​I hope you and your family are looking forward to spring as I am. It is my favorite time of the year. 
 
Here are “Four Helpful Things To Know” for you and your ministry.
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Social Media is here to stay.  It can be helpful to keep in touch and to share meaningful events, quotes, Scripture, and memories with family, friends, neighbors, and church family.  But it can also be misused.
 
The choice is ours.

I believe the true front door of the church is now a church’s website.  Most people – and especially adults under 50 – will not visit a church until they first check it out on the web.  People do not check out the Yellow Pages anymore.  They Google.

We live in an age when people are less inclined to join or commit to church, marriage, leadership positions, anything.  And if they do, they tend to be nominally committed rather than fully committed and involved.

Below are some ways to counteract that trend when it comes to commitment to church.  Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, has some helpful insights concerning New Member Classes and other ways to help new members stick.  

If you are like me, you are always on the lookout for ways to make better use of your time.  Technology can be intimidating, but it can also be a tremendous blessing when it enables us to be more effective in ministry.

I encourage you to check out the recommendations you will read about this week, and see if some of them will not help you get more done in less time.  For example, I have found Google Drive, including Google Calendar, to be very useful, as well as Evernote.

Your brother in Christ,
Ray
Pr. 3:5-6