I would have to say that Park Community Church here in Chicago is really using JARBYCO to the fullest. They have been thinking outside the box and working with us to come up with some really cutting edge solutions by using text messaging inside the church format. I could go on and on about all the things they have already done with us, however a few things really stand out to me.

One is that they use texting not just to say that they are doing it… but to really integrate world events and topics into the services while engaging the entire audience. One weekend they ran live text-to-screen polls to get a pulse of the congregation on the topic of finances and how the current state of the economy influences their spiritual journey. A hot topic these days.

Another weekend they did something great where they used texting to create an anonymous question forum. People could text in their questions to the screen that were later answered by the pastor at the end of the service. This is cool for a number of reasons. 1. If it had been a mic at the back of the room you would see who is asking the question, and there is typically that awkward moment in between questions. 2. If they were hand written questions or emails, others could not visually see the all questions being asked live time. It was cool to see questions up on the screen that others were also thinking or at least being able to relate people just like you, and getting to peak inside their head. Very cool stuff!

Maybe I got a little too excited there, however I really get pumped when a Church isn’t always last to the table in the technology game. It seems so often that the Church only does something after its been done a million times by others in pop culture. Its cool to see an innovative church at the bleeding edge of things like this and sometimes even paving the way.