• For starters, look at these customizations completed by John Rothra.

The Ministry Theme has been an extremely popular premium Wordpress theme.  After making the theme compatible with Wordpress 2.7, I started making changes to support a new level of service and support based on feedback offered by our loyal users.  These changes are bringing a new era of features to Ministries!

These updates are in progress and we want to release it once we have gotten it right. In preparation for release, we would like to select a few users to test out the improvements and offer their opinion about improvements to the improvements. Contact me, f you would like to test the cutting edge version before it is released. (This only available to people who currently own the Ministry Theme.)

Furthermore, every time we get close to releasing the theme, we get an idea for a new customization to do.  We realize everyone wants to get the new theme in their hands but, we want to minimize the amount of updates needed as we introduce new customizations across the theme.   We got so excited about the project we prematurely released a statement, we’ll keep you up-to-date.

A New Version

With the intense popularity of the Ministry Theme, we have decided to release another version.  We are considering several different variations for a new version.  We want this version to go a total different direction then the current theme and we need your help, for input and thoughts.  What color scheme should it have? What types of things would like to see?  Do you need space for youtube, pictures, etc? Or is the current theme enough?

Let us know what you think!

Currently the focus is on improving administration of the front page.  Currently updates to those pages, require a manual alteration to the site’s code.  With the introduction of these exciting features anyone who can use a computer can update, and alter the website.  We have also included a few other important fixes, which will make the latest version of the Ministry Theme, the biggest update ever!

Currently we are still getting all the nasty bugs or other errors and will release this update shortly.  Ministries currently using the theme are eligible for FREE updates!  Simply post a comment here or on the support forum, and I will send you the update once we make sure everything is performing at its best!!  Additionally, we will be contacting everyone who purchased a Ministry Theme, to see if you want the update.

Do you have any ideas for future developments? We would love to hear your thoughts!  Comment below.

We are working on a hosting package specifically designed for Ministries!  We realize Ministries have special requirements and need extra support to get them through the configuration of hosting.  Therefore, we will be unvialing an exciting package for Ministries in only a few weeks.

Our servers are top of the line and offer everything Ministries need in web hosting.  All our servers are top of the line and run multiple internet connections allowing us security in case of any fault in the system.  We have maintained 99% uptime reliability for the past few years.

If you would like to sign-up now, and join our early sign-up, contact us for further details.

Join the community! Offer your thoughts!

Ministry Theme Support

1. WpList Cal
2. Limit Post

I wanted to take the time to highlight their purposes.

1. WpList Cal is helpful in highlighting your Ministries upcoming events. It allows people to input a list of upcoming events and as the events come and go, they will automatically created and removed from the homepage!
2. Limit Post, Limits the displayed text length on the index page entries and generates a link to a page to read the full content if its bigger than the selected maximum length.

For some reason, there have not been many issues with missing the second plugin. There are also powerful new additions in the “pipeline”.

The Ministry Theme includes a file called “links-page.php.” This file automatically calls up the links you’ve cataloged, divides them by category, and displays the description you’ve typed in. To set it up…

1. Create a new page and title it “Links” or something that will look good in your top menu.

2. Leave the content area blank.

3. Scroll down and click on “Page Template.” You’ll see an option to select the “Links” template.

4. Publish the page.

5. Start cataloging links. That’s it!

To use the featured areas on the front page, you’ll use the Custom Fields feature of WordPress.

To use the main featured area (the wider area at the top)…

1. Create a category with any name you’d like, such as “Featured Articles.”

2. Under Admin > Manage > Categories, you will see your new category listed. Mouseover it and in the status bar of your browser, you’ll see a long URL that ends with ID=#, where # will be the unique category id.

3. Under Design > Theme Editor, you’ll see a list of files on the right. Select home.php from the list to edit it.

4. Add your featured category’s id as shown below…

5. Click “Update File.”

Add an image to your Featured Post

The square image to the left of the featured content on the front page is created using the Custom Fields feature. It’s very easy…

1. Upload an image, either using the “Add media” feature (you can insert the photo into your post, but adding it to the front page is still a separate process) or an ftp client.

2. Get the full URL to the image.

3. Under Custom Fields in the post editor, type in a Key of “Featured.” (You’ll only have to do this one time, Featured will be an available option in the drop down menu from then on.)

4. Add the URL to your image in the box to the right.

Configuring the Smaller Front Page Featured Areas

The two boxes shown on the demo are adjusted in a very similar way as the Featured Box. Decide which categories will be used in these boxes and add their category id’s in the home.php file.

The difference is that to generate the thumbnail, you’ll still use the custom fields, as above, but this time your “Key” will be “Thumbnail” instead of “Featured.” Again, you only have to enter this word once and then it becomes available in the dropdown.

The release brings compatablity with Wordpress 2.8.

Future plans to incorporate new 2.8 functionality are in works.

• Edit the theme within the Admin
• Different themes to match your ministry’s personality

• The Ministry Theme download
• The Demo theme

We are also open to your recommendations and insight. Voice your opinion

We’re also considering changing the way that the theme is released to the public to enhance support and encourage more customization by users of the theme. We’ll keep you posted!