Has Your Ministry Sprouted Lately? - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

I know, strange headline. But the question pertains to a new technology that you don't have to possess an advanced computer sciences degree or be the church "techie-in-residence" to use to greatly impact your ministry.

Sprout is a new web-based program from the makers of ChipIn. ChipIn produces cool widgets to enable folks to give to ministries and other non-profits online. See the eye-popping Chip-In widget to the left of this post, through which you can give to Lucky Rock Ministries and keep this blog rolling. Check out a short video of the Sprout Builder demo launch here.

Sprout is nothing short of awesome! If you're like me, you want to create cool, interactive stuff for your website, emails and more that the Spirit might use to push believers and non-believers alike toward Christ. Unfortunately, even the best software, such as Flash CS3 doesn't make it easy to create "rich content." Thus, most ministry folks are left out in the cold.

Enter Sprout.

Sprout allows you to build jukeboxes, slideshows and other cool stuff through a simple drag-and-drop interface. Sprout even allows you to upload "assets" such as pictures, music files and sermon audio/video. For an example of what you, yes you, can do in just a few minutes with Sprout, check out the audio player found at the top-left of the recently-created Crown True Financial Freedom Stories blog.

Some of you more tech-savvy readers will find Sprout doesn't let you do all the really cool Flash fly-ins, etc. But Sprout isn't for the ministry tech gurus who know ActionScript, Flex, and Flash. It's for folks who want to create cool content on the fly.

Though Sprout is still in beta-testing, this program delivers. I strongly encourage you to sign up for a free account today and have some fun. And if enough of you ask for it, I'll soon post a mini Sprout tutorial.

Sprout often. . .

Why You Should Care About Big News from Google at the Mobile World Congress - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

As I watched to this morning to a video featuring Google's VP of Mobile, my wife asked me why I'm interested in what's happening in emerging mobile markets. So why should we, as those seeking God's glory and to advance His kingdom, care about what's happening with techno growth? I'll get to that question in a second...

One oversized piece of news from Google out of this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is that IPhone users are accessing Google's web searches 50 times as much as those without the IPhone! Google's VP of Mobile explains why in the clip linked above. Also in the clip is news that Google anticipates mobile search to overtake PC-based search in the next several years. The takeaway for ministries: mobile is and will be a huge mission field/equipping territory going forward and you should plan your ministry accordingly (including subscribe by cell phone, Blue Tooth alerts, handheld bible study tools, and more).

Back to my wife's question...Why should we care about what's happening in emerging technologies? Because knowing what's coming & getting ahead of the curve should afford us an incredible opportunity to plan and successfully execute ministry, for God' glory!

You may be thinking, "I'm the pastor of a small church in the middle of Indiana. What does a Chinese mobile provider have to do with me?" Let me answer your question with a few questions of my own.

Do you support missionaries? Do you pray for & give to overseas ministries, or plan to do so in the near future? Wouldn't it be in keeping with Jesus' command to be "wise as serpents" for you to be able to better evaluate ministries in China, India, Africa, and beyond, based on their use of mobile technologies that are exploding in those locales?

For you parachurch leaders, what are you doing to tap the burgeoning mobile market? Are you delivering ministry alerts to members' cell phones? Are you Blue Tooth broadcasting at major events and on Sunday mornings?

The bottom line for this blog and the Lucky Rock ministry is to bring glory to God by "equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ," primarily through better ministry strategy, with a special focus on staying ahead of the technology/marketing game and directing ministry accordingly. Don't let your ministry lag and don't fool yourself into thinking it's too hard to keep up. God will supply all the wisdom & insight you need and He will provide the human resources (including yours truly) to capitalize on the incredible tools at our disposal to spread the good news of our great God and King, Jesus Christ.

Try reading your Bible with forward thinking in mind and start praying about how to revamp your ministry to more efficiently build people in Christ and make new disciples. Then subscribe to our blog, link to us, and tell others about how they too can "get 'er done" for Jesus Christ.

PS: One more Blue Tooth broadcasting idea...For major evangelistic events such as Luis Palau Festival or other mass gatherings, why not broadcast Blue Tooth invites to the surrounding community throughout your activity? If you really want to go nuts, you could set up Blue Tooth units at large participating churches, which would help spread the word beyond the immediate vicinity of your venue. This would be especially strategic if your conference spans several days.