Starcher Scene

IndieBug.com

Administrator — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:25:35 +0000

Matt’s band has a cd out. It’s actually pretty good. Even better, I can sell it directly from this blog that no one reads using this little store widget. Now would be a good time for an impulse buy. Don’t hold back.

If you’d like to hear what they sound like, check out their cd page: http://www.indiebug.com/products/3-the-denouement-low-tide

The Distinguishing Feature

Administrator — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:38:56 +0000

I’d like to tell you about what I see as the key feature of the system I’m working on. As a quick reminder I’m currently developing a system to help ministry leaders manage their ministries. The feature doesn’t look terribly impressive at first, but it’s what sets this system apart from all the “off the shelf” contact/church management systems out there. One difference in structure between ministries and most churches is the extent to which ministries tend to be hierarchical. A church is usually part of a denomination, and maybe a regional council, but the relationship wouldn’t typically be described as a direct chain of command.

Most of the ministries I’ve dealt with personally have a fairly well established chain from the local level to the top (e.g. Campus Crusade at UC Davis up to the President of Campus Crusade, Steve Douglas). The pattern is perhaps a little more reminiscent of a military structure where each level of command is responsible for the levels below them.

I’ve included a small screenshot here to illustrate what I’m talking about. This is an actual screen from the tool I’m working on. “PSW” stands for Pacific Southwest, and consists of all the Campus Crusade ministries in California, Arizona, and Hawaii. A director at the PSW Regional level will be concerned with the health and progress of all the local level ministries in that area. Similarly, the Sacramento Metro director wants to see everything that’s happening on UC Davis, Sac State, and other campuses in that area. Coming down to the innermost level, a staff person at UC Davis is only directly concerned with what’s happening specifically at UCD.

Now that I’ve explained that, here’s the magic of it: As staff and students at UCD and other local level ministries enter contact information along with relevant demographics and statistics, directors at each of the higher levels automatically have access to aggregate reports of what’s happening! Of course, all the necessary privacy concerns and issues of “who should see what” will be addressed, but, from the standpoint of running a ministry effectively, I see this as one of the most important functionalities of this tool.

February Prayer Letter

Administrator — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:01:44 +0000

Amanda and I are enjoying living in IL. The weather is starting to get a little warmer (30s and low 40s), and the people here are all very friendly. We feel very blessed living here. We’re confident that we are walking in God’s will and that he has a great plan for us in IL. Thank you for your prayers.

Read this month’s letter.

January Prayer Letter

Administrator — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 01:34:27 +0000

I just sat down to work on my February letter, and realized that I never posted the January letter to the website. So… Here it is.

December Prayer Letter

Administrator — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:58:33 +0000

Amanda and I moved to Florida expecting to be here for the long haul. God had different plans. Amanda and I will be leaving full time staff with Campus Crusade, and continuing on as Affiliate Staff. “Following God’s Leading” will fill you in on the details of how we’ve come to this decision, and “Continuing a Life of Passion” will unpack what it means for me to be an Affiliate Staff, and how that fits in with my personal calling.

Click here to read this month’s letter.

November Prayer Letter

Administrator — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:51:48 +0000

Well, another month has gone by since our last letter without me posting any other blog entries. I guess I’m a bad blogger.

Click here to read this month’s letter

October Prayer Letter

Administrator — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:32:22 +0000

This past summer, nearly 2,800 students participated in 140 different summer projects (mission trips). As a result, over 35,000 people heard the gospel message and 2,802 indicated decisions for Christ! We continue to seek … Click here to read more.

I have a bonus link for you guys this month. Click here to see our summer project website. It’s really pretty slick…

Interview with Mat Weiss

Administrator — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 13:12:29 +0000

Mat is the leader of my ministry team. One of the new guys joining our team this year (Kyle Maxwell) recently asked Mat some good questions. I thought the responses might be of interest to anyone reading this blog because they describe the team I am a part of.

[ BEGIN copied transcript ]

How big is the team will I be a part of?

About 35.

What is the team purpose/mission statement?

We lead technology and media for the whole campus ministry. As the web (and culture) changes, it’s becoming more media rich. You no longer need just old school programmers and admins to build things anymore. You need to integrate media elements. You can imagine how essential this is when your focus is students. So we are to take things to the next level. Putting a bible study on a website. That’s so yesterday. Now we need to leverage things like Facebook [A social-networking site where the average college student spends 20 minutes per day].

How many software engineers are there on the team?

Including you, 6. All but 2 are out raising support right now. There’s also 3 video editors, 2 graphic designers, 3 writers, 7 tech support, 2 trainers, and I’m forgetting some.

What does our team uniquely contribute to the overall ministry of Campus Crusade?

We address the big picture problems. We execute national strategies (like Katrina response and 9/11 response) — things that only can be done at a national level.

What are some dreams that we don’t have the manpower/resources to do at the present time?

We’d like to launch a concept called the involvement portal which would be one stop shopping for folks launching a movement. Develop new tools and strategies around web evangelism. Launch “ministryforge,” where volunteers with technical skills can jump in and help with projects.

The possibility exists for you (Mat Weiss, not the hypothetical “you”) to be out in the field, doing ministry directly. Why has God called you to the position you are in, and why do you believe that this helps God’s purpose in the world more than being in the field?

I have unique talents that are in critical need here instead of the field. A key impact of my work is that I increase the capacity of our field staff and the organization overall. When I first showed up, STINT [a one or two year short term mission for recent college graduates] applications were done on paper. We were experiencing a swell in applicants. Unless a computer based system was introduced, we would not be sending laborers into the harvest. Through my work I increased the capacity of the ministry, consequently several hundred more STINTers were sent.

September Prayer Letter

Administrator — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 01:12:13 +0000

“While Katie was delivering a Freshman Survival Kit to a student, the young woman told Katie that she was bisexual. Katie was so excited that the Lord had answered her prayer…”

Click here to read more of Katie’s story in this month’s prayer letter.

August Prayer Letter

Administrator — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:34:21 +0000

“There was a bomb in a trash can… four people were killed… all of our STINTers and staff were okay. The summer team had just arrived the day before…”

Click here to read this month’s prayer letter.