North Point Has An iBand. Do You?

February 22nd, 2012

I might be behind on this one, but as I was reading through the March/April 2012 issue of Outreach Magazine, I came across an article about using QR codes in creative ways. North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA had a QR code to take viewers to a video of their “iBand”. I was intrigued so I pulled out my QR scanner, and there I was… watching entire songs being played only on iPads and iPods… with my iPhone.

Pinterest for Churches?

February 21st, 2012

This might not be the first article that you’ve seen about Pinterest being the new social media site for companies and churches who want to reach out to their customers and church members, but for those of you who haven’t heard about this new trend, here I go…

Pinterest is a website that has become very popular over the past year or so and has a huge female following. Companies have just started setting up their own accounts on the site in order to get their names out there. Pinterest has over 11 million unique visitors each month, according to TechCrunch.com, so you can understand why everyone else wants to get “on board”, too (pun intended).

Podcast with Michael Hyatt On ISC 2012!

February 8th, 2012

Michael Hyatt is a bestselling author, popular blogger and the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, which is the largest Christian publishing company in the world.

Shelby’s Don Alsup sat down to talk to Mr. Hyatt about his background, what Thomas Nelson does, his most popular blog topics, ePublishing, his upcoming book “Platform”,  his #1 tip for ministry workers, and what he will be covering in his keynote address and break-out session at ISC 2012.

If you can’t see the video below, click here.

Shelby Financials In the Church Accounting Software Guide

February 7th, 2012

We recently worked with Nate Waddoups of ChurchAccountingSoftwareGuide.com to answer some of his questions about our software products. The goal of the interview was to provide as much useful information to anyone who is looking for financial software that includes support, built-in reporting, payroll, general ledger, accounts payable & receivable, and more.

The interview discusses the difference between Shelby’s software and other software packages, some of our most useful features, the difference between our two church management software systems (Shelby Church and Shelby Arena), why you should choose Shelby and what types of support are available.

Shelby Customers Out On the Range

February 6th, 2012

One of our customers, High Desert Church, has added a new feature to their “parking lot” in Phelan, CA. A hitching post has been built for Sunday morning worshipers who are up early and want to ride their horses to church.

Many of the members at the Phelan campus own horses, and some have been known to ride in on Sunday mornings. You see, High Desert has 3 different campuses, but their Phelan location is unique due to its rural location. As Joel Lingenfelter put it on his blog, “It would never work at any of our other campuses, but in Phelan, it’s perfect. ”

Debit Card Only Transactions Now Available for Shelby Customers

February 2nd, 2012

Many of our customers have inquired about limiting their online transactions with their members to Debit Cards only. That capability is now available through our payment processing partner, Payment Data Systems (PDS). For any Shelby customer (Shelby Arena included), you can now contact PDS and set your online giving, registrations, etc. pages to accept debit cards only, along with ACH if you choose.

For additional information about our partnership with PDS, you can view our informational sheet here.

Be A Part of Shelby’s Busy Schedule!

February 1st, 2012

The month of February will be a busy one for us, and with all of the traveling that we’re doing, we hope to see you at one of our destinations!

For the past 6 months, Shelby has put on regional demos around the country where we can come meet face-to-face with our current and prospective customers about Shelby Arena and Shelby’s Financial software. We want to keep everyone informed, but also give you all the chance to ask questions and see how each product works from a more personal standpoint.

Technology On A Mission

January 31st, 2012

We are very reliant on technology, aren’t we?

 

Couponing Customers = Your Church Visitors

January 30th, 2012

I had a random thought the other day when I was looking at a book of coupons that I bought about a year ago. I’ve known for a while that these coupons will expire 1/31/2012, but I didn’t realize how fast that date would creep up on me. Because of the encroaching deadline, I have already planned what coupons to use before they go bad.

Coupons are a great way to advertise your products or business, but when overlooked, they lose all purpose. It really takes a restaurant sparking my interest to get me to go there. After all, there are plenty of restaurants and coupons available to us. Just like churches.

Spreading Grace In Challenging Situations

January 26th, 2012

Michael Hyatt is the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers and a keynote speaker at ISC (International Shelby Conference) this year in Memphis, TN. I follow his blog closely because he always has great advice and wisdom to share, while still keeping things interesting.

He recently posted a video that I’ve seen on a number of blogs about a violinist who was interrupted during a performance because of someone’s phone ringing. To me, taking the time to watch the 1:20 minute video didn’t seem appealing, so I had glossed over it with every other post. When I came to Michael’s, though, I realized there was a deeper message than what I had expected.