FlexThemes offers affordable web design solutions to help churches have an effective web presence that presents their brand across multiple platforms.

The Starter FlexThemes Package includes:

• Website – faithHighway will set up a blog/website through Wordpress
• Unique Theme – The church can choose the layout and coloring of their site
• Unlimited Pages – Wordpress offers a scalable solution with unlimited pages and a variety of plug in options
• Ongoing Support & Consultation

From here, a church can upgrade to the Basic Package to add an integrated calendar, custom banner, and some of the most popular and useful Wordpress plugins:

• NextGen Gallery – Image gallery plugin
• WPtouch – Mobile version of Wordpress

To fully expand the reach of the FlexThemes site, a church can utilize the Standard Package complete with:

• Social Media Add-ons – Integration with Facebook, Twitter, etc…
• Media Streaming – Through faithHighway’s award-winning Sermon Connect Tool

Additionally, the church has the option for a fully custom graphics package as well as utilizing a variety of the a la carte tools offered by faithHighway, including:

• Prayer & Share Wall
• Online Giving
• Social Media Skins
• And More

For churches and ministries looking for an affordable way to have a web presence, faithHighway FlexThemes provides an easy-to-use solution.

1. Revitalized Faith - This year has been one of tremendous growth in my walk with the Lord. He has opened my eyes in so many ways and I am excited to see that growth continue in the coming year.

2. New Life - This Thanksgiving, my husband and are happy to say we are 13 weeks pregnant with our first child! What a wonderful blessing God is giving us as we begin our family.

3. My Wonderful Husband – Married 6 1/2 years we are still crazy about each other and in awe at how God grows us through our dynamic relationship.

4. Graduation – My husband graduates in just a few weeks with a double major in Forestry and Spatial Science. I am so happy that he has persevered to make a career change that is setting him up for much more fulfilling work!

5. Georgia Here We Come - The faithHighway leadership has graciously allowed me to work from home the past few years and are continuing to do so as my husband and I move to Georgia where he will be working on his Master’s degree at UGA!

6. Family – Both near and far, I am so grateful for my wonderful family who are supportive and loving as we experience so many life changes this year.

7. Friends – For dinner parties, game nights, and lunch after church – it is great to spend time with good friends. We will miss all those we have made here as we move away but trust the Lord to provide us with new friends as we settle in.

8. faithHighway - I have experienced so much growth working at faithHighway  for the past 5 plus years. I have worked on a variety of projects that have challenged me in new ways. I am so thankful to work with such a wonderful group of people!

9. Thanksgiving – Reminds me to pause and remember what I am thankful for. I hope to take on Laura’s challenge to keep a thankful attitude year round!

10. Chocolate – Can I just throw this out there? I mean I really do love it!

Chime in and let us know what you are thankful for this year!

Photo By: Carl M

1. It’s still got an announcement about your Easter service posted on the “Events page.”
2. The staff pictures are more than 4 years old
3. You have flashing crosses and rainbows somewhere on your site
4. It doesn’t have links to your Facebook and Twitter pages
5. The church has moved and is no longer at the “find us” address on the site
6. It’s navigationally challenged- your visitors have to click several pages deep to find directions, what you believe…etc.
7. It’s filled with text. Where are the pictures?
8. It just looks out of date..Make sure it has personality, preferably the personality of your church
9. It doesn’t show up in search engine results
10. The footer says ©2000 or something similar.

If this sounds familiar and fits your current website…What are you waiting for? Talk to us! In fact, if you’re a current client and you’ve been meaning to get an updated website, call your account manager today and ask about our new loyalty program.  We know you’ll like it!

*photo by anitakhart

To learn more about Lighthouse Worship Center read Codie’s interview with Pastor Devolt.

Would you like to submit written or video testimony? We’d love to hear from you and share your story with others! Just email your account manager with your story.

faithHighway has spent the last few months working on upgrading Sermon Connect’s Sermon Flow to a new interface: Sermon Flow Social.

Sermon Flow Social is designed to help churches and ministries present on-demand audio and video streaming and includes upgraded functionality to help them share their messages through various social media channels.

Some of the new features include:

• Go Social – Getting audio and video items onto social networking sites with share options for Facebook and Twitter
• Website Integration – Adding to the ability for a stand alone system, now Sermon Flow can embed within a current website and navigation
• Multi-level Navigation – Taking the Sermon Flow navigation to the next level with multiple levels giving series and items unique covers
• Enhanced User Interface – Creating a new design that streamlines all the features of Sermon Flow into an easy-to-use interface
• Widescreen Video Player – Presenting videos in the new 16×9 format player

Sermon Flow Social will still have all the great functionally of the original award-winning Sermon Flow, including:

• Navigate media by flipping through the sermon series (similar to the iTunes CoverFlow)
• Offer an unlimited number of sermon podcasts and mp3 downloads
• Sell media online with a hassle free, turnkey ecommerce solution
• Store unlimited amount of media online
• Track media and first time visitors with usage reports
• Send out html broadcast emails
• And so much more!

In 2008, Sermon Connect, and specifically the Sermon Flow interface, received two awards at the WFX Conference presented by Church Production Magazine and Worship Facilities magazine, in which “the New Product awards recognize the newest and most innovative facilities, management and tech products on the market today for houses of worship. These winners highlight the best of the best products available for your worship facility.”

Sermon Connect’s Sermon Flow interface won:

• Best Digital Church Products: Podcasting, Webcasting, & Website Streaming Media Solution
• Best Overall Digital Church Product

The biggest addition is the brand new member dashboard. Whenever your members login to the system, they will have access to a wide array of tools and features to help them stay connected and involved.

• Get more volunteers by displaying all of your opportunities in one place with easy, online sign up.
• Use viral marketing to get the word out about sermon series, events, and more with integrated social media sharing options.
• Keep your members informed with easy-to-access activity widget to track their contributions, prayer requests, and more.
• Inform your members with the news feed that automatically populates on their dashboard.
• Connect members to each other through group information to keep them informed and interacting with one another.
• Keep member information current with integrated personal information editor that ties directly into your church records.
• Make tithing and giving easy with an easy-to-use online contribution system accessible right on their dashboard.

Learn more about the new member dashboard here.

We have also made changes to the church leadership side of the system, making managing information easier than ever!

• New and Improved Dashboard – View reports, ministry metrics, and trends all from your dashboard making it easy to see what is going on in your ministry.
• More Information Options – Easily keep track of all the details that help you manage your ministry with excellence.
• Simplified and Streamlined Report Functionality – You don’t need to worry about creating and managing searches and reports. We have created a complete set that is ready for you to begin using right way.

Check out more information about the improved system here.

We hope these updates to your IgniteCRM Church Edition product help you reach more people and build lasting connections with your members.

Additionally, we are now offering Saturday support hours to help you make the most of this and all your faithHighway products.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your account manager or leave a comment.

We have created a brand-new eBook to teach you how to do that!

The eBook contains all sorts of helpful information:

• What Makes a Good Website
• Why Is a Good Website Important
• How to Attract Members to Your Site
• Gearing Your Site Towards Engaging Members
• And More!

To access this resource, simple follow these steps:

1. Go to: http://www.faithhighway.com/journey/
2. Click “Receive a free eBook”
3. Fill out a quick information form

We hope this eBook helps your church engage your members more effectively!

We have been listening to those of you who already use Sermon Connect and responded to your requests for integrated third party media sources such as Vimeo and YouTube.

Sermon Connect now gives users the capability of utilizing our interface while incorporating the video infrastructure through Vimeo or YouTube for on-demand video streaming.

Sermon Connect also includes the ability to integrate live streaming through Ustream and Livestream! Now, churches looking to integrate their on-demand media with live streaming can do so in one, seamless, easy-to-integrate system. With a few short clicks, they can have HD videos, live streaming, as well the standard Sermon Connect features such as audio archives, downloads, etc.

The new features of Sermon Connect include:

• HD Video – Replace the standard video player in Sermon Connect with full HD videos
• Live Streaming – Create a Live Streaming media item and easily integrate this into your website
• Seamless Upgrade – Upgrades have already been applied to all current Sermon Connect accounts

To learn more about the features of Sermon Connect, visit SermonConnect.com.

Having a close friend or a loved one living on the mission field often times leaves those Stateside eager to stay updated and informed on how their friends or family are doing and excited to hear the testimonies of God’s work in the lives of those they are there serving.  What a blessing technology has been to do just that!  Recently, I had the privilege of working with Bill and Tammy Woods of Lost and Found International on their new website.

Their website provides fantastic functionality to provide up to date information on all the amazing things happening through their work in Chiapas, Mexico.  You see, BIll, Tammy, and their team of missionaries, work with some of the poorest of the poor and with children, who came to the orphanage they oversee, with little or no hope for a future.  With their regularly updated Blog on their home page, it provides a great way for those of us Stateside to easily read up on what is happening in real time.  To see and hear about the lives of these children radically transformed and renewed day by day reminds us of all that God is doing.  It also provides for a quick and easy way to know how to pray specifically for the needs they are facing.

For those new to Lost and Found International, the easy to navigate buttons,  also on their home page, provides quick access to the areas of impact their ministry is currently involved in.  With the wide array of programs and outreaches that Lost and Found International facilitates, this provides a clean layout to help people navigate to their areas of interest quickly and easily.

Seeing the Lost and Found International website come together has truly been a blessing to me because I am one of those people with a loved one on the mission field.  One of my closest friends and her family actually serve with Bill and Tammy in Chiapas, Mexico.  A day doesn’t go by that they aren’t on my heart and in my prayers.  As you take a moment to check out the Lost and Found International website, let’s take a moment to remember all those we know and love that are serving the Lord through Missions, and thank God for the technological tools we have to continue being effective in being salt and light to those around us no matter where God takes us.

Although 76% have some kind of anti-virus software computer, only half of that group has updated their software in the past month. With 250 new viruses released each month, 62% of all broadband users are thus significantly vulnerable. – America Online, Inc.

Ignite Secure is a security suite that lets you use the Internet with complete peace of mind.

Ignite Secure utilizes various tools to protect your internet experience and secure you against everything from viruses to spyware and identity theft to spam emails.

• Fight Viruses – To protect from viruses, spyware, and anything else that might infect your computer, Ignite Secure detects new and existing forms of attack and eliminates them.
• Protect Your Identity – In a day and age when online shopping and bill pay are prevalent, it is more important than ever to ensure that your information is not being stolen. Ignite Secure protects you from fraudulent emails, online scams, and more.
• Browse the Internet Safely – To make your online experience more enjoyable, Ignite Secure utilizes web, personal information, and anti-spam filters. All of this, combined with Parental Control, ensures that you are in control of what information goes out and what information comes in.
• Utilize a Personal Firewall – Computers can have so many vulnerabilities, and it is vitally important to ensure all of your bases are covered. The Ignite Secure Firewall offers that final level of protection by shielding your computer from hackers, protecting your wireless network and ensuring that only good programs are allowed to run.

To learn more about Church IT Solutions from faithHighway, visit us online.