The last question to our panel (context) which is the title of this blog post was open-ended in nature.  I took it as an opportunity to share two major concerns I have for technology in discipleship.  The first one relates to parenting and the use of technology.  The second one concerns church data and the use of technology.

I was a family pastor for many years and have always been interested in parenting through different seasons of technology development.  Our kids graduated from high school in 2008 and 2010, so their first phones were flip phones.  They used them a lot to text their friends, so we had to put boundaries on their access to their phones at night.  They were also not allowed to look at them at school.

The third question given to our panel (back story) had to do with finding the balance between the use of technology and the importance of face-to-face relationships in discipleship.  

I think I understand the concern behind this question, but to be honest my definition of discipleship leaves very little room for technology interference.  Here's what I mean.

Christian discipleship is about becoming more and more like Jesus.  At its core this is something that happens within the heart of a person.  This means transforming a person's mind, emotion, and will so that they align with that of Jesus.

What tools do you offer churches to effectively foster deeper spiritual growth?

Last week I attended the Disciple Leaders Network annual meeting in Oklahoma City.  On Monday night they asked a group of us who work in the technology in ministry space to talk about discipleship and technology. 

I thought the questions we discussed were particularly interesting and that you might be interested in them. 

There were four questions overall.  Here's the first one along with my expanded response.

The highlight release in 2024 was our new User Interface.  The goal was to set the stage for the future of Churchteams with that upgrade.  

We want you to know that we care about you and your church.  That means that we listen to your needs, and, because we've been there, we feel what you feel.  That's where it starts. 

We've still got a ways to go on the upgrades, but we're on our way.  And, we want to make sure you come along.  

This has been an incredible year for Churchteams.  As we bring it to a close, our team would like to say thank you for your friendship, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

What made it so incredible?  First, a living, breathing relationship with Jesus.  Second, kind, generous relationships with so many of you.  We have the best clients and friends in the world.  Third, a staff team committed to Christ, you, and each other.

Now that Easter is over, pastors and church staff are turning their attention to planning and preparing for summer events.  In fact, a good friend, an elder at his church, recently asked me about using Churchteams for managing their church's mission trips. 

There are software solutions built specifically to solve this problem for churches.  But, he has been around the software world for decades and knew it would be better to use Churchteams if possible than to purchase another software.  The cost of another software is a factor, but the bigger issues are staff and data alignment.

A long time ago, there was a buzz in church leadership, administration, and discipleship circles about becoming a CHURCH OF GROUPS not just a church with groups.  As a church administrator and discipleship pastor I read, went to conferences, and asked questions to figure out what this conversation meant practically for our church and my responsibility to help manage it.

My take-away was that everything we did in church life should be organized as if it were a small group.  So, groups included not only what we generally thought of as small groups; but also children's classes,  volunteer teams, all events, discipleship classes, assimilation steps, registration forms, and anything else that involved more than one person. 

Reid Hopkins has been a Churchteams raving fan for a long time.  Last year I mentioned highlighting ways people are using Churchteams through an occasional Epic! blog post. 

The part of Reid's story I want to highlight today is his launch of XP Ministry last year.  It does a great job illustrating how we are helping other, non-church organizations thrive.  Here's my interview with him.  

For almost 2 years now, my friend Steve Caton of Altezza Solutions has been coaching me on Sales and Marketing.  I need all the help I can get.  From my recent reading I've been thinking about a topic that actually comes up in conversations all the time ...

"what makes Churchteams different?"

Part of our job as co-founders is to pray about, evaluate, and navigate our way forward as a company.  Our initial calling and the Lord's leadership each step along the way are helpful indicators of the plans He has for us. 

In the past month or so I've started thinking about the history of our company in three stages.  Each one building on the previous one.  Here is a short version of each of these. 

My hope is that you not only get to know us better, but also that it might be useful for you to think about how God is leading you.  As Proverbs 16:9 says, "In his heart a plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."   Here's how He has done that for us.