Rap music isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about programmers, but we like to keep things interesting here at Church Plant Media. We are very excited to share with you Lyrical Catechism, the debut album from our very own Senior Developer, Ben Otero aka Benjamin the Esquire. While hip hop and programming don’t often mix, they have been an integral part of Ben’s work and ministry.
Today is a special day for me. 20 years ago I was a freshman in art school and the Lord was drawing me to Himself. Although I had grown up in a "Christian home" and had known Jesus since childhood, part of my private life did not match my public profession of faith. After a dating relationship came crashing down, it was finally clear to me that my girlfriend had become an idol who was receiving my worship. Humbled and in need of help, I went for a walk in the middle of the night with my Bible and turned to the book of James. The following words leapt off of the page and into my soul.
When I was growing up, some of my favorite stories were the tall tales of the old West. Whenever I think about Pecos Bill wrestling a tornado, or Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox forming the Grand Canyon, it just brings a smile to my face. But I know those are tall tales and not true stories. In contrast, whenever I see "Under Construction" on a church website, I never know if it is a tall tale or a true story.
What is a CMS and how can it save your church money? The abbreviation "CMS" stands for Content Management System (website content that is). A couple of years ago our team at Church Plant Media created a custom-built CMS that we specifically designed for churches. But we don't simply offer a CMS product; we provide a website design service as well. Over the years, we have helped churches save money in 3 different ways; specifically through our tools, service, and ministry.
Have you ever considered why a church website should be added into your annual budget? Or better yet, have you ever considered what the Bible has to say about your church having a website? Obviously, the Bible does not directly reference the Internet, but the following verse does have a direct application. Romans 10:14 says, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
We love serving the Church and helping people spread the good news about Jesus! It is amazing for us to consider how many people we are able to touch as we link arm-in-arm with these partners in the gospel. Listed below is a small sampling of our favorite websites from the past 5 months. Some use our newer design styles as-is, while others feature unique color customizations done by our team (or theirs).
The world was supposed to end today: December 21, 2012. When the day dawned on Chichen-Itza Mexico, it was the anticlimactic end to the 5,125-year cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar. But the world did not end, the North and South poles did not shift, and there was no geomagnetic reversal on planet Earth. But even though this day has passed with no earthquakes or floods or cosmic collisions, it does remind us of a day in history that ended the world as we knew it. A day that altered the eternal poles of our existence and restarted our modern day calendar. A day that was foretold in ancient prophecies and transcribed by trusted first century eye witnesses.
Another month, another feature release! This time it's the Quicklink Manager. You can now easily manage your quicklinks with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Instead of using a widget to manage your quicklinks like you have in the past, you now can manage them in an easy-to-use interface. You may access the new module by logging into the CMS, clicking the Publish tab, and clicking the "quicklinks" icon in the left column. From there you can easily add images and links, and you can also drag-and-drop the order of quicklinks...
Our team has been doing an amazing job in the past few months and so have our gospel partners! We launched a record number of websites this past month, so it was hard to choose only a few of our favorites. The first few examples listed below are from partners who had the coding skills to change the colors of their design style, while the others are using their design as-is. One website that we are all very excited about is the Oklahoma Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. Our home office is located in Oklahoma City, so having the opportunity to serve these like-minded, local brothers is a real blessing.
Happy Reformation Day! On this day 495 years ago, Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis and sparked the Reformation. In addition to our "Reformation celebration" we are excited to announce the release of some significant new features in our Content Management System. All of our current design styles now have a mobile site, photo galleries, and the ability to post sermon, event, and blog updates to both Facebook & Twitter. Here is a list of the new features with a few screenshots to give you a sneak peek.