All posts tagged texting in church

Let’s Talk About Text

by Tim Schraeder on 10/06/2010 in Church Communications, Social Media with No comments

Yesterday I had the privilege of being a part of an M2LIVE webinar where I talked about texting and how we use it at Park Community Church. A huge thanks to Matt and Sean for having me on and thanks to everyone who tuned in. And, thanks to Jarbyco for providing a free weekend texting campaign to one of the viewers.


If you missed the webinar, you can watch it here.

I was going to post some notes but my friend Jerod at ChurchJuice took some notes while he was watching. Check them out here.

Also, here’s a few links to some blog posts / notes on texting:

Also, if you have been thinking about doing texting at your church, my friends at Jarbyco are offering a special deal now through this Friday. You can get $50 off your first texting campaign if you connect with Jarbyco by 5 PM CST this Friday [10/8].  You don’t need to run the campaign by that date, just claim your $50 by emailing prizes@jarbyco.com!

We’ve been using Jarbyco for texting at Park for over 2 years now and have loved working with them. If you are looking for someone to work with to get your church texting, definitely contact them.

Diving into Text Messaging

by Tim Schraeder on 07/30/2009 in Church Communications, Echo 09, Notes, Resources, Social Media with 3 Comments

Dawn Nicole Baldwin is a strategist with a passion to help churches reach people more effectively. She lives this out as founder and lead strategist of AspireOne and as a senior partner with Jarbyco, a mobile communications firm specializing in live events that works with organizations such as Park Community Church, Lifechurch.tv and Youth Specialties.

A former staff member of Big Idea Productions [creators of VeggieTales] and Willow Creek, Dawn Nicole frequently contributes to today’s leading-edge thinking of integrating Christianity and culture but is best known as a change agent who is intent on stretching imaginations, connecting people and making a difference.

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How Texting Works

  • Think of your phone as a tool for connecting with your audience in an intentional and controlled way.
  • Texting is permission based.
  • We have to think differently about texting than we do any other communication channel (i.e. direct marketing, email, etc).
  • We need to be intentional and keep the special privilege and relationship we have with people.
  • Some people say texting began in 1989 with a Motorola beeper.
  • Japan first adopted text messaging; America is a bit behind.
  • Texting the Great Debate. Texters in all countries use “lol”, “u”, “brb” and “gr8.”
  • ~(_8^(\)   – Homer Simpson
  • When American Idol used texting for voting, we got it.
  • In the 3rd quarter of 2006, over 12 billion texts were passed through AT&T’s network.
  • 87% of the US population has mobile phones.
  • Over 110 billion text messages are sent every month (up 1,000% from a few years ago).
  • Adults send/receive 357 text messages per month on average; compared to 204 phone calls.
  • Teens/young adults send 1,742 text messages per month.
  • Texting is a communication channel of the future.
  • 87% of 13-27 yos send text messages… 73% of 15-37 year olds… 44% of 28-39 year olds; 18% of 40-49 year olds.

Textology Terms

  • SMS – Short Message Service
  • Shortcode – Your “address” … hard to create/approve with all carriers.
  • Keywords – tell the system what to do. There’s more flexibility with keywords.

Applications of Texting in Church

  • Text-to-Screen – user initiates contact. (asking questions to the pastor, etc); allows church.
  1. Granger Community Church did a whole weekend called “Ask Anything” where people could text in their questions to the pastor.
  2. Park Community Church does Q&A in every service. (that’s me!)
  • Surveys & Polls – allows people to share their opinion and gets people engaged so they can participate, not just listen.
  • Text Alerts – church initiates conversation with their church. Churches set up texting groups to alert them about upcoming events and news.
  • Promos - an opportunity for an audience to engage and win something… think radio content.
  • Bouncebacks – get people specific information about events/opportunities. (Example, you have a BBQ… you can have people text the word BBQ to your shortcode and a message bounces back to them with info about the BBQ).
  • Two-Way Messaging – think ChaCha. Example: During church service times, you could allow people to text questions and have someone respond to them personally. (Mental note: We need to do this at Park!) It’s a great way to give them next steps… can change the way you communicate.

Bottom line… you need to check out Jarbyco!