Square

This may seem like a no brainer, but if you're not setup to use Square in your youth ministry, do it now!   Square is a simple way to take credit cards for youth trips, candy from your snack shack, and everything in between.  It's also a great way to send parents a receipt for cash or checks they may give you for their teens.  Think about adding credit card payments to your next car wash!  This concept is huge.

Edit Office Docs On Your iPad For Free

Check out this new app in the AppStore called CloudOn.  It is a free app and links into your DropBox account, which is also free, and let's you edit any of your Microsoft Office documents.  It also has an autosave feature so you don't have to worry about saving.  One more nice feature is a connection status to verify that you are connected online and your doc is saving correctly.

ARTICLE: The Best Facebook Apps for iPad

Here's an article for you iPad users who surf FB connecting with teens!

Best Facebook Apps for iPad

E-Publishing uses

One of the phrases that the media is throwing around a lot lately is e-publishing. A lot the reason for this is the battle that is going on right now between the electronic book readers and tablets. And regardless of where you stand in the battle of which is the best, we must all understand that the battle is really where you are going to spend your money on the books to read. This article isn't about that. It's about you creating and distributing your own e-pub books.

I'm not assuming that everyone out there reading this article is a fledgling author in search of a book deal. What I am saying is that all of us are communicators with a message that needs to be conveyed. Whether that message is a sermon, bible study, or a calendar of events. Why would you want to consider an e-book? The answer is simple...people need the information in a readily accessible format. So many people are carrying e-readers in tablet and smart-phone formats (and iPod Touches) that it only makes sense to maximize on that fact.

There are various ways to create e-pub documents, one of the easiest is Apple's Pages application. With its recent update, the program (on the Mac itself) can export any document as an e-pub. So why not use this great tool.

Event Roster

How do you manage who has signed up for your events?  Are you old school with a piece of paper and a pen?  Do you make a list in Word or Excel?  Do you use online registration forms and generate some sort of list?

Here's an option maybe you haven't thought of: Zenbe List or Team Coach.

Zenbe Lists

Zenbe Lists vs. Team Coach

Zenbe Lists is a simple online list maker that uses cloud technology to sync your lists from the zenbe website to your mobile devices.  I have it installed on my phone, my wife's phone, and my iPad.  I have lists of events with students who have registered in them.  I also have a list of everyone I have a medical release form for.  My wife and I also have our grocery lists so when I run to WalMart to pick up a few game supplies I can do her a favor and grab a few items for her.  Costs only $3.99 in iTunes which includes the iPhone and iPad app.

Team Coach

Team Coach is an app built for sport coaches, but it comes in really handy in youth ministry.  It allows you to create teams, which I use to create events.  Then you add individuals to the teams (events).  And last it allows you to create events for your teams, which I use to create events like "Paid" or "Registered" or "Bowling Team #1".  Team Coach is only $.99 in iTunes and does not have an iPad specific app, but it runs the iPhone version on the iPad.  It doesn't sync and I wish it had a few other enhancements

Neither of these is a perfect solution, but it can make event check-in easier!

New iPad Update

My biggest hesitation in buying an iPad was the fact that it was the first generation, that is the first model ever built.  Everyone knows that a companies 2nd generation model is better!  What helped me get over that hesitation is Apple.  Apple has been a company that gives you free updates on the operating system you're using no matter what model you have.  So I bit the bullet and bought an iPad which has become a device I use more than my iPhone and more than my PC.

Apple plans to release a big update to the iPad's OS this November.  Included in the update is multitasking and folders, making the iPad function even more like your iPhone.  Here's where youth ministry comes in.  You will be able to create an "Events" folder and put links to all your registration forms in one spot.  You can create folders for online attendance recording for different programs you have or folders for different apps you use exclusively for youth ministry.

Bottom line, the new update will help you better organize your iPad for youth ministry.

iPad Event Registration

Getting teens hyped about going on an event? Easy.  Getting them to sign up and pay is like trying to get cats to form a 5 person pyramid.  So here's a little tip on easy event registration.  If you use online forms to get students to sign up for events, navigate to the form in Safari on your iPad.  Then bookmark the site straight to your home screen.  Add all your event forms to your home screen and reogranize your apps so your event icons are all together.  The next time a teen says they want to go on an event, BAM, let them fill out their form right on the spot.

Need help making online forms?  I'll blog on that later, but for now try Google Docs!

App Review: Olive Tree BibleReader

I admit it...I've taken the plunge, and so far it's been pretty seamless.  I've converted to using my iPad and iPhone as my primary form of reading Scripture.  I've used the Kindle, and have the Bible within my Kindle App, but although great for straight reading, it is hard to move between passages on the fly.

I know that there are many Bible apps out there, but I've found Olive Tree's BibleReader to be an excellent choice.  Olive Tree's BibleReader is available for Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry, iOS, and Android.  Here is a comparison chart for the features built in within their BibleReader software by platform.

Why OliveTree BibleReader? Here is why...

Build Your Own T-Shirt Launcher!

Easy Video Recording

It was a glorious game of tug-a-war involving for teams, plastic sheeting, and more baby shampoo than you could shake a tear free stick at. The energy was high, the campers were wet, and the mood was "out for blood". As I was "soaking" in the view and loving the job our Camp Team was doing, one of our Camp Directors, Kelly (great job, btw!), walked up to me and handed me a Flip video recorder and asked if I would shoot some video. For the next 10 minutes I was embedded in the action with my video recorder, getting great video coverage. I felt like Geraldo Rivera, minus the mustache. I even gave away troop location to another team. (yup, I went there.). After 10 minutes, I handed the recorder back and moments later I saw our Director handing it off to someone else.

iPad-friendly Student Ministry

I readily admit that I am a bit of a geek, and as such I tend to use tech whenever and wherever I can.  One of my favorite weapons in my tech arsenal is my iPad. I've heard from many, well isn't it just a big iPod Touch? Yes in some ways, but mostly no.  It serves a different need in my life, and provides much better function in my ministry.  Here are a some of my regular uses: