2020 Blogs - Reader's Top 10. My Top 5 for Strategy & Technology.

Great news!  We are just about to the end of 2020.  I think all of us are ready to move on to 2021.  But, before we go, I thought it would be interesting to review the 52 posts of this blog this year to see what we might glean as we look ahead.

I started by researching blog post emails.  An average of 3720 emails were sent out each week.  An average of 1609 of these were opened.  The top 10 were opened by 1727 to 1887 different recipients.  Here they are in order starting with the most opened blog email. 

Reader's Top 10

1. Six questions before sending a mass text. 3/24
2. Coronavirus. 2 ways we can help your church. 3/12
3. New! Use the Office Number for Text-to-Church. 4/14
4. Five software usage ideas this past week for Covid 19 response. 3/22
5. Not connecting on Sunday? This NEW text-to-checkin upgrade can help. 3/31
6. New for Re-opening!  Party of ... Reservations. 5/19
7. Facility Operations and Churchteams. 7/7
8. Coronavirus Sunday - How we help churches be the church. 3/15
9. Our DIFFERENT Take on Church Apps. 5/12
10. How to use software when you can't use your building. 3/17

Insight.  All but one of these were written during the first 2 months of the Coronavirus crisis. All of us were looking for help to navigate uncharted waters.  Like you I've walked through dark valleys of sickness, death, distressed marriages, kids and more with family and neighbors.  These are the times that forge bonds between people and reveal God's working through community. We walked through this year together.

Next I made a list of the blog posts on strategy that I enjoyed writing and felt would be most helpful to churches from that perspective.  After that I rank ordered them.  The Digital Connection Card was my favorite but only slightly above Virtual to Reality Engagement.  I expect to write and talk much more about both in 2021.

My Top 5 On Strategy

1. 4 Reasons Pastors Need A Digital Connection Card. 9/29
2. How to start church engagement virtually and make it a reality. 9/15
3. How to use software when you can't use your building. 3/17
4. Our DIFFERENT Take on Church Apps. 5/12
5. How to manage requests for personnel, funds, resources. 7/14

Insight.  2020 accelerated the church's use of Internet technology more than any year in history.  It gave us new eyes to look for new ways to connect and care for people.  At the end of the day, strategy is about executing the vision Christ gave the church - reaching people far from God and helping them become fully devoted to Him. We have to use technology to help us achieve that.

Finally, I listed the New! release blog posts and sorted them according to the ones that I felt combined the most innovation, agility to meet a need, and hard work on the part of our Development Team.  Unbelievable job you guys!

My Top 5 on Technology 

1. Our New! Digital Assistant - Scheduled Reports. 12/16
2. New for Re-opening! Party of ... Reservations. 5/19
3. New! Use the Office Number for T2C. 4/14
4. New! Email lists upgrade. How to use lists well. 4/28
5. New! Safety option for kids: Room checkin count & close. 8/18

Insight.  As the old saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention." Well, mom was busy this year responding to needs of the church.  And, yet, in the midst of that busy-ness we found a way to scale a monumental priority - Scheduled Reports.  Software development requires incredible concentration and persistence. Doing that and still being responsive to the needs around us is a gift.

Next week, the first week of the new year, I want to build on this theme of community that we saw in 2020.  Now that my webinars are primarily on-demand, I want to do something new.  Something more collaborative.