If you’re interested in YouVersion or in what you might need to consider when putting together a mobile app for ministy, watch this seven-minute interview, Jesus IS Bigger Than Angry Birds, by  TechCrunch with YouVersion’s founder, Bobby Gruenewald.

Takeways:

- YouVersion has positioned itself as a “Bible engagement” tool and “interactive” app

- YouVersion measures ‘everything’ including amount of time the app is open

- YouVersion has positioned itself as a cause (they are trying to get people to read the Bible)

- YouVersion thinks that if something is on a mobile device, it’s more a part of your life

- YouVersion thinks there are many more mobile apps in this ‘religious’ mobile space.

Interesting.  What take-aways do you have about how YouVersion is helping people connect with God?

NOTES:

• Since this interview YouVersion has been installed on 50,000,000 mobile devices.
• Meet e4e author Russ Martin and read Russ’s posts on e4e.

More »

Leave a Comment

Knowing and mastering the rule of thirds is a  simple way to push your photography to a higher level. The rule of thirds is one of the basic rules of art design. It is taking our photo frame and mentally placing a tic-tac-toe screen over it. Where the lines intersect are the “sweet spots” in which to place the important elements of a photograph. We should always keep our horizon lines on or above the top third  of an image (mountain lake photo, below) or on or below the bottom third of an image (elk photo). The classic vacation sunset shot with the sun smack in the middle of the photograph is not good.

There are some dangers with using this rule. One danger is having the subject on one of the sweet spots in the photo and having the rest of the image filled with dead space. The only time you want empty space in a photo is if it adds to the story, as with the elk photo. The shaded black trees add time (sunrise) and place (a mountain valley) to the photo. The large negative space also gives a feeling...

More »

Leave a Comment

Have you ever thought of praying for the unreached with others from around the world on Skype?

Check out Unreached Prayer Initiative.

Could be a great way to cast vision for your team and join one of these times.

Do you know any other internet-telephone based prayer groups?

Meet e4e author Russ Martin and read Russ’s posts on e4e.

Leave a Comment

I personally have not yet taken the plunge into Pinterest, but I know many who have.  Perhaps busyness keeps me from jumping in head first, or maybe laziness keeps me from having one more log in screen to add to my daily regime.  So I admire the ladies who have not only made time to pin, but who also take time to pin with purpose.  Let’s take a look at three women in particular whose daily walk with Christ reflects in their online activities.

Amanda just completed her internship with CRU at USF.  As a local fellow staff, I had the opportunity to get to know her a little better during her time in Tampa.  When asked to describe how she pins with purpose, she explained it this way, “I would think the most ministry would be on my quotes board…I pin a lot of scripture, C.S. Lewis, etc. and then my followers see it.”  In addition to posting positive Christian messages to her personal site, Amanda has used ideas from Pinterest for party planning with CRU.  She also blesses the students she disciple...

More »

Leave a Comment

Perhaps you have been thinking about sending out your prayer letter by email, or you may already be sending it out through Outlook as an attachment.  However, you can make your emails more impactful by using an email service like MailChimp to send your letter.

I did a survey with my ministry partners and found in general that women like to read the printed letter and men prefer to read by email.  I suggest sending both.  Sending your prayer letter by email should not become the only way you communicate with your ministry partners.  You should continue to send it by mail as well.  Also, using multiple touch points of communication each month enables you to stand out.

There are several other email services that are available, but MailChimp has a generous free option and is very easy to set-up and use.  Here are some of the key features:

• With MailChimp you can personalize each email to your partners using merge tags.  This will make your email standout.
• All your text including pictures and links are i...

More »

Leave a Comment