now, ranging from book cover designs to website redesigns.  Thankfully, I have 3 incredibly talented guys that work for me.  Long ago, I tried to manage all my tasks on a running Word document.  That didn’t work out to well.  I needed something that I could access anywhere, and something that makes it easy to assign tasks to workers and/or volunteers.

I have found some great tools that have helped to keep all my tasks organized.  I’m sure there are many other great tools, but here are 2 that I’ve used and have really helped.  I think they could be a help to you as well.  If you use something else, please share it in the comments.

1.  37 Signal’s Basecamp

I used the free version for a couple years.  The free version was enough for me.  With it, you can only have one project, but you can have multiple to-do lists which I used as multiple projects.  I liked the fact that everyone in my office could see all the tasks on the to-do list and see what’s assigned to them.  You can also assign due dates with the tasks.  When I assigned a task to someone, they received an email notification.  It was very easy to see all that needed to be done, and who was assigned to what task.  Because it is web based, you can check your tasks or add a task anywhere with internet access.  There are also quite a few iPhone applications made for Basecamp.

Basecamp's to-do list (The tasks on here are old since I stopped using Basecamp)

2.  Behance’s Action Method

I switched a few months ago to Action Method.  Although it costs $99 a year (I got it for around $60/year because we are a non-profit).  I think it was well worth the money.  There are many things I like about Action Method. Here are a couple of reasons I like it better.

First of all, great intuitive design – The design for the iPhone application and the online application is very simple, yet robust and powerful.  You can color code your tasks (action items).  I usually use the color orange for web tasks, gray for video, and blue for design and miscellaneous action items. The layout of the application is very easy to navigate.  You can sort your action items by date, person or by project.

Second, I like the fact it is available online, on my iPhone, and also available as an Adobe Air Application.  The Air app acts just like a normal application.  I keep it open most of the time, and I always have it handy.

Some other great features include the ability to send send “appreciation” or a “nag” to team members.  It also warns you when you have a task overdue.  I don’t like the fact that it is not easy for everyone in office to see all the action items.  (I like it if they get done with a project and have time, they can start on another project that is yet assigned to anyone.)  Another downside, everyone on the team must use Action Method often. Someone may miss a task assigned to them, if they don’t check Action Method often.  Overall, it’s a great tool and I would highly recommend it.

Here is a screen shot of my Action Method

Action Method for iPhone

There are many other features to both of these tools including discussion boards, uploading images or files, chat, etc.  This post is just a quick overview of these powerful tools.  Check out their website for more information.  So, what program do you use for your to-do list?  What do you like about it?  I would love to hear about it in the comments.

I don’t know of anyone that uses the yellow pages anymore.  You may, but I don’t.  Everyone I know uses google or other search engines to find things.  Many churches know this and have built websites so prospective church visitors can find them.  Perhaps, you have paid for someone to create a website, took the time to create it yourself, or you may have used a template to design it.  So, what now?  You have a website, but does anyone even know it’s there?  Even more importantly, does anyone know your church is there?

According to a recent report there are over 183 million domain names…that’s a whole lot of websites!  Today, I will give you one way to attract prospective visitors to your website and your church.  In future posts, I will list other ways to get your website noticed by google and other search engines.

1.  List your church website RIGHT NOW on Google Local Businesses Center!

This is one of the easiest ways to get prospective visitors to your website and more importantly to your church.  It is very simple.  Go to www.google.com/lbc If you already have a google account, just log in.  If you don’t have a google account, click “sign up now” and follow the easy steps to set up an account.  Now, “Add a new business” and fill out the basic information about your church. You may also upload photos or video of your church to help prospective visitors.  When you are done entering all your information, you will need to validate your listing via phone or mail.  You’re done.  It’s that simple.

This may not seem like much to you, but in the last 26 days people have seen this free listing 1,923 times.  76 of these people clicked for more information on google maps.  90 people saw the listing and requested driving directions to our church.  38 people visited our website from this listing.  I realize that is not a lot of web traffic, but that’s not bad for a free listing that takes a few minutes to set up.  If only half of those who requested driving directions visit, that is still 45 church visitors in less than a month!

Google Local Business Center provides relevant business listing based upon geographic location and search keywords.  For instance, if I search for “church” while in Santa Clara, California, North Valley Baptist Church shows up along with a map of the area.  Google Local Business Center also provides you with free statistics to see helpful information.  For instance, you can see what people search for when they click on your listing.  Also, you can see where people request driving directions from. (see below)  This is a very powerful, free, and easy tool.  So, what are you waiting for? Set it up now!

Do you use Google Local Business Center for your church?  What results have you had?  Do you have any other suggestions on how to get your church noticed online?  I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Google Local Business Center Driving Directions Stats

Google Local Business Center Search Keyword Stats

Michael Moyer

Here are a few of the sites I go to if I need some inspiration.  I do not control, nor can I vouch for everything on these sites. I have found them helpful and clean, and I hope they will be a help to you as well.

CreativeMYK.com - Free Christian graphics for download shared by artists around the world.

MinistryCSS.com – A gallery of CSS websites designed to inspire you.

Kuler.Adobe.com – Colors swatches by a community of people who love colors.

Blog.SpoonGraphics.co.uk – Tutorials and others helpful tips

SmashingMagazine.com – Another website with tutorials, tools, and tips

MiniAjax.com – Code and instructions on how to make your website more dynamic and a richer experience for your visitors

What are some of the websites you go to for inspiration, tutorials, and/or tips?

Michael Moyer

I have enjoyed every year that God has allowed me to go the mission field, but I must say, this was the greatest year yet. God really touched my heart this year. We visited churches, talked to amazing people, preached in public schools, stayed in a rural home in the mountains, and were heartbroken at the leper hospital.  If you would like to view pictures I took from the trip, visit the North Valley Baptist Church Philippines Missions Page. You can also watch the video we made for our Missions Conference entitled, Making a Difference. I pray these will help you to see, YOU can make a difference!

Here is some of the gear that I bring on the Missions Trip.

I have the awesome opportunity to go with our church on the annual missions trip.  I document the whole trip with pictures, a blog and video.  (Check out the Missions trip website – real content will be available on October 6)  It has been an annual trip for me, and I love it!  It is truly a highlight of my year.  I covet your prayers. During the trip, I will take thousands of photos, hours of video, work on daily blog posts for nvbc.org, and have the privilege to preach several times. (This year I’m supposed to preach to a small churches we support and a large public school.)

I have quite a bit of equipment I use to document the amazing work being done by our missionaries in the Philippines.  I’ve accumulated quite a bit of technology/tools in the past 5 years of going on this trip.  This is more or less my checklist for this year’s tech equipment.  I would love to hear what you use or any suggestions.  Also, follow the trip on the Missions Trip website. I would love to read your comments!  Here’s my list of tech equipment for this year’s trip:

1.  MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with Snow Leopard)

Aperture on MacBook Pro

• Apple Aperture - I love editing my RAW images with Aperture.  I love the fact I can quickly edit my photos in full screen.  Time is of an essence.  Many times in the back of a jeepney or truck I’ll be editing my photos.  Thank God for Aperture…I would really hate for you to see my images before I use Aperture on them.
• Adobe Photoshop – After Editing my photos in Aperture I save them as jpg.  I then run a script to convert them to the right size and write the xml for my Slideshow Pro photo gallery.  I also quickly edit a few other images to add to the blog page and the photo page.
• Adobe Dreamweaver – I actually do not use Wordpress (like this website) for the missions website.  I created it from scratch in Dreamweaver, since it will only document about 10 days of travel, this works out just fine.
• There are other programs I use along the trip, but the above software I use most frequently.

2.  Nikon D200 – The D200 is a phenomenal camera. It’s quick (5 frames per second), durable (magnesium alloy body), has a large viewfinder and is an overall great camera. (Here are some photos from last year – make sure and check out this year’s when they become available)

• Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Lens – I take the majority of my photos with this lens.  This is a great lens for the price.  I love the shallow depth of field with this lens.  It is a great overall lens.
• Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 DX Fisheye Lens – I won’t use this very often, but this is a great fisheye lens for large crowds or small rooms where I want to get everyone in the picture.  You should definitely be able to tell which photos are taken with this lens.
• Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G – This is a decent lens, and I use it when I need to get closeups outside with plenty of light.

3.  Panasonic HVX-200 – I’ve really enjoyed shooting video with this beast.  It’s not compact at all, but takes great video.  At times, my back does not appreciate this camera.  I carry it in my backpack until I need to shoot video.  I try not to carry to much equipment out in the open.  Most of the time, I just have a camera out.  I’ve been using the Panasonic to take SD video (using MiniDV tapes) the past few years, and I thought I would finally be able to shoot some HD using my new P2 Cards.  However, I did not realize when I purchased the P2 Card that it doesn’t work with Snow Leopard.  So, I may once again be shooting in SD…oh, well.

• Sennheiser Evolution G2 100 Series Lapel Mic and Receiver – I use this to record audio for interviews.
• Panasonic P2 Card - I don’t want to talk about this.  I’m still a bit bitter that I just bought it and it doesn’t work with Snow Leopard!  Really though, my fault, I should have done the research before hand.

4.  Apple iPhone – This will keep me company on the long flight to and from the Philippines.  I’ve already preloaded it with games, music and video for the looong trip.

• Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones – Special thanks to Carl Harter, I will be in noise cancellation peace on the plane ride.  Carl has graciously lended me his headphones this year.  Good thing too, my Shure in-ear headphones that I usually bring were broken by one of my children during the course of this year….oops.

5.  Apple iPod - I have an old iPod nano for simply playing music, so I don’t use all my battery life of my phone.  This works out great when we are in the middle of nowhere and trying to sleep.  I’ve been able to sleep like a baby while roosters are crowing underneath the hut and people are laughing at us (they find Americans trying to sleep on the bamboo beds quite amusing, I think) thanks to the iPod nano and my Shure headset (may they rest-in-peace).

6.  Apple Airport Express – I use this to create a wireless network in my hotel room so I’m not chained to one area.  This is both good and bad.  Bad, because sometimes I fall asleep trying to work on the comfort of my bed.  If I don’t update the website one day,  you know why.  If possible, I may try to broadcast a live video of the Iloilo Baptist Church with Dr. Rick Martin.  I don’t know if it’s going to be possible, but I’m going to try and create a wireless network to do this.

7.  Flip Mino – This year will be the first time I’ve brought this.  I will use it to shoot video when I don’t have time or the energy to get the Panasonic out of my backpack.

8.  There is a lot of other random things like external hard drives, extra batteries for the laptop, camera, and video camera.  Also, because we break up into 2 groups at times, I will also be bringing a Nikon D100 and a Canon XL1 for the other group.

Well, I hope I didn’t bore you too much with this list.  If nothing else, I have a checklist of what to bring! I once again ask for your prayers, please follow the Philippines Missions Trip online and let me know what you think!

Michael Moyer

In a week and a half, I leave on the annual Missions Trip to the Philippines.  It is always a highlight of my year.  I have the privilege to document the work being done by our missionaries. Every year I take thousands of photos and hours of video.  I post pictures and a description of the days events online every night. (view photos and videos of previous years) Usually, when we return, I have about 2 weeks to complete a 10 minute video.  The way the dates fall this year, I will only have about 3 days before the conference begins and about 5 days before we show the video.  This has prompted me to find ways to create a professional video quickly and to create much of the video before I leave.

I recently found Animoto.com.  They have a very simple service.  You upload pictures or short video clips (or use theirs).  Arrange the pictures and add text.  Then choose a song (or upload your own).  It creates a very professional looking video in minutes.  Check out the short video clip I created in a couple of minutes using their stock video, a couple of my photos and some of my music. Of course, I would have to create much more than this, but this gives you an idea of what can be done quickly.

I think this could be a great help to churches that want to create first class videos/slideshows but don’t have a lot of time to do it.

UPDATE:

Here are 2 videos I create using Animoto, Motion and Final Cut Pro. Can you tell what pieces were done in Animoto?

Disclaimer: If you use the animoto link, you get $5 off and I get a month of free service. I was going to write about this before I knew about the referral program. I love Animoto, and if I could get a month free, I would love it even more.

In the Spring of 2001 North Valley Baptist Church began it’s live streaming video ministry.  We started the ministry for one young man who had cancer and was unable to attend church but desperately wanted to.  We had some brilliant volunteers in our church who set up the whole system.  It has come a long way since then and the video quality of the services are incredible now.  We have spent thousands of dollars on the setup. (read about our live streaming set up) Many churches, however, do not have the technical expertise or the equipment to live stream their services.  What if a small church has sick members who are unable to attend, but has no money to spend on setting up live streaming?  Is there a solution for them?  There is now!

Technology has come a long way since 2001 and there are now free services to live stream your church service. Of course, with any free service, there are drawbacks (like advertisements).  But if you have a situation like we did in 2001 and don’t have the money or technical know how, here are some great solution.

1.  LiveStream.com

LiveStream.com

In literally 5 minutes, I was set up and broadcasting live from livestream.com.  It is very straight forward and simple to broadcast live.  I simply attached my Firewire camera (you can use USB as well) to my computer, clicked “broadcast now”, and clicked “go live”.  I found the interface to be attractive and simple to use.  Below is the live streaming interface.

LiveStream.com Live Streaming Interface

Here is a short clip I recorded while preparing for a session at the National Pastors’ and Workers’ Conference. Notice, the quality is very good. The noise at the beginning is because I was watching live from my other computer and it caused feedback. Because it’s free, there is an ad at the beginning.

10GB of storage is available with the free account, This would be helpful if you want to make past church services available online.

Free Live Streaming from livestream.com

2. Ustream.tv

Ustream.tv

Another free option is Ustream.tv. It took a few more minutes to set up a Ustream.tv account. It wasn’t as simple and straight forward as livestream.com, but there seems to more features available. For instance, it is very easy to set up a poll, add text, and add video to your live stream broadcast. Broadcasting live is very simple, click “broadcast now” and then “start broadcast” and you are up and running.

Ustream's Broadcasting Interface

The advertisements seem to be a bit different than livestream.com. The advertisements are mostly ads overlaying the video (like youtube) as opposed to one commercial at the beginning.

Both livestream.com and Ustream.tv seem to have great quality and are free. I would love to hear what you think. If you have used either company or have any other suggestions, let me know in the comments.

Michael Moyer

Additional resources:

North Valley Baptist Church Live Streaming Video and Archived

How to Set Up Live Streaming for your Church (not free)

1.  Polaroid Gallery v.1.01

Flash Slideshow - Polaroid Gallery - YC Historical Photos

This is a great free slideshow.  It is very unique.  It looks like a table with photos scattered across it.  You can zoom in and move the photos around.  This flash slideshow also can be used to display flickr RSS feeds.

2.  Slideshow Pro

Flash Slideshow - Slideshow Pro - Moyer Photos

I really do love slideshow pro.  I have used it many different times.  It is very customizable.  You can customize your transitions, color, buttons, thumbnails, you name it.  You can also play videos in your slide shows.  It is not exactly free ($39) but well worth it.  I really like the new full screen feature.  I have used it for Youth Conference, Pastors’ Conference, Missions Trip and much more.

Missions Trip Photos using Slideshowpro

3.  Simple Viewer

Simple Viewer Slideshow - Bears' Slideshow

Simple Viewer is just that, simple.  It is also free.  It’s a great way to show your photos in a minimalistic way.  If all you want is people to see your photos without being too flashy, Simple Viewer is for you.

4.  Flash Nifties

Flash Nifties Flash Slideshow - NV News Home Page

We use Flash Nifties XML Flash Slideshow v2.1 for the simple navigation.  I like the fact, you can easily navigate through the pictures with the buttons.  We use this for our NVBC main page and also for the North Valley News Flash Header.

Flash Nifties Flash Slideshow - NVBC Home Page

5.  FlippingBook

FlippingBook Flash Page Flipper - YC 2009 Digital Brochure

If you want to show a digital version of a brochure online, this is a great way to do it.  You can use it for free as long as you have a link back to their site. It is very elegant and has great ease of use.  You can zoom in, download the pdf, and browse the book with this.  We always get great comments whenever we use FlippingBook.  We use it to send out a Christmas greeting card by Pastor Trieber to our large email mailing list.  People gladly receive it and we usually receive many emails back.

FlippingBook - Trieber Family Christmas Card

These are great tools that we use all the time to enhance our website.  If you know of other Flash slideshows, please share it below in the comments.

Michael Moyer

One thing that has been a huge help driving traffic to our ministry websites, is the Email Newsletter.  We have over 12,000 people we email on a monthly basis. We send the emails to our members, students, visitors, and those who have communicated to us through our websites. (nvbc.org, gsbc.edu, and nvpublications.net)  Emails are a great way to keep your church members informed.  They are also an effective and free way to advertise special events or new content on your website.  Every time we send out an email newsletter we get a huge spike in our website traffic. In this blog post I will give step by step instructions on how we create a free email newsletter. There are other ways to do this.  This is not the easiest way to do it.  You could pay or you can find templates already made.  This is the we do because we like the price (FREE) and we like the fact it is totally customizable.  I hope this is a help to you.  An understanding of Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver will help to understand the concepts here.  Also, I use an Apple Computer and Mac’s Mail program to email the newsletter.

You may download the Church Email Newsletter Photoshop file here to follow along with this tutorial.

1.  Create the graphics in Photoshop

We create the email the way we want the finished product to look in Photoshop.  I try not to make it overly complicated, planning where I want the text inserted. I design it so that no graphics are behind the text.  I want to be able to have the text re-size without breaking my design.

Sample Email Newsletter in Photoshop

2.  Slice up the design in Photoshop.

After I am done creating the email in Photoshop, I slice up the graphic (use “k” to select the slice tool in Photoshop).  I try to make as little slices as possible.  Notice the sample below.  Once again, I want to make sure the place where I will be inserting text in Dreamweaver is able to be resized without ruining the design.  The white background where the text is located can resize indefinitely without hurting the look of the email. Also, any where I want to place a link, I make a slice – I also, try to keep these minimal.

Sliced up Email in Photoshop

3. Save the Photoshop document for web.

After I’m done slicing up the image, I hide the layer that has the text (Lorem ipsum) I will insert in Dreamweaver.  I then “Save for Web.”  (cmd+option+s) I create a folder where I want my html and images and save it.  I usually name the html, “index.html”.  This makes it easier to link to later. (i.e. http://www.moyerphotos.com/email/)

Saving the Email for Web

4.  Open the document in Dreamweaver.

I then open the document in Adobe Dreamweaver to make adjustments for email.  Here are the steps I take in Dreamweaver.  First, I center the table with the graphics.  This is done by selecting the table and aligning it center.  Next, I choose my background color.  In the example it will be brown (#A59572) to match the design.  This is done by “Modify Page Properties” (cmd + j).  I then delete the image where my text will be and change the background to white.  Another, better alternative, would be to use the image you just deleted as a background image if it is repeatable.

Next, I create a table inside the empty area to position my text away from the edges.  The table is 1 row and 3 columns.  This keeps the text away from the edges of the graphic.

Table to position graphics in the email

5.  Format text for email.

The text then must be formatted to your liking using html code.  I have found that email does not like css or anything generated automatically by Dreamweaver.  I use simple html to format the text.

For instance here is what I’m using for the text.  Don’t let this scare you, if you never use code. If it is easier for you, just copy and paste this into your design and change according to your design. (i.e. font-size, color, etc.)

<font face=”Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif” style=”font-size:13px; line-height:18px; color:#0000000;”>

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed facilisis placerat erat eu varius. Fusce felis ipsum, aliquam vitae posuere vitae, commodo et lorem. Sed est dui, egestas sed pellentesque ut, luctus ultricies neque. Sed euismod semper metus sit amet ultrices.</font><br><br>

<font face=”Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif” style=”font-size:13px; line-height:18px; color:#0000000;”>
Aenean ut orci enim, aliquam molestie metus. Proin nec erat a augue iaculis accumsan. Aliquam sagittis luctus varius. </font>

After that, I change the background color of anything that may resize.  For instance, I change the background color of the brown images to brown (#A59572) in case they resize due to different sizes of text.  (Certain email programs may change the size of the text.)

Note: the same process can be done to add text at the header and footer of the document.

6.  Add links and upload the files to your website.

Once you are done with the above steps, upload the files to your website.  You are almost done now.  You don’t want to have any attachments on your email, just links to files.  To do this you need to change all links to absolute links.  While the file is still open in Dreamweaver, do a “find and replace” to change all relative links (i.e. “images/index_04.jpg) to absolute links (i.e. “http://www.moyerphotos.com/email/images/index_04.jpg) in your source code.  The find and replace command in Dreamweaver is “cmd + f”.  Below is an example of what I do a find and replace on.

Find and replace in Dreaweaver

Lastly, in Dreamweaver add any links you want in your email.  In the example, I will add links to my website on the graphic with the button and the graphic with the church.  Make sure that the border is set to “0″ otherwise Dreamweaver adds a dreaded blue stroke around the image.  Upload the file again with the changes and now you’re ready to send it out.

7.  Open the web page in Safari.

Simply open the file in Safari.  In this case it’s http://www.mediaministryblog.com/email.  Hit “cmd + i” or File>Mail Contents of This Page.  It will open email ready to go in the Apple Mail program.

Email Newsletter in Apple Mail

8.  Email your church newsletter.

I always try to test the emails to a gmail and yahoo account to make sure everything works.  If you have another method you use, please share it below in the comments; I would love to hear about it.

You may download the Church Email Newsletter Photoshop file here to follow along with this tutorial.

Here is the finished html newsletter to email.

Link to a North Valley News E-Newsletter.

Michael Moyer