Aug 03
This episode of the WELSTech covers steps for starting an electronic newsletter for your church or school.
Listen now or download Episode 089 (12:51)
The discussion:
e-News with MailChimp - Today’s “Bonus WELSTech Goodness” focuses on delivering professional quality, timely and affordable electronic newsletters. Martin and Sallie share ministry applications and easy steps for getting started as well as info on back-end reporting capabilities which allow users to analyze the effectiveness of their e-news messages.
Get involved:
Tags: BWTG, communication, e-mail
May 06
This week on the WELSTech podcast we share ideas for using Twitter as a communication channel for your church or school, and we talk with Dick Diener about some interesting classroom technology projects.
Listen now or download Episode 070 (1:07:39)
The discussion:
All Things Twitter - By now WELSTech listeners have undoubtedly heard of the popular micro-blogging site, Twitter. Martin and Sallie bring you up to speed on what Twitter is and more importantly on how this new instant communication channel can be leveraged for ministry purposes.
- Get started
- Church resources
- Additional Resources
The interview:
(19:22) Integrating technology in the classroom - Martin and Sallie talk with Dick Diener, WELS member of Our Savior in Grafton, WI and Technology Integrator for the Mequon-Thiensville School District, about several interesting school technology projects. Dick invites WELS schools to be part of the international “Honoring Veterans” wiki sharing project.
New Technology Showcase:
Picks of the week:
Of interest:
Community feedback:
- (53:32) Cindy Krueger from Shepherd of the Hills in Lansing, MI shared progress her congregation is making toward a facebook presence and passed along WELSTech ideas for summer learning to others
- Pastor Jeremiah Gumm from Cross of Christ in Liverpool, NY shared a link to 10 Things to Fix on Your Website from the Web Driven Church blog
- Following up on the interview with WELS musicianary Mike Westendorf, Mark Heilman shared a link to Twinfinity Creations, a consignment space for Christian art, music and books
- Recent updates on the WELSTech wiki (welstechwiki.wels.net) include
- Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI shared a comment on his recent WELSTech Contest win, “Of course the real winners are my school and students because of the great ideas I have gotten from listening to WELSTech!”
- Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI left an audio comment recommending Switch from NCH Software, a format changer companion for WavePad audio editor
- Mary Raether from New Hope in West Melbourne, FL was looking for our past conversation on wiki tools
Coming up on WELSTech:
(1:04:19) Episode 071 - The discussion will center around chapter seven of Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody, “Faster and Faster”
The featured artist:
(1:05:28) This week we close with the music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) - Roll the Stone Away from their CD titled ”We Walk By Faith”
Get involved:
Tags: communication, education, podcast, twitter
Mar 11
This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie explore ministry implications of the new amateur communication channels that exist on the web and chat with professional photographer Lori Ashbrenner about simple ways to improve digital photography skills.
Listen now or download Episode 062 (1:06:03)
The discussion:
- “Publish, Then Filter” - In today’s discussion Martin and Sallie look at the effects of the amateurization of communication as they discuss the fourth chapter of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody. The enormity and permanence of web-based (public) communication via e-mail, web sites and social networks offers unique opportunities and challenges for ministry. Because the communication channels are so new, standards for filtering or ignoring certain communication aren’t yet established.
The interview:
Digital photography (17:14) - Lori Aschbrenner, WELS member from Beautiful Savior in Everett, WA and professional photographer, talks with Martin and Sallie about photography tips and tricks for the beginner (read the manual!) as well as those looking for the “sweet hour” who want to take their digital photography to the next level.
The tidbits:
- Picks of the week (37:12)
- WELS.net feature (43:09)
- Check out the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society site for devotions, prayers and mission projects plus rally and convention information - www.lwms.org
- Community feedback (44:20)
- The WELSTech listserve has been a busy place! Check out the archive for these interesting threads:
- Content filtering – Information shared has been added to the WELSTech wiki
- Worship presentation software – Is anyone using EZ Worhip or Media Shout? If so, please share your impressions of the software.
- Hymnsoft
- Mass e-mail solutions
- Ben Polzin asked for an example church web site that is doing a good job of separating member and visitor content
- John Schoosmith from Redeemer in Yakima, WA reported that Google Video is turning down uploads. This is the platform that had supported closed-caption video and longer video lengths. Stay-tuned to find out what solution emerges to fill this gap.
- We heard from Rachel M. & David Savatiski via the #WELSTech Twitter conversation, and both reported that they got ideas for their congregational web sites from our last episode discussion of “Five Don’ts“.
- David Savatski also shared a link to www.VoodooPad.com and left us a voicemail requesting ideas for teaching members to make use of congregation and school digital communication.
- Coming up on WELSTech (1:00:53)
- Episode 063 - Next week we’ll explore all things PDF – editing, optimizing, merging and more – and talk with our ShopWELS Lenovo partner, Patty Ullsperger
The featured artist:
- We close with the music of WELS artist Wendysue Fluegee (www.wendysue.com) - Weary from her CD titled Everyday Christian (1:02:30)
Get involved:
Tags: communication, photography
Mar 04
This week on WELSTech the topic is digital evangelism. Martin and Sallie discuss five “don’ts” for church web sites and talk with Pastor Ken Fisher about the WELS evangelism site, WhatAboutJesus.com.
Listen now or download Episode 061 (1:02:05)
The discussion:
- Don’t make these mistakes on your church web site! - Your church or school web site is oftentimes making first impressions on the world so it is, of course, important that its design and content reflect favorably on your congregation. Martin and Sallie discuss five “don’ts” you’ll want to avoid when creating your site.
The interview:
Reaching out with WhatAboutJesus.com (23:08) - Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Ken Fisher from Risen Savior in Milwaukee, WI about the development behind the WhatAboutJesus.com evangelism web site. Pastor Fisher also shares info on some of the key site features, feedback they have received and future plans for the site.
The tidbits:
- Picks of the week (37:20)
- Of interest (47:14)
- Community feedback (48:08)
- Coming up on WELSTech (58:57)
- Episode 062 - ”Publish, Then Filter”, the fourth chapter of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody, will be our discussion topic
The featured artist:
- We close with the music of WELS praise band, Koine (www.koinemusic.com) – Crown Him With Many Crowns from their CD titled Koine (59:45)
Get involved:
Tags: communication, design, evangelism
Feb 04
This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie discuss the effects on gospel outreach of the shift from traditional mass media to individual self-publication via the web.
Listen now or download Episode 057 (42:11)
The discussion:
The tidbits:
- Picks of the week (22:19)
- WELS.net feature (29:39)
- “Everyday” teen devotional video series
- Community feedback (31:51)
- MLC student Jeffrey Clark sent in a request for an upcoming WELSTech episode – Libronix software tips and tricks. Check out details on the new addition of Christian Worship and Christian Worship Supplement lectionaries to Libronix – www.wels.net/jump/cwsupplement.
- The WELSTech listserve members have been sharing ideas about electronics recycling. We also heard from Cindy Krueger from Shepherd of the Hills in Lansing MI who shared a link to a new recycling program from Best Buy launching February 15th in all U.S. stores.
- Coming up on WELSTech (36:48)
- Episode 058 - Martin shares highlights from his Mission and Ministry presentation on streaming video, and we talk with Pastor Daron Lindemann about the “Message from the Master” web site.
The featured artist:
- We close with music of WELS artist, Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com) – Press On from his CD titled Climb The Mountain (38:50)
Get involved:
Tags: books, communication, Web2.0
Are You a Media Outlet? - Continuing the discussion of Clay Shirky’s book, 
