SoChurch Blogtasticalness

The Official Blog of SoChurch

Your regular dose of SoChurch news, communication ideas, true stories, and more. Who's SoChurch, you ask?

Banners, Badges, and Buttons (Oh My!)

By Jonathan Cottrell on January 25, 2011 | 3 Comments

Whether you’ve become one of SoChurch’s new Affiliates in the running for our $100k grand prize, or you’re just a stark raving fan that wants to tell others about how to simplify their church communication efforts, you’re in luck.

In our updated Media Center, you will now be able to find some beautiful new logos, avatars, banners, badges, buttons, as well as Affiliate-specific resources. How you use these resources is up to your imagination, but here are a few simple ways to promote SoChurch to your network of friends, followers, fans, colleagues, clients, and the like. We’ve also even added some resources for those that have implemented the solution, giving them a way to promote it to church members from their main websites.

  • Grab a banner and add it to your blog. There’s not much to this option, but we have created a few different ad sizes and will be creating more IAB-standard units in the future.
  • Write a blog post about SoChurch. If you’re an Affiliate, especially, this is a good way for you to add a unique spin about why you think SoChurch is right for your audience. Be sure to add a nice logo in your blog post.
  • If you’ve already implemented SoChurch and have a website already, grab a button that directs members to your new online community.

Of course, this won’t be the end of SoChurch resources, but it’s a good starting point. If you have some other needs you would like filled, just let us know and we will add those to the list. A big thanks to you for taking the time to spread the word about SoChurch…we hope this helps you as you have so kindly offered to help us.

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Built to Last

By Ben Forsberg on January 21, 2011 | 0 Comments

The Great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum; all universally known for their rich history and their storied pasts, but mostly they are still recognized because they were built to last. Would you know of the Great Wall of China if it was no longer there? Would countless people hold the visual image of the pyramids rising from the desert sand if they had crumbled centuries ago?

When you build something to last, you contribute to the future. That is one of the main driving motivations for the team at SoChurch. Our goal is to build something to last–something that can provide value, not just immediate, but for years to come.

But just like the pyramids weren’t built by the Pharaoh alone, we cannot build SoChurch by our own strength. We know that if we want to build something to last, something that matters, something that will benefit the multitudes for years to come, we need your help. Continue reading →

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Win $100k with SoChurch

By Ben Forsberg on January 17, 2011 | 6 Comments

At SoChurch, we like working with others. But, more than that, we want to reward the work of others. We believe that the worker is worthy of his wages, and that is why we have officially opened up our Affiliate Program to any person or organization that wants to be rewarded handsomely. Our thoughts are that:

  • You can help churches and ministries just as well as we can. The more people helping ministries effectively communicate, the better.
  • Making big money and giving half of that money to charity is a solid cause to rally behind together.
  • Everyone wins–you, the church at large, and SoChurch.

We have planned something big to get our Affiliate Program rolling and to make things interesting. We think there’s no better way to get people engaged than to have a contest with a really big prize. And we’re talking BIG… Continue reading →

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In Fellowship, Two Are Better Than One

By Ben Forsberg on January 13, 2011 | 3 Comments

Working together effectively always produces good results. But when you have two powerhouse talents working together, it can be a thing of beauty.

Like a good quarterback needs a fast receiver, or like a Formula1 car needs a talented driver, so too a strong ChMS needs innovative communication tools to share information. This is the concept that birthed the relationship between SoChurch and Fellowship One.

While the roles are different, the passion is the same—we want to see the Church served by cutting-edge technology tools delivered in a simple and intuitive package. That is why SoChurch has chosen to work with Fellowship One to integrate the two products through Fellowship One’s API.

This integration will allow for churches to sync valuable information—such as member, information—between the two systems. The first integration point, member information, will be coming out in 2011, and from there we will work hard at finding deeper and more seamless integration possibilities.

With two strong teams and one clearly defined purpose, the Church will have at its fingertips strong church management and communication tools.

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SoChurch and Arena ChMS Will be Integrating

By Ben Forsberg on January 11, 2011 | 3 Comments

When you think of something that has been around a while, you can’t help but consider words like dependable, effective, and time-tested. On the flip side, newness brings innovation, advancement, and progress.

Most often the new and the old don’t intersect, but when they do, tremendous things can happen.

Consider reading A Tale of Two Cities in color on an iPad. A year ago, you might say this combination of the old and new is too amazing to be true, and you would be right. But we think we can offer something just as good.

SoChurch and Arena ChMS are partnering to bring together a time-tested and market-proven ChMS technology with a cutting edge communication tool for a combined solution that is sure to meet the needs of many churches.

SoChurch and Arena ChMS are working towards product integrations that will allow users to sync important member data, event information, and group affiliations between these two applications, providing greater value, simplicity, and clarity for church leaders and members alike.

With our first integration point coming out in the first part of 2011, we will allow our customers to share member and event information between our two systems, greatly simplifying member, group, and event management.

So, if you are currently an Arena ChMS customer in need of more forward-facing communication tools, signup for SoChurch today. If you are a SoChurch customer that needs more comprehensive church management software, check out Arena ChMS to see how it can meet your needs.

And remember, we will be working hard to find more and more seamless integrations that provide value to the Church at large as we go.

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Everyone, Meet SoChurch. SoChurch, Everyone.

By Jonathan Cottrell on January 10, 2011 | 0 Comments

It was just one short year ago that the idea of SoChurch formed–an idea between friends and brothers in Christ about all that a simple communication platform could accomplish for the church at large. The year moved quickly. An ambitious plan was formed. A world-class team came together around it. Development began in May, some features shaping together quickly, while others that remain instrumental to our plans are still forthcoming. Finally, after a private launch, here we find ourselves, open to everyone. And yet, even after all of that, one thing is certain:

This is just the beginning.

We’ve been most blessed to see our vision come this far in such a short amount of time. Simultaneously, our entire team will not stop, but only accelerate forward in developing the product, competing to win, and lovingly supporting our already hundreds of local church and international ministry customers. Many exciting achievements await us in the coming weeks, months, and years, but it remains our commitment to serving the church–our very family–that drives all of us at SoChurch onward and upward.

There are many more big announcements to break over the coming weeks. In the meantime, don’t wait to…

…sign up and give SoChurch the spin you’ve been waiting for…

…and know that there is much more on the way. We’re thankful for all the support you’ve already given us and we look forward to serving your needs. If we don’t meet your specific needs right out of the gate, check back with us in a few months. Because if 2010 proved anything, it’s that SoChurch moves fast.

Continue reading →

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Some Like it Fierce

By Ben Forsberg on January 7, 2011 | 4 Comments

If you’ve ever watched the Olympics or ESPN, I’m sure you’ve heard the term, “The competition is fierce.” Two competitors enter the arena to passionately face their competition and determine a clear winner. Whenever I hear that phrase being uttered, it evokes positive emotions, because I know something exciting is about to ensue. I know that resolution and definition, clarity and progress, are imminent.

When the competition is fierce, the passion is high. When the competition is fierce, the truth is discovered. When the competition is fierce, the competitors are refined and improved. And most of all, when the competition is fierce, the spectators are apprised.

It’s no secret that we have drawn some lines in the sand when it comes to our business and product approach. But, to be clear, we are limiting our critiques to the realm of healthy business competition. On a personal level, we truly love our brothers and sisters at these organizations and all that they aim to accomplish for the Church. On a business level, we want to spar. Just as the apostle Paul admonishes us to fight in such a way that we may win (when racing or boxing, no less), we want to compete in such a way that there is a clear winner. When a winner is determined, their supporters benefit.

Now, we understand that we can’t be everything to everyone. There are times when organizations like The City may be able to provide a better solution for certain customers; and we wish them well in that endeavor. But we believe that our approach serves the greater good of a greater number of customers…and we aren’t afraid to draw stark comparisons to prove that point.

To be fair, we are only continuing a battle that had already been started. When our competition began buying our Google AdWords and following our Twitter followers, we weren’t offended. On the contrary, we discovered a worthy competitor. One who seemed ready to battle head-to-head and see who would come out on top. While a winner is yet to be determined, the journey to victory is laced with excitement, endearment, and clarity.

Our goal with the direct approach we have chosen is not to condemn nor criticize our competition, but to go head-to-head, toe-to-toe, in an arena we have all entered willingly. Just as a prize fighter respects their opponent and hugs them after the bout is finished, so too we embrace our rivals and welcome them into the arena of ideas.

In the end, the clear winner is the Church. When the competition is fierce, the onlooker is refreshed by the passion, the clarity, and the conclusions of the battle. Even now, SoChurch has helped drive down the pricing of our competitors and foster further transparency within the church communication marketplace–and it is our hope to further encourage such transparency among the Christian technology realm as a whole. If we can serve the Church by over-serving, under-pricing, and inspiring others to do the same through healthy competition, then we–and all our brothers and sisters–have already won.

Do you think that some healthy competition is a good thing?  Or would you rather we all played nice and masked our messages in euphemism?

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A Christmas Gift From SoChurch

By Ben Forsberg on December 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

On November 30th, we released the SoChurch application to those faithful (and brave) enough to pre-register for our product before launch. Today we will be releasing the application to another 300 followers who signed up to stay in touch with us early on in our company history.

We want our customers to be loyal to us and we are making a commitment to be loyal to them. So, we are giving away a 25% discount to all those who began following us from the onset.

We realize that there have been a lot of you loyal followers who are not yet on our mailing list, though–you who have been reading our blog, following our tweets, and becoming our friends. We want to reward you, too! If you think you deserve a discount, or if you just plain want one really bad, here is what to do...

Continue reading →

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SoChurch and ServiceU Announce Partnership

By Ben Forsberg on December 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

Some things just go together. Pie and ice cream, ketchup and mustard, mashed potatoes and gravy, just to name a few. Like those killer combinations, SoChurch and ServiceU are joining together to deliver a mouth-watering combination of simple event management and robust registration tools.

SoChurch and ServiceU have announced a partnership that will work towards integrating the SoChurch communication platform with ServiceU’s robust transaction tools.

By starting with a simple integration that will include paid event registration, and moving toward deeper integrations that will eventually event synchronization, this partnership will add value to SoChurch and ServiceU customers alike.

With our first integration point coming out in Q1, 2011, we will allow our customers to facilitate paid event registration from within the SoChurch application. This feature will allow for members to sign up and pay for any paid events that your organization may host.

You can rest assured that SoChurch and ServiceU are working hard to deliver seamless integrations, robust tools, and easy implementations of the services churches and ministries need the most.

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Product Update

By Michael Alonzo on December 10, 2010 | 0 Comments

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement, pressure and hyper focus. After months of design, development and testing, we officially released SoChurch to our super enthusiastic pre-registrants. These individuals and organizations have not only shown us tremendous faith but have been a critical part in our continued mission to create the BEST communications solution, period.

We have been diligently addressing the hiccups as quickly as possible, tweaking the user interactions to create a more seamless experience, and developing new features and third party integrations (more on that coming soon).

To ensure you know exactly what’s on the horizon, we have created a “What’s Next” section, with the percentage complete, for the world to see.  We will update this list often so you know how the product features are progressing. A couple key features that we will be releasing shortly are:

  • Bulk import and export of members
  • Adding media to posts
  • A church-wide event list

All of these features will come out with our first large, post-launch release coming out around the new year.

We are putting the polish on a few more details but look to release another round of invitations to our product next week. These limited invitations will be sent to our beta list and maybe even some lucky followers who are paying attention. Keep an eye on our blog, Facebook, Twitter and advisor’s blogs for more information and maybe even score an early adopter discount.

Stay tuned for the future of church communication!

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