About the author
Jason Alexis
Jason Alexis is the creator of PastorsLine and co-author of the RethinkMinistry book. His experience as a former engineer has informed his scientific, data-driven approach, as he creates digital strategies and tools for churches. Jason is also the communication director at his church and a stay-at-home dad who homeschools his two boys. He enjoys tennis meetups and weekend biking with his wife and kids.
Case study: Scott and Julie Lorino, Houston Central Seventh-day Adventist Church
By Jason Alexis | January 26, 2016
Scott and Julie Lorino have been leaders in children’s ministry since 2001. They have served as Adventurers club leaders, both at their home congregation of Houston Central Seventh-day Adventist Church and district-wide in the Texas Conference, as well. Read on to hear how the Lorinos are building an effective communication strategy for a Children’s Ministry.…
Turning “On” your Offline Church
By Jason Alexis | January 20, 2016
What’s next in the world of churches, marketing and technology in 2016? Two words: Church Online. Not to be confused by the phrase ‘Online Church’. Keep reading… You may have heard the term Online Campus and you’re likely to have heard the phrase ‘Internet church’, as well. Many top churches have already set the tone…
Case Study: UBC Makes Effective Use of Text Messaging to Reach Its Congregation
By Jason Alexis | January 11, 2016
Over the past decade, United Baptist Church (UBC) in Hempstead, NY has been developing a digital communication strategy, to grow their church. Their main communication channels include a mobile app, a website and a Facebook page. They also utilize the PastorsLine (formerly crossMRKT) text messaging service. When Pastor Sedgwick Easley first arrived at UBC, the…
Case Study: Pastor Richie Halversen, College Drive Church and The Ridge.
By Jason Alexis | January 6, 2016
Pastor Richie Halversen is a dynamic preacher and caring pastor at the College Drive Church and its plant, The Ridge. These are Seventh Day Adventist congregations located outside of Jackson, Mississippi. When it comes to communications technology, Pastor Richie believes that it is of the utmost importance when spreading the Gospel in today’s world. He…
Beyond the US: How SMS is saving lives outside the Internet’s current reach
By Jason Alexis | December 31, 2015
With over 6.3 billion mobile connections in the world (based on one UN study), text messaging in developing and underdeveloped countries still trumps other communication methods (that we all may take for granted). The power lies in the ease of implementation of cell towers, in areas where traditional ‘pole and line’ networking would be economically…
Texting vs. E-mail, in the pocket or on the desktop
By Jason Alexis | December 29, 2015
There was a time when writing a letter was the easiest way to communicate with family and friends all over the world. Then, the computer was developed. E-mail was one of the selling points of the computer, along with all the glitzy programs and games, but not everyone had a computer. Nearly everybody had a…
How to roll out an effective Text subscription campaign & Rules you should follow
By Jason Alexis | November 18, 2015
Once you have purchased or subscribed to a SMS service, your members and visitors can easily agree to accept messages from you or opt-in to your service. You are not allowed to simply enter in a batch of phone numbers into the application and send out messages, because that is considered spam and is not allowed…
Why cloud-based text trumps other applications like Skype, iMessenger, WhatsApp, etc…
By Jason Alexis | November 6, 2015
With text messaging services like Viber, Skype, iMessenger, Google hangouts, WhatsApp, GroupMe, Kik, etc.- available free to use, why would you need anything else? For example, both GroupMe and Kik are applications for a smartphone, but have a limited number of features to use. The application GroupMe allows you to create groups on your mobile…
10 Ways Ministries are Using Text Messaging
By Jason Alexis | November 4, 2015
Churches and ministries are using text messages on cell phones and devices in increasing numbers. Texts are short messages of up to 160 characters that can be sent from one cell phone to another. Once the teen-aged crowd made the cell phone a ubiquitous device carried everywhere, anytime, anyplace, they began creating a shorthand form for words, to pack even more into the short (160 – character) messages.
So, I noticed some churches use short codes and others long. What’s the deal?
By Jason Alexis | October 16, 2015
Members and visitors must opt-in to be able to receive messages sent by service providers. To do this, most service providers use what are called short codes or long codes. A short code is a number to which an SMS, or text message, can be sent. The code is usually five or six digits in…