August 25, 2008 – 4:09 pm
We are in the process of developing a new website for our student ministry. Currently we are having to gather all kinds of content and pictures as we go about the design process. One thing we are trying to do in order to maintain a personal feel/touch is to use pictures of students from our ministry. It sounds simple, but is actually a bit more complicated than just taking a couple of pictures and hoping it comes out all right. For one photo shoot we did (scene to the right) we brought in lights and shot students for nearly an hour playing games, reading the bible and having real conversations.
August 20, 2008 – 5:56 pm
In David Allen’s acclaimed book “Getting Things Done,” he talks about a process that is at its core “simple,” but yet effective. The idea is to develop systems for practically everything you do. If you have mail to file, you might have 3 drawers (in basket, actionable and reference) where you would file all your mail. While this works great with paper, often it can be a tad tricky with tasks and projects.. Recently I have been using a free program called “Remember the Milk.” While this program is great, its online and I have to go online to use it. I can remember at one point searching for months online and at stores for the perfect desktop application. Most of them were fairly complex or expensive. THINGS on the other hand is a desktop application that uses the same process and idea of Getting Things Done without having to go online. The company of Things is in development of a program that can connect with other users and currently there is an iphone app for all you iphone users (sadly this is not me yet).
As you launch into ministry this year and have a lot “to do,” make sure you read david allen’s book and download the free version of “things.”
August 19, 2008 – 2:45 pm
I was recently at a breakout session entitled using “media as a teaching tool” at the echo conference in Dallas. Gary Molander from Floodgate Productions spoke, and in his session he talked about the importance of using transitional statements when incorporating video into worship services. Gary spoke about the power of creating a well constructed sentence before or after a video during a service to segue into the message. This statement depending on how it is crafted could potentially help the medium to loose or gain power in the context of the rest of the service. Below are some thoughts to incorporate this idea.
Do:
treat the video as a message not a video
ask a question after the video that can transition to what you are going to say
write the transitional statement down and practice it
Don’t:
Don’t call attention to the video as amazing
Don’t call attention to whoever made it and brag on that person
Don’t ignore the video as if it has nothing to do with the message
Transitional Statement Examples:
Sound a little familiar?
Can’t we all relate with that?
Have you ever felt that way before?
August 15, 2008 – 5:38 am
I recently partnered with Webtoast Media to design a site for my video production company. Jeremiah, Freddy and Butch all did an incredible Job. Radiant First Productions is a new site that focuses on producing media/video for local organizations, churches and youth groups. While the medium of video has made its way into larger churches, smaller ones are sometimes left behind or forced to buy all of their media without any personal touch. Our desire is to partner with ministries/organizations that want to utilize the medium of video to reach others for Christ. Help us to get the word out and let us know what you think of the new site.
“I believe that film is one of the most powerful mediums of today that can change our culture.
I really believe that we have only recently begun to really utilize this medium at a local level. What ministries and organizations need today is not a great marketing campaign, but powerful contagious stories….stories that move, inspire and compel people to ask, think and stare deep into their souls.”
August 13, 2008 – 3:46 am
If you have ever tried to create simple forms for a website, you may have noticed that it can sometimes be a little more complicated than it looks. PHP is usually required to power even the simplest of forms, which for a beginner web developer can be a tad tricky. I recently discovered a free service Email Me Forms, which allows you to custom make forms for your website. Once you create the form you copy the html and past it into the body of your website. I had tried finding services like this one a year ago and had no luck. This service is great for creating sign-ups of any kind or even making a simple contact form on your website.
