Phase 1 Construction Complete!

The first phase of the BVCC website upgrade has been completed. We went “live” with the new website on Saturday, 12/18. Here are some of the new features incorporated in our website:

• BVCC Newsflash
• Blog for Rick - “Butler’s Pantry”
• BVCC Member Blog
• MCC Project Blog
• Disqus Commenting System for Blogs
• RSS Newsfeeds
• Online Newsletter Viewing & Archives
• Contact Us Form & Prayer Request Form
• Activites Calendar
• Search Feature

CAUTION: HARD HATS REQUIRED!

As you read this construction is taking place on the Blue Valley Christian Church website.  Heavy machinery may not be involved but there is still ongoing work.  We are upgrading the website to make it a more effective communication and outreach tool.  A considerable amount of thought and planning have gone into the website upgrade and this blog post is an attempt to unveil some of that.  But first an explanation of why this upgrade is needed.

The biggest reason is to make the process of updating the website easier.  Instead of having to know HTML formatting, the new website will allow non technical users the ability to change and add content much more easily.  The second reason is to give us a more flexible and dynamic website that will allow us to change the look and add different types of content and features more easily.  All of this will help us deliver a website that is more engaging, informative, and connecting.

So now that you know why, let me tell you how we are going to do this.  We have identified three phases to the upgrade of our website.  Here is a summary of those phases along with where we are and where there might be opportunities for you to pitch in.

We've Gone Wireless!!

It's true, Blue Valley Christian Church is now offering FREE WiFi service throughout the building! This will give guests and members easy access to the Internet while visiting BVCC.  It's our vision that this could be used to enhance Adult Formation Classes, expand upon the capabilities and uses of handheld devices, and add to our hospitality when we have guests using our building.  The signal strength is strong throughout the main level of the building so it should be very useful to guests and visitors.  For those "techies" out there we are broadcasting 802.11g (2.4 GHz) as well as the older 802.11b so people should have no problem connecting.  We hope that  guests, visitors, and members alike will enjoy this new offering.  So tell all your friends, BVCC is the latest WiFi Hotspot!

Sneak Peek of Projection System

On October 28th we finally got our video projection system installed at Blue Valley Christian Church.  Here are a couple pictures of me testing it out.....

This has been a long road of planning and talking with several audio/video professionals.  Our hope is that the system will enhance our current worship service and help us find new ways of experiencing God.  We plan to unveil the projection system on Sunday, October 24th during our regular morning worship.  

Other upcoming technology projects for BVCC will be a website upgrade, guest Wifi network, and video recording system among others.  I will be posting more information on these projects in the coming weeks.

BVCC Video Projection System Installation

Late last month we announced that a video projection system for Blue Valley Christian Church had been ordered. This follows our vision for Church transformed and will be used to enhance our worship services and experience of God at BVCC. There are many potential uses of this technology so we are very excited about this step forward.

We have been working with our installer, Stark Raving Solutions, on the details of the installation. The screen was already delivered this morning to the church and the installation of the system is scheduled for September 28th. The installation should take about 6 hrs and SRS will provide training at the end on how to use the new technology.

The projector we ended up with is the Mitsubishi WD-3300U. It is a DLP WXGA (1280x800) projector with a brightness of 4000 Lumens. We are fitting it with a special Navatar lens to project the image across the sanctuary. The screen is a Da-Lite Contour Electrol 54” x 96” (110" diagonal) 16:9 format screen. Computer and video connections along with screen controls will be installed in the sanctuary back wall adjacent to the visuals room. This will be the future location for all our audio/visual equipment for the sanctuary.

We are currently preparing for the installation by working with electrical contractors on installing the needed electrical outlets for the projector and screen. We will also be working on acquiring a media desk that we can use to securely house the audio/video equipment as well as purchasing a new computer to run the presentation software for the visuals. I am certainly excited about all the new possibilities this technology will give us and how God might use it to reach us in new ways.

A New Direction

I’ve decided to take my blog in a new direction. I’ve retitled it “The Way with Technology” and am going to post about how I’m leveraging technology to enhance my experience of God. The phrase “The Way” is an early Christian phrase referencing the way Jesus lived and the way He instructs us to live. This blog will also be a journal of how we will be using technology at my church, Blue Valley Christian Church, to enhance worship, to better reach out to people in our community (particularly tech savvy young adults), and to better serve our church members. So in the coming weeks and months you can expect to see our vision of how technology can be used to transform church along with how I am implementing it in my own spiritual journey.

Cutting the Chains

I got a couple funny looks recently when I walked into my Bible study group with a pair of bolt cutters in my hand. I quietly set them against the wall though without any explanation. You see that day was going to be the day I finally cut the chains that had been holding back my faith. My past prejudices would finally be broken and my heart would be free at last!

About four years ago my wife and I were very involved in a mission project with our church. Blue Valley Christian Church would periodically house homeless families through an organization called Interfaith Hospitality Network. Our role was to turn the church’s classrooms into temporary bedrooms and otherwise make the church a hospitable and welcoming place of rest for the families. During one of our volunteer group meetings someone presented the idea of putting a picnic table and/or chairs out on the church’s lawn so that our guests could enjoy the beautiful evenings outside during their stay. I thought this was a great idea and knew that Costco was currently selling folding picnic tables so I offered to pick one up for our next host week. It was a really nice table and cost us a couple hundred dollars so at the time I felt some apprehension about leaving it outside unsecured. Even though the church is in a community with a fairly low crime rate and there was no history of theft I thought the picnic table would be easy pickings for a would be thief. I discussed this with my pastor who tried to reason with me saying, “I guess if someone steals it then they must need it worse than we do.” Seeing the troubled look on my face after saying this he quickly receded and offered to secure it to a tree or something that same day. I was glad he came to his senses and protected our new purchase.

Old Website

I discovered an old archived version of my first website! It’s pretty embarrassing so I hesitate in sharing but here’s the link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050213032455re_/www.kc.net/~webguru/aaron/index.htm

Keep in mind I created this 13+ years ago. The graphics aren’t as cool as I remember them. Okay, pretty lame actually. But hey, it was my first attempt at a website and I learned a lot making it.