INTRODUCTIONS:
MinistryVault.com is the new address for Church 2.0 - the blog. My name is Brook Drumm and I will be taking the baton from Kevin and continuing the great work he has been doing. I love what Kevin has done here and we all are grateful for it. More specifically, I thank God for making it possible for him to use his gifts and passions to serve in this way.

MOVING: EVERYTHING MUST GO
We have packed every last article up and have moved it on over to the new site: ministryvault.com. Why are we moving? Mainly, because our new platform (Wordpress) will give us more control over every aspect of the blog. We will, essentially, be able to serve our readers better, faster and with more style. Also, web design/development is what I do for a living, so I can squeeze Wordpress for all it is worth!

We have changed the FEED to point to the new blog today (June 3rd, 2010).

NEW AND IMPROVED
We have a completely new look to the site and have already posted some new content on the new blog. You may notice that we are whittling down our categories to simplify a bit and adding some new topics that we will be covering: Hardware, Editorials, "No Tech", Apps and more...

Again, thanks to those who went before us.... may God bless and keep them... and bring them back often to join the fun.

May God receive the glory for this work.
Brook Drumm

You may already know from my last post, but I am passing the baton of Church 2.0 - the blog, so I can plant a church in Cleveland, OH.  I know, I know "What good can come from Cleveland?"  But I tell you God loves to show up in those places, and I have already seen him at work there.

As I step off to start a church, would you give generously to support our effort?  We want a killer web presence and we can do it well for significantly less than the tech industry at large can.  For $5000 we will have...

• Professional Logo and Graphics
• Professional Layout and Website
• Media Hosting (Vimeo, Podcast, etc)
• Online, Facebook, and Google Ads
• Customized Micro-sites and Missional Social Networks
• ChMS system for event check in, online tracking, and online giving
• TheCommon.org to meet needs within and outside the community
• Personalized Social Networking Tools (CSS Code)
• PhotoShop and Video Editing Software
• Mobile Applications (iPhone, iPad, Android Apps) 
• Business cards, postcards, and letterhead

Through our online presence we will mobilize and invite people to enter into the Kingdom of God.  If 200 generous people would give just $25 this project would be fully funded.   Consider supporting us by planting a cyber-seed of $25!

Isaiah 32:8 says.. “Generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.”

Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Kevin Rush [www.planterinthemaking.com]

Dear Church 2.0 - the blog,

My name is Kevin Rush (a.k.a. Kez) and I am the founder and primary contributor of Church 2.0 - the blog. It has been just over three years since I wrote our first blog post that stated our purpose; to provide help to Pastors and other servants of God to use technology to meet ministry needs with less effort and expense. Three years, 475+ subscribers, and just under 250 blog posts later, I am proud to announce that we have done just that and we will continue to do that into the future. However, it will not be under my direction and leadership.

For a while I have been following God’s calling to start a new church to reach people who are far from God. It’s been a long and exciting journey, but he has led us to Cleveland, OH to plant a church in 2011. You can learn more about my calling at www.planterinthemaking.com or by signing up for a newsletter here.

After spending sometime in prayer and advice from close friends it has become clear to me that I no longer have the time, nor the passion that I once had, for the Church 2.0 blog. I need to give all my effort and energy to our church plant, so I have decided to find new leadership and contributors to run the blog full-time.

As I began a search several friends directed me to Brooke Drumm. Brooke owns a web development company in Lincoln, CA. He has designed an iphone app and a podcasting company dedicated to churches too. Before starting his company Brooke was a youth pastor for 12 years. Brooke’s passion is the local church and anything at the crossroads of church and tech. His experience, background, and expertise makes him an excellent candidate to run Church 2.0. Brooke is assembling a top notch writing team, as I type this, and they will be taking over the blog in the future. I am very excited about what he is bringing to the table. I will stay on the team as an advisor and guest writer in the future.

Over the past three years, I have never asked anything from you besides your thoughts.  As I venture off to plant a church I would love to ask and challenge you to support our plant. Since you are Pastors and Technology buffs I am challenging you to help us raise $5000 for our church’s web presence. This fund will go towards graphics, web design, support, website hosting, social networking, ChMS, software, and a little hardware.  Consider giving a one time gift of $25 or more. If half of our subscribers would give $25 we would be fully funded and we could have a killer online presence!

To give click the ChipIn Widget...


If you can’t give to us at this time you still can help get our fundraising effort out by post links or the ChipIn widget on your blog.  Just click 'copy' in the widget above and paste the given code to your blog.

As we roll out our church plant’s web presence I will write some guest posts on the blog.

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your ministries and churches.  I pray that it has been a blessing to you as it has been my pleasure to create and lead this community.  The best is ahead of us!

Grace and peace,
Kevin Rush

P.S. - A big shout out to my fellow contributors over the years; Chad Lemon, Tony Stewart, Jon Cole, and Nic Scott.

Are you a blogger?  I am.  Over the years I've been privileged to review dozens of books.  Several of them were sent to me for free because the author wanted me to review it.  Most of the time you have to follow blogs and find authors who want bloggers to review them, but now you can go directly to the largest Christian publishing company, Thomas Nelson, by using BookSneeze.

All you have to do is sign up, agree to do write a review on your blog and to a major book site.  The the book is sent to you for free.  Check it out!

I just got this email and thought I would pass it along to you all...

Hi Kevin,

I just discovered Church 2.0, and I can see that you’re passionate about the use of technology for praise and worship. The NAB Show (http://nabshow.com) is a client of our communications firm, and I want to tell you about two exhibits that you and your readers may be interested in at this year’s show, coming up April 10-15 in Las Vegas.

The Technologies for Worship Pavilion offers comprehensive training for house of worship staff and technical volunteers and is the focal point for all things related to worship technology at the NAB Show. In addition, you may be interested in Destination Broadband - the newest broadband-centric exhibit at the 2010 NAB Show. It will be featuring technologies like online video platforms, streaming video, mobile video distribution, and much more.

Technologies for Worship Schedule: http://ow.ly/1fCqd
Destination Broadband: http://ow.ly/14hgA

The reason I'm reaching out to you is because I have a special registration code for you to pass along to your readers, giving them access to the show – a $150 value - for FREE. This special pass includes the exhibit floor, the Opening Keynote and State of the Industry Address, Info Sessions, Content Theater, Destination Broadband Theater and Exhibits. All you and your readers need to do is visit http://ow.ly/13TL9 to redeem or register at http://nabshow.com/register with the code A913.

Thanks, Kevin, and please let me know how I can help your coverage of the 2010 NAB Show on Church 2.0.   Don't forget to check out the official show website at http://www.nabshow.com for more information, news, and to register!

Thank you!

Jason Rouse
NAB Show Team / Tuvel Communications

ChurchRelevance.com has a great article and video link from the The Church Law Group outlining some great guidelines on enjoying a Super Bowl watch party at your church while respecting copyright law.

For those of you who've ever made an attempt at trying to understand copyright law, you will find these guidelines very reasonable and fair.

Enjoy the game!

P.S. The video also includes a great, understandable overview of what copyright and fair use are and what they affect, particularly relating to church use.

I recently was invited to be a beta tester for BibleMesh.

BibleMesh is a tool developed by Redeemer City to City, an associated with Timothy Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

BibleMesh is an online interface to teach and discuss the bible, the God of the bible, and God's story revealed through the scripture.  It starts each section out with a 10+ minute video explaining the over arching theme of at portion of scripture.  The sections are...

1. Creation
2. The Patriarchs 
3. Moses
4. Israel
5. After the Exile
6. Jesus
7. The Church

Then you can dig deeper by exploring specific information about key events, characters, background, or theology. Once you have watched the video and explored the content, you can take a bible survey which is a little online quiz to help you retain (or learn) what you have just studied.

If that wasn't enough they also have groups where it appears you could make your own study using the content. They have discussion forums for those who have questions about the bible.

Over all this is a nice and helpful tool that allows you to dig deeper into scripture.  I have yet to see a price tag, but I hope they make it free, or at least a very minimal cost.

Happy New Year Everyone!

One thing that is synonymous with New Years is Resolutions.  What resolutions are you making?  May I suggest committing to a bible reading plan.  YouVersion has recently rolled out reading plans of various lengths and styles.  With over 20 to choose from you will be able to find one that is perfect for you.  Click the picture below to get started...

Have a blessed 2010!