20070106 Church resource web sites that rock.

Church resource web sites that rock.[1]

January 6, 2007

Hat Tip: Pastor Jam – who, has a direct connect with G_d: Genesis, 21:12: “And G_d said to him: … in all that Sarah hath said to thee, hearken to her voice…”

Pastor Jam sent me the following list in a recent e-mail.

~ Of course, for contemporary politics and such, I also read and recommend, “Reformed Chicks Blabbing.” They rule.

_____

1. Seth Godin
Site: sethgodin.typepad.com
Why it Rocks: Seth Godin is a best-selling author and marketing guru who gets the YouTube-fueled market. While he doesn't claim to be a Christian, his valuable insight into marketing strategy is still applicable to your church.

2. Mark Batterson
Site: evotional.com
Why it Rocks: Mark Batterson is a blogging madman, consistently posting multiple times a day. He’s always upbeat and inspiring, and shares very cool stories about his congregation, National Community Church in Washington, D.C., that will get your creative juices flowing.

3. Simply Strategic Guys
Site: simplystrategicshow.com
Why it Rocks: Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens are the ultra-innovative Simply Strategic Guys (authors of the popular Simply Strategic series), supplying down-to-earth wisdom and laughs about ministry, leadership and life via blog or podcast.

4. Worshiphouse Media
Site: worshiphousemedia.com
Why it Rocks: Worshiphouse offers a huge collection of mini-movies, motion graphics, still images and editable clips you can purchase online to up your church's creative ante.

5. Lightcast Media
Site: lightcastmedia.com
Why it Rocks: Designed to help churches stream their live services online, this site will help your church distribute itself more broadly and efficiently.

6. Relevant Leader
Site: relevantnetwork.com
Why it Rocks: This site offers timely church-related news, articles and resources mixed with chic, modern designs—and it can all be delivered straight to your inbox.

7. 37signals
Site: 37signals.com
Why it Rocks: Peruse the company’s Signal vs. Noise blog or download the Getting Real PDF book for insights on getting work done smart, fast and cheap. While 37signal’s focus is Web-based software, the same lessons can be applied to your leadership team.

8. Monday Morning Insight
Site: mondaymorninginsight.com
Why it Rocks: Blogger Todd Rhoades heads up Monday Morning Insight, a compilation of stories and resources geared to pastors and church leaders across the U.S. and the world. The site offers a bundle of newsy content on all types of church leadership issues—trends, ideas, worship, technology, and personnel issues. Don’t miss the handy Q&A for ministry questions.

9. Church Relevance
Site: churchrelevance.com
Why it Rocks: Kent Shaffer, one of the founders of a design and marketing firm that caters to churches, offers up loads of useful statistics and practical advice on successful church design, marketing and management.

10. Ridge Stone Backstage/Gary Lamb's blog
Sites: ridgestonebackstage.com
garylamb.blogspot.com
Why They Rock: Gary Lamb pastors Ridge Stone, a church plant in Georgia, and his candid blog follows the ups and downs of his personal journey. A companion blog, Ridge Stone Backstage, offers behind-the-scenes tips and insights for other church planters.

11. Lifehacker
Site: lifehacker.com
Why it Rocks: Discover the software downloads and Web sites that actually save time. This site is a goldmine of practical advice (such as how to automate repetitive tasks) and various techie tips for increased efficiency and productivity.

12. Christianity Today's Weblog
Site: christianitytoday.com/ct/features/news/weblog
Why it Rocks: This site is your one-stop shop for all the Christian-related news that's fit to print. And we mean all, with at least 100-plus links in every issue, plus commentary on the online feature stories.

13. Lark News
Site: larknews.com
Why it Rocks: Sometimes pastors just need to laugh, and laugh you will at this site featuring satirical news stories a la The Onion, poking good-natured fun at Christian happenings.

14. Effective Web Ministry Notes
Site: eministrynotes.com
Why it Rocks: Maintained by a few members of Campus Crusade for Christ, this site is your guide to more effective Internet ministry. It provides a wealth of helpful tips, as well as news and links about technology and online marketing, delivery and response.

15. eBible
Site: ebible.com
Why it Rocks: Welcome to Bible study version 2.0. Free to join and use, this program is much more than just the Bible onscreen. Check out the loads of commentary and study helps, inter-connected passages and topics; add titles to your personal bookshelf; and bookmark your favorite verses.

16. Bloglines/Google Reader
Sites: bloglines.com
google.com/reader
Why They Rock: Lose the outdated bookmarking system already! These ingenious aggregators track hundreds of Web sites, so you’ll only visit the ones with updated content. The sites rely on RSS (Really Simple Syndication), but all you need to know is they can save you lots of time.

17. Godbit
Site: godbit.com
Why it Rocks: Godbit’s purpose is to help the Church catch up with the rest of the world in adherence to standards given by the World Wide Web Consortium, the governing body of best-practices on the Internet. The site also highlights churches, freelance designers and Web agencies that are on the cutting edge of Web methodologies.

18. Free Church Resources
Site: lifechurch.tv/open, seacoast.org/allaccess
vineresources.com
Why They Rock: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Each of these three churches is offering their marketing and media resources to the world, free of charge. Find mp3 downloads, graphics, sermon materials and more, and then tweak them to suit your church.

19. Church Marketing Lab
Site: flickr.com/groups/cfcc
Why it Rocks: In this valuable group, you can share your in-process communication pieces and get helpful feedback from other church communicators.

20. Church Marketing Sucks
Site: churchmarketingsucks.com
Why it Rocks: I'm tooting my own horn here, but if you're not checking out this site, you need to be. Find cutting-edge news, ideas, tips and dreams about how the Church can effectively share the greatest story ever told.

-Outreach magazine, "Web Exclusives," January/February 2007

[1] -Outreach magazine, "Web Exclusives," January/February 2007