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BOOKS CHURCH

leaders across North America. Text giving was
the topic that drew the most questions from
the audience. It’s the giving trend churches
are inquiring about most. As we get more
comfortable paying with our phones through
Apple Pay, Paypal, and other techniques,
text giving will only increase in its use in the
Eight Ways Churches Can church.
Leverage the Ubiquity of EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
While email is readily available on a computer,
Smartphones the fact that we’re virtually always connected
In 2011, smartphones were almost a novelty. to email via our smartphones means news-
Just 35 percent of American adults had one. letters are more likely to be seen. The more
That number has more than doubled in the they are seen and read, the better informed
past six years. More than 9 in 10 adults under your congregation will be.
30 have a smartphone (via Pew Research). ONLINE OR IN-APP SERMON NOTES
When someone is considering a new phone, The proliferation of Bible apps has led to a
the question is no longer, “Will I get a smart- new type of engagement of the Word during a
phone?” but, “Which smartphone will I get?” service. My pastor even states, “Open or turn
Now that this device has become almost on your Bibles” each week when preparing
attached to us 24/7 (I’ll be the first to admit, to read from Scripture. My church also posts
I’m tethered to mine), how is the church sermon notes online and in an app, as do
adapting? Or better yet, how should the many others. While I personally prefer paper
church adapt and engage the smartphone? note-taking, my 13-year old son types his
‘Miracle Invasion’ Here are eight ways. notes into his Bible app. He stays engaged in
Book to Explore Modern LIVE STREAMING the sermon because of his smartphone.
When the TV became prevalent in the
CHURCH MANAGEMENT
Gifts of the Spirit 1950s, churches began television ministries. App or cloud-based church management
COGOP Authors McKinley and Many of those still exist but for most churches software allows church staff to have information
they are cost prohibitive and provide little
Lowry Among Contributors return on the investment required. However, live about church events, members, or details at
their fingertips regardless of their location.
streaming for smartphones can be implemented As more and more staff members office in
Miracle Invasion by Dean Merrill will release at a fraction of the cost and often has a greater
during this month’s meeting of the Pentecostal reach than television ministries. community spaces (coffee shops, restaurants,
etc.), this helps them stay connected to
Charismatic Churches of North America. In a needed tools via their smartphones while
collaborative effort with many denominations SOCIAL MEDIA working off-site.
and organizations, including COGOP, Church This is an obvious inclusion. The rise of
of God, Assembly of God, and more, the social media coincided with the rise of the EVENT SCHEDULING AND REMINDERS
book explores the gifts of the Spirit as they smartphone. They go together like peanut Digital calendars have all but replaced
operate in North America today. butter and jelly or spaghetti and maple syrup. paper day planners. Setting reminders and
Dr. E. C. McKinley, overseer of the COGOP If your church is not active on social media, adding calendar events via smartphone apps
churches in Tennessee, and Dr. Larry you’re missing a huge opportunity to engage allow you to stay more up-to-date on church
Lowry, pastor of the Douglasville COGOP your members and guests. events and happenings.
in Georgia, are among the contributors, MOBILE FRIENDLY WEBSITE
offering testimonies of their experience There is no excuse for a church not to This article was originally published at
with the gifts during their ministries. Jeff have a good, well designed website. Not only ThomRainer.com on November 15, 2017.
Farmer, president of the PCCNA, writes: should a website contain pertinent information, Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic
“Miracle Invasion’s purpose is to demonstrate it should display well on a phone. This is also Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources as
the supernatural, miraculous gifts of the something to consider when creating graphics. well as the host and producer of Rainer on
Holy Spirit are alive and well . . . they are Small text gets even smaller on smartphone Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan
for today . . . they are happening here and screens. writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics
now!” TEXT GIVING ranging from social media to websites and
Miracle Invasion is available through church communications. Connect with Jonathan
BroadStreet Publishing Group. We recently held a video call about giving on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.
trends in the church with several hundred

WWM FEBRUARY 2018 5
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