Latest News and Trends
I subscribe to quite a few blogs, research and news sites that pertain to online ministry. I pick the best of those articles and share them in Google reader, along with my thoughts about them. Click the image below to see those shared items – or click the subscribe link below to add it to your feed reader or receive it in email.
What I’m reading
Subscribe to this feedBest Practices Research
From November 2007 to April 2008, over 300 ministries took the survey and reported on how they were doing Internet ministry. From the data collected, a series of “best practices” were developed matching ministries who reported success with their Internet presence with answers to the survey questions. I presented the results of this research at the Internet Ministry Conference in October 2008. Click on the image below to get the research report.
Best Practices Research
Strategy Worksheet
As part of my Internet Ministry course in the spring of 2008, I developed a strategy methodology that can be used to help in the planning and implementation of online ministry. This methodology will be useful to you whether you are first starting out or have been online for years. This methodology is a modification of a methodology first developed by Viggo Sogaard. Click the image below to download the PDF strategy worksheet. Click here to download the RTF version. Updated for 2010.
Internet Ministry Strategy Worksheet
Books
I keep a listing of books that I have found helpful in my Amazon bookstore. Click here to read the book reviews I have written. Click the image below to go to the bookstore and, if you are interested in the books, buy it from there to help support my research and educational initiatives!
Bookstore
Online Education
There is a great need for education and training for online ministry. How do you do it? What parts of our ministry should be online? What’s available for free? After doing my best practices research project and teaching my class on Internet ministry last year, I am now planning to teach an online course in this area. The first online version of the course is scheduled for summer 2010.
Summer 2010 Online Course
State Of Ministry Online
I am part of a team doing research into online ministry excellence in preparation for the CLA 2010 conference this spring in San Diego. For more about that project and how you can participate, take a look at the web site by clicking the image below.
The State Of Ministry Online
Shane Hipps Interview
As part of my Internet ministry class in the spring of 2009, I did an interview (via Skype) with Shane Hipps. In the interview, we discuss some of his overall philosophies regarding media and ministry, and spend a few minutes discussing how this relates to online ministry. Click the image below to see the interview (30 minute Quicktime video).
Shane Hipps interview
Using Web 2.0
I wrote a blog series a while back on how a ministry could get online without having to install or pay for anything by simply using “web 2.0″ tools such as WordPress, YouTube, and Flickr. Click on the image below to get a link to that series.
Web 2.0 Suite
The Pew Internet Project
Anyone doing planning for online ministry would be wise to understand what resources are available to help with planning. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the internet and how their activities affect their lives. Click on the image below for a link to more info about the project and access to their site.
Pew Internet Project