Facebook now has over 1 billion users worldwide which can provide great value to almost every ministry or waste a lot of time if you don’t know how to use the platform effectively.  Understanding the capabilities of this network, as well as developing a practical strategy, can translate to very valuable ministry.  I will share tips and tricks for using Facebook both personally and organizationally by sharing his personal experiences and how the Online Church Facebook page has grown to over 250,000 fans.

Session Interview with Jason Caston, author of The iChurch Method and Internet Church Developer at TD Jakes Ministries.

Facebook Foundations – Social Media Guide For Ministry Day 2 from Nils Smith on Vimeo.

If you have not purchased the Social Media Guide for Ministry you can find it on Amazon here.

If you have purchased and read the book if you would please leave a review on Amazon here.

If you have any questions about this session please leave a comment and I would love to answer any question that you might have.

Social Media Basics

In this session we will discuss the who, what, when, where, and why of Social Media.  We will get down to the basics of where you should begin or, perhaps, begin again.  I will also answer some FAQs when it comes to Social Media in Ministry.

Session Interview with DJ Chuang, host of the Social Media Church podcast.

Social Media Basics – Social Media Guide For Ministry Day 1 from Nils Smith on Vimeo.

If you have not purchased the Social Media Guide for Ministry you can find it on Amazon here.

If you have purchased and read the book if you would please leave a review on Amazon here.

If you have any questions about this session please leave a comment and I would love to answer any question that you might have.

A little more than 2 months ago I released my first book, Social Media Guide for Ministry.  It has been such a blessing to hear so many stories from ministry leaders who have been encouraged by the book and implementing the principles discussed.  In releasing the book we held a Virtual Book Tour and I’m excited to now share the videos from this tour with you to watch whenever you want with whoever you want.  I pray these training videos will be a blessing to you and the ministry that you lead.  Check back here at NilsSmith.com every day this week as a new video will be released daily over the next 5 days.

“I readily absorb ideas from every source, frequently starting where the last person left off.” – Thomas Edison

I’m pumped up right now about rightnow Media and the feature I am most excited about is the Customizable Training Library.  I have researched for a couple years now how to create a similar platform and to be honest it is too complicated and expensive for me to do on my own.  Luckily rightnow Media made this investment and is making it available to thousands of churches.

Not only is the technology available, flexible, and customizable; but it’s affordable!  It also can integrate a vast collection of training videos already created so you don’t have to create video materials or seek out permission to use others.  This is a plug and play system that is ready to go!  Take a look at this video:

What do you think?  Can your church use this tool?

I can’t wait to begin using it for not only new leader training, but ongoing training for our entire team!  This is a tool that I think we will begin using for 2 or 3 things and in the process begin finding 10-12 other uses for it.  I love tools that make you more effective and efficient at the same time!  This tool does just that if used right!

I can’t be more excited about rightNow Media and how much it is going to enhance our ministry at Community Bible Church.  One of the lesser known resources of the package is the Leadership Events Library.

I’m a learner and love attending conferences, but am not able to do so for 2 primary reasons: time and money.  It’s challenging to take the time away and justify the cost of the event and travel.  With rightnow Media’s Leadership Events Library you and your entire team can now experience conferences like Catalyst, Echo, Verge, and so many more without leaving your church or even your home.  Take a look at this video:

What do you think about this resource?  Do you think you and your team would take advantage of this tool?

I’m thinking about having a video of the week for my team to watch and discuss at our weekly team meeting.  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!  I’m pretty excited!

I can’t wait for Google Glass!  This technology is truly the next game changer and will open up new opportunities that are unimaginable today.  I can’t wait to begin experimenting and will share my thoughts here as I continue to research and dream about the possibilities.  Take a look at this video describing how to get started with Google Glass:

What do you think?  Are you excited about this new technology? concerned about privacy issues? don’t care?

” Everyone has an idea.  But it’s really about executing the ideas and attracting others people to help you work on the idea.” – Jack Dorsey Founder and CEO of Twitter and Square

For about a year I have been monitoring rightnow Media’s Bible Study Library resource, but didn’t feel like it was the right time to jump in until now.  To be honest, I waited too long.  I should have jumped in a year ago and would have saved our church financially locking in the price from a year ago and gotten this tool in the hands of our congregation even sooner.  Other than waiting too long, I have no regrets about jumping into rightnow Media’s Bible Study library and can’t be more excited!

About a month ago we began pursuing this option pretty seriously and launched it to our congregation just this past week.  Generally when I release a new technology like this I get nervous about all of the email of technical difficulties and such.  My email did blow up this week, but with very few technical requests.  My email box was filled with thank you messages from congregants thrilled about this new tool.  Before I share more about what I love about the Bible Study Library, take a look at this video:

What an incredible tool rightnow has created for the church and at an affordable rate for EVERY church ( take a look at their pricing guide here)!  Here are some of the things that I really love about this resource:

• Affordable- I don’t know how much your church spends on curriculum, but this tool is not only affordable but will save us money immediately on curriculum expenses.
• Quality Content- with 2,000+ videos in this library it is packed with quality content from a variety of great publishers.  We actually found that about 80% of our current dvd curriculum library that we have in our library at CBC are included in this video library.
• Best Tech- the church often is behind when it comes to technology, but this tool truly utilizes the best in technology making videos available to everyone whether they are using a smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or connected tv device.  It’s awesome!
• Availability- getting curriculum in the hands of our members can be very complicated and difficult for us and for them.  This tool truly makes these video resources available to our entire congregation both locally and globally at their convenience (and ours)!  
• Ease of Use- almost everyone is used to Netflix and using this similar model makes it easy for just about everyone to use!
• The People- as we researched this product and fell in love with it, we found that the people behind the product are even better than the product itself.  Steve Solstad and the others at rightnow are truly the best and passionate about resourcing the church!