Posted in October 20, 2009 ¬ 11:58 amh. Josh TateNo Comments »
Display Foldback (Stage Display)
Custom Stage Support
Your audience is first, but your stage needs support, too. While the audience sees the presentation on the main display, Display Foldback lets the stage see a custom display with the current presentation, a preview of the next scheduled item, a clock and private alerts.
Customize the way the stage sees PowerPoint presentations with variable thumbnails for previous, current and next slide.
VJ Mode (Video Jockey)
One-Click Video Switching
This is the perfect place for planned spontaneity. In VJ Mode, switching backgrounds during a live song or scripture takes one click.
The option to view your media library in the Live Area makes it easy to fade between backgrounds on the fly while keeping up with song lyrics or scripture changes
Web Integration
Full Screen YouTube Videos
With URL scheduling and full screen YouTube video playback, EasyWorship 2009 helps you connect your audience to the web. Use the online feature to show your church’s new website or latest YouTube video.
EasyWorship 2009 also provides access to the online media store, which includes integrated downloads so media is automatically placed in the correct library in EasyWorship.
Audio Integration
Scheduled Playback
Import and organize your audio files for scheduled playback during a presentation, or assign a single audio file to multiple lyric or scripture slides. EasyWorship’s new media player displays total and elapsed time with controls for volume, mute, play/pause, repeat and seek.
Updated User Interface
Cleaner, More Intuitive Design
Now theme-aware for XP, Vista and Windows 7, EasyWorship 2009 introduces updated buttons and icons throughout, modernized look and feel, general layout improvements and updated interface controls for video, DVD and feeds.
Posted in October 8, 2009 ¬ 1:27 pmh. Amber ReidNo Comments »
The powerful General Sessions are one of the highlights of NOC. This year is no exception – with EIGHT speakers and THREE special guests. Combined with inspiring worship and a little light hearted fun – you will want to be there for every minute! Register today! »
The National Outreach Convention (“NOC”) is one of the largest gathering places for like-minded church leaders with a sole focus on outreach and evangelism. The NOC is known for its practical content, multiple connections and the launch pad for many new outreach focused ministries.
Visit the huge exhibit hall – participate in discussion groups – go to powerful breakout sessions with practitioners eager to share new ideas and tools, meet authors and get free books. The General Sessions are the place to be inspired and challenged as you join hundreds of other leaders in worship powerful testimonies, and great key note speakers.
NEW! You can engage in the NOC community and make personal connections to speakers, vendors, and each other! Making the NOC unique this year – we want to be sure that your attendance brings huge value to you, your church and your community.
Not yet registered? Do it now! Don’t miss out another year…
Once again, Adam will grace the stage of NOC as your host. Known for his heart, his hilarious interactive humor and his professionalism – you are guaranteed to have a great guide through each day’s program.
As one of the world’s premiere interactive entertainers, Adam has amused, mystified, and delighted more than 3,000 separate audiences across North America.
Back by popular demand – Lincoln is ready to rock your world again! With a combination of incredible musical talent and a heart for the Great Commission, you will be blessed as Lincoln leads you through worship guaranteed to open your heart to the Spirit’s leading.
Speaker Profile
Ed Stetzer has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and transitioned declining churches in Indiana and Georgia. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Ed is a columnist for Outreach magazine and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today’s Building Church Leaders, and is frequently cited or interviewed in news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. Ed is Visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has taught at fifteen other colleges and seminaries. He also serves on the Church Services Team at the International Mission Board. Ed is currently interim teaching pastor of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN.
Efrem Smith is an internationally recognized leader and speaker who uses storytelling, comedy, and passion to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ at a level that people can understand as well as presents principles for living the life on a daily basis. He also consults on diversity and multi-ethnic issues and has been a speaker at many high school and middle school assemblies and retreats. Efrem has held positions with both church and Para church organizations. He has served with Hospitality House Boys and Girls Club as Program Coordinator, The Minnesota Fellowship of Christian Athletes as Urban Director and the Executive Director of the Park Avenue Foundation as well as the Associate Pastor of Park Avenue United Methodist church; all located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Miles McPherson is the President of Miles Ahead and Senior Pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, California. As a nationally known speaker, Miles is viewed as an expert on relevant issues such as teen pregnancy, drug use, suicide and gangs, as well as dynamic church leadership and outreach strategies. Soon after his conversion, Miles began attending Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego and reaching out to teenagers. He also began doing motivational speaking with the Chargers’ organization. In September 1986, within a week after retiring from football, Miles went to work as a Youth Pastor for Horizon and enrolled in Azusa Pacific University’s School of Theology. He received his Master’s of Divinity degree in 1991, and in 1992, founded Miles Ahead, a non-profit organization that reaches out to the world’s youth with the Gospel. Through Miles Ahead Ministries, Miles’ bold and humorous message has reached over one million young people.
Dr. Hunter has served as senior pastor since 1985, and the church has grown from 200 to 12,000. Northland is “A Church Distributed,” with congregants worshiping at multiple sites throughout Central Florida. They connect with neighboring Christians for support and encouragement and to better serve their communities. Dr. Hunter encourages Northlanders: “Do what you can, where you are, with what you’ve got.” Dr. Hunter approaches today’s issues in a biblical and balanced manner. He has become an internationally known spokesperson for “Compassion Issues” outlined in Scripture: Sanctity of Life, Creation Care, Justice, Poverty, and Marriage and the Family, and has been featured in national publications including Newsweek and The New York Times, as well as programs such as The Early Show, Nightline and Anderson Cooper 360. A respected leader in the Evangelical community, he serves on several boards, including the World Evangelical Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals.
passionate. enthusiastic. inspirational. determined. relentless. devoted. compassionate. authentic. creative. innovative. caffinated. greek. australian. traveling-preacher-chick who is a wife. mother. speaker. activist. blogger. author. mentor. fighter of human trafficking and die-hard for the cause of Jesus Christ. She is one of the pastors and directors of Equip & Empower Ministries, as well as the founder of The A21 Campaign.
Greg Surratt is the founding pastor of Seacoast Church, one of the early adopters of the multi-site model. Located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Seacoast has been recognized by various media as an innovative and influential thought leader in future strategies for church growth and development. Seacoast combines a unique approach to highly participatory worship with a heart for missional evangelism. Greg calls their weekends a “practical, spirit filled, but non-spooky, yet kind of mystical worship experience, done in multiple locations, very inexpensively.” Sounds a little strange, but it seems to be working. Seacoast currently has over 10,000 people attending 29 weekend worship experiences in 13 separate locations.
Dave Ferguson is the Lead Pastor of Community Christian Church, an innovative multi-site missional community that is passionate about “helping people find their way back to God”. CCC has grown from Dave, his wife and four friends to over 5000 every weekend meeting at nine locations. COMMUNITY empowers over 600 volunteer leaders to oversee difference-making ministry throughout Chicago and was recently recognized as one of the most influential churches in America. Dave provides visionary leadership for the NewThing Network whose dream is to be “a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches NewThing is a network of reproducing churches internationally and a resource to churches looking to reproduce multiple sites or new churches. Dave is also the co-founder and serves on the board of directors for theInstitute for Community, who partner with real estate developers to accomplish their mission of “helping people build quality relationships where you live and work through the power of genuine community.”
Ken Mansfield has experienced a life that most people have only read about. He was in the heart and heat of the music industry when it was young and vibrant-back when creativity and passion made the music. Beginning with being the leader of the successful southern California folk group “The Town Criers” he graduated to becoming a top music industry executive and producer in Hollywood and Nashville. As a Capitol Records executive he had the great fortune of being part of the classic era of pop and jazz working with artists such as Stan Kenton, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, The Four Freshmen, Nancy Wilson, Judy Garland, Lou Rawls, Glen Campbell, Bobbie Gentry and Al Martino as well as the early careers of legendary country artists Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Sonny James. But then the tempo really picked up and the pace quickened when he began working with bands like The Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Band.
Stacy Spencer leads one of the country’s most innovative churches that has become an agent of change locally, nationally and globally. Under the New Direction umbrella are numerous outreach efforts: New Direction Collierville, Nueva Direccion Christian Church, New Direction Christian Centre in Dutwya, South Africa, Power Center Community Development Corporation, Power Center Academy Charter School, Life Change Counseling Center and Soul Café. Spencer is the author of Naked & Unashamed, a guide to help Christian married couples return to living naked and unashamed.
Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pastor Steven grew up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina where at age 16 he realized God’s plan for him to start a life-changing church in a metropolitan city. Elevation Church was founded on the faith of 8 families who risked everything—sold houses, quit jobs and moved to Charlotte believing that God would turn their city upside down for his glory through the local church. That risk has resulted in a remarkable return. At the three year mark, Elevation has grown to more than 5,000 in attendance each week between its three campuses and has seen over 3,000 people receive Christ. In 2007 and 2008, Elevation Church was named one of the 10 fastest growing churches in America.
Adam Christing became a member of the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood at the age of 17. Since then he has been featured on more than 100 radio and TV shows, including Fox News, CNN, Entertainment Tonight, ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News. He’s also been in national magazines and newspapers, including USA Today, FORTUNE, The Chicago Sun Times, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Adam has been ranked among the top 5 after-dinner speakers in America. Success magazine highlighted him as “one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in America. Business and media expert Michael Levine noted Adam’s truly unique mix of leadership, humor, and creative communication, calling him “one of the most engaging and entertaining presenters in America today.” Adam has a knack for “getting everybody laughing” together no matter how large or small the audience.
Lincoln Brewster began his musical journey at an age when most children are concentrating on learning to walk. At only one year of age, Lincoln’s mother, Cheryl noticed his ability to keep rhythm after his grandfather bought him a drum set. By age seven, Lincoln was playing guitar and mandolin. A musician herself, Cheryl played a key role in her son’s musical development, encouraging the gift that God had given him. Cheryl and Lincoln formed a strong musical bond that helped sustain them through rough times. Raised in Homer, Alaska, the youngest of three children, Lincoln’s parents divorced when he was just a toddler. Shortly after, a stepfather and stepbrothers were added to the family. They had some moments of joy mixed with years of abuse. Lincoln’s passion for music began to grow, but his stepfather hated the fact that Cheryl played music and as Lincoln explains, “that was a real connection for me and my mom.”
Posted in October 2, 2009 ¬ 6:13 pmh. Josh TateNo Comments »
Even if you missed the first ever Catalyst west coast gathering, you can still experience Catalyst in a number of ways. Be sure to register today at the best rates available for Catalyst West Coast 2010, being held April 21-23, 2010. The Catalyst movement continues to expand with Catalyst One Day events with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel.
Going to Catalyst? Follow us on Twitter to find out how to win a FREE Apple Tv!
Fowler will be at Catalyst October 8th and October 9th in Atlanta.
Be sure to visit us at booth #29 and #30. See you there!
Posted in September 28, 2009 ¬ 4:15 pmh. Josh TateNo Comments »
When you’re thinking about ways to get your message in front of as many people as possible, have you considered podcasting? Eww, it’s a techie term! What is podcasting? It may sound scary if you don’t know what it is it but rest easy, it’s really pretty simple.
Let’s start with some terminology. There are just a few ingredients that go into making a podcast and they are XML, RSS, media files, web servers, and an RSS reader. In order for everything to make sense, we have to start with XML. Hang with me; it gets really easy at the end.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a programming language of sorts. There are lots of things you can do with an XML file but what we’re concerned with is using it to create an RSS feed. These two go hand in hand. An RSS feed is a simple way for someone to subscribe to quickly changing information. Think of an RSS feed like the text crawl along the bottom of news sites like CNN, Fox, or MSNBC. RSS feeds are short in nature and serve to update the subscriber when there is new information published.
Now, I’m going to skip ahead for a minute to the RSS reader. An RSS reader is either a website or an application that gathers and displays a series of news–style headlines. This is an important part of the distribution model that makes podcasting so popular. When a new podcast (or news headline) is published, the reader automatically downloads and displays it for the viewer.
In a podcast, the media file is the actual file that you want the end viewer to receive. Technically, a podcast can be either an audio file, a video file, or a document like a .pdf file. The web server is where that file is stored until it is downloaded by a subscriber through their aggregator.
Are you still with me? It’s all downhill from here!
Here’s a typical workflow for publishing an audio podcast. I’m going to use some specific names you might recognize as a part of this example:
Record your Sunday message into a MacBook Pro using Garage Band with the built-in audio input jack.
Using Garage Band, edit your podcast with an opener, closer and possibly a little cleanup.
Export your recording from Garage Band into iWeb
Create a podcast page in iWeb and add your recording to that page.
Publish your podcast site.
Copy the link from the podcast site and paste it into the iTunes podcast form.
Garage Band is a multitrack audio recording software and iWeb is a very simple software for creating web sites. Both of these are included for free on Apple computers and if you have a subscription to MobileMe, a web based service from Apple that provides everything you need for podcasting, then you’ve got all the ingredients to get a podcast recorded, edited, posted, and listed for free within the iTunes Store.
There you go, you’re published! Now, the particular workflow I described above is Fowler’s recommended solution. It’s about as simple as it gets. It’s dependent on a MobileMe subscription to provide the hosting service for the media files but that’s one of many options for hosting your files. Notice I didn’t mention XML, RSS, web server, or RSS readers. iWeb creates the XML file for you in the background, the RSS feed points to your iWeb site, an online storage server called iDisk is the web server for your media file, and iTunes is the RSS reader. The beauty of this solution is that all of the techie stuff is hidden from the user.
Posted in August 3, 2009 ¬ 11:41 amh. TEnglishNo Comments »
Fowler Productions, Inc is now offering ProPresenter training in addition to EasyWorship Training. ProPresenter is an Apple based worship presentation software.
Posted in June 9, 2009 ¬ 10:05 amh. Josh TateNo Comments »
Trinity Church International is a family church with a world vision. With active support efforts for over 100 mission works around the world, Trinity’s blessings are far reaching. Located on 40 acres in Palm Beach County, Florida, and home to a full K-12 Christian school, there is always something going on at the trinity campus. Featuring a 1700 seat main sanctuary providing multiple services every week, multi-media systems play a vital role in reaching a diverse audience relevant to today’s technologically savvy society.
In 2007, Director of Media Brock Tibbs, contacted Fowler with a desire to upgrade their existing media systems to take things to the next level. Already on television, the sanctuary lighting systems were inadequate for proper acquisition of a good quality recording. Limitations on camera shots and projection capabilities added to the needs of a media overhaul. Enter Zane Hedger and the Fowler design team.
The Fowler team made the trip to Florida to check out the facility and the existing systems and to meet with Trinity’s crew to discuss the church’s vision and long-term worship goals. This round-table discussion quickly uncovered the need for upgraded camera systems to provide more flexible shots with a major improvement in image quality. Going hand-in-hand with the camera upgrades was the need for a new lighting system capable of supporting the type of image demanded for television and internet distribution, while also providing enhanced atmosphere for the live praise and production events. Finally, the congregation filling the 1700 seats needed to be emotionally reached using clear, vibrant video images capable of showing everything from speaker facial expressions to song lyrics and sermon and scripture notes.
After multiple discussions and plenty of engineering work, the designs were brought to fruition via the Fowler installation team. The overhaul had brought the church the capability to accommodate the regular worship schedules along with concerts, and just about any type of event that needed to be held. Brock quickly received more and more requests to put the new equipment to various uses. The sanctuary is now a full high-definition facility. A mixture of manned and robotic cameras provides enough flexibility for everyday worship or the ability to discretely accommodate weddings. High-definition DLP projectors and plasma monitors are strategically placed to reach every seat in the house. The automated lighting systems allow the “eye-candy” desired for a concert environment, with the simple recall back to the standard worship settings. Maintenance for the projection and lighting systems are a dream come true for Brock. Motorized trussing lowers the fixtures to the floor for easy adjustment or maintenance.
It has been nothing but positive feedback for Brock and the staff at Trinity Church International. Fowler continues to work with the church by providing lifetime technical support on the systems that has always given churches the piece of mind knowing they can get help when they actually need it.
FowlerInc Podcast
iTunes: This post has a podcast video that goes with it, feel free to check it out!
Display Foldback (Stage Display)
Updated User Interface
The powerful General Sessions are one of the highlights of NOC. This year is no exception – with EIGHT speakers and THREE special guests. Combined with inspiring worship and a little light hearted fun – you will want to be there for every minute!
