The State of Rock

Learn about the latest developments with Rock.

Length: 51:48m

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

Cultivate and maintain an unwavering focus on ministry.

Length: 36:36m

Leading in a Digerati Age

Find out what leading looks like in today's technology landscape.

Length: 29:45m

The Next Wave of Ministry Intelligence, Innovation and Impact!

Matt Engel and Linda Bork, will lead the discussion on how ministries are applying capabilities, assessments and insights that can help connect more people to your ministry and also leverage existing technologies to the passion and stewardship of your ministry. Gloo offers the largest consumer data platform built for personal growth and development to help churches gain insights into both their community and their congregation.

Length: 25:39m

Elevating Kingdom Impact through Assessment Modeling

Gain insight into models for understanding a person’s unique contribution to the Body of Christ in order to better equip them for ministry in this hour-long session. Based on years of practical experience working with leaders and built on a solid foundation of statistical analysis, we’ll demonstrate how a novice can effectively implement tools that are currently being integrated into RockRMS. This model helps explain how individuals are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), shows how assessments address various facets of their design, and leaves you with the confidence that you can effectively use the output for each unique Christ-follower in your church.

Length: 58:57m

Everything Counts in Large Amounts

The connected world produces an extraordinary amount of data. Data that is rich in meaning and the source of deep insight. The trick is finding a place to store it all and analyze the inherent meaning. Luckily, Rock provides several tools to store all sizes and shapes of data. In this session we'll see how the many ideas from academic research have been brought to life in mapping relationships between people on digital content. You'll leave with a better appreciation for what's possible and what's coming next.

Length: 22:47m

The Signal in the Noise: Unlocking Spark Data

Learn how Spark Data can help you reach and engage your church by extending what you know about your community. Using simple tools you'll learn how to cleanup data, deliver rich insights, and empower your team with information to connect with people.

Length: 34:00m

Using Data Visualization to Make Data Conversational

Join Amber as she demonstrates how to visualize Rock data to ask new questions, spot trends, identify opportunities, and make data-driven decisions with confidence. She will walk you through real-world examples that will broaden your perception of what data visualizations can reveal.

Length: 27:29m

3 Steps To More Accurate Check-Ins

Unless a member checks in their children, or is one of the few who regularly fill out a connection card, it can be nearly impossible to know who is at your church on any given weekend. Front Porch Wi-Fi Presence helps to close the gap of the known and unknown of weekly church engagement. You’ll discover how apps, Wi-Fi and smart phones can help your church discover new methods for check-in to empower connection and shepherding for your church.

Length: 25:32m

The Care and Feeding of Your Data

Data Integrity is central to creating a good user experience, whether it's for personal interactions, registrations, newsletters, or just a useful visit to your website. So, where does bad data come from? And what can you do about it? This session will talk about priorities to keep in mind while crafting your user experiences, questions you should ask yourself to make the best use of everyone's time, and tools to use when bad data inevitably creeps onto your server. Because bad data creates barriers, but care and maintenance brings engagement.

Length: 29:37m

Data Parties

A data party might be an oxymoron, but understanding the classifications of data can provide necessary insights for your data strategy. In this session you'll learn the difference between first party, second party and third party data. Knowing the difference will help crystalize your information strategy and provide a foundation for developing an effective privacy policy.

Length: 29:42m

Netflix Nation & The 4 Communication Paradigm Shifts Your Church Must Adapt To For Growth

Culture is changing at a higher velocity than ever before. The next generation is forcing most establishments to reconsider how they engage with their audience. Churches are not immune and must reconsider what and how they communicate if they want to attract new comers today. This session will define four ways your messaging must evolve to get the attention of non-church goers in your community otherwise risk being lost in the mix.

Length: 27:32m

What's Next for Content Channels

Version 8 is a big release for content channels. With the introduction of powerful new tools and updated blocks, there are great opportunities to bring all types of content to Rock.

There’s an App for That

Mobile apps are on the mind! And they’re in the Rock community too. From integrated and native app platforms to individual church-developed apps, the mobile landscape in the Rock community is picking up steam. In this survey-style session, we’ll get an overview of the mobile apps that are being used and developed by Rock Partners and churches.

Length: 21:50m

Social Media for Ministry

How to use social media effectively and efficiently to grow your church.

Length: 24:34m

Cooking with Fire: Quick and Easy Recipes for Websites on Rock

Walk through common patterns in Rock sites, and get clear, easy-to-reproduce recipes for Rock sites that you can take back to your local church "kitchen." You'll learn how Rock can accelerate your web workflow. With new tools coming in version 8, the session is perfect for churches running their site on Rock or currently using another CMS.

Length: 26:21m

Revolutionize Your Email Communication

At this session we'll break down what makes a great email campaign. You'll get actionable info on personalization, design, and dynamic content to simplify your communication workflow and empower your team to connect with your church.

Length: 29:32m

Using Google Rank Brain to build a Rock Website (and how to optimize your Google Local Pack and Google Grant)

Google’s Rank Brain brings clarity to how you should build page content to be found online. Couple that with optimizing your Google Local SEO and you’ve got the formula to be found on page one with many keywords. We’ll walk through how to accomplish all of this and unpack the benefits of using the Google Grant for Non-profits in Adwords.

Length: 32:16m

5 Questions to Ask Before Jumping Into a Website Project

A successful website is one of the primary tools that your church uses to communicate to your congregation, your community and the world. So before you jump into a website project, it's important to answer a few important questions. It will ensure a smoother and more strategic process from the start. This workshop style session will help you identify and answer those questions.

Length: 26:05m

Run Your Communications Department Like an Agency

It’s easy to operate as if the communications team (or team of one) is a limitless resource that can serve every ministry of the church. Each ministry leader or area is passionate about their requests and there is a continual push for excellence with many priorities/needs. Fishhook suggests moving to a Central Support Agency model with Creative Services Allocation. This team begins to function more and more like a communications/marketing agency within the church. Through tracking data and making intentional choices about planning processes and projects, you can drive to a sustainable communications staffing and workload model. In this workshop, we will teach you how to make this important transition. It won’t relieve the pressure to get a boatload of work done, but it can become a realistic way to budget your time across all the people you’re called to serve. And when you or your team are feeling seriously overloaded, you will have some data to take to leadership to talk about your next incredible hire.

Length: 23:20m

What Shepherd’s Been Up to This Year (Tips/Tricks/Recipes/Takeaways)

A list of itches that RockRMS scratches at Shepherd Church.

Length: 22:27m

Puzzling Rock Blocks

Puzzling Rock blocks together is easier once you see their shapes. In this double-header session, I’ll show you how to solve two different problems using off-the-shelf Rock blocks. Tracking First Time Guests Through the Starting Gate - Which blocks can be used for inputting and tracking your first time guests? Learn how to combine these parts to set up a full featured tracking system for this special group of people. Mobilize your Volunteer Geo-Army - When it’s time to mobilize that army sitting in your auditorium chairs for that large & wide scale geo-project your pastor just envisioned, don’t panic. You’ve got everything you need to turn managing the signup of 100-20,000 people a piece of cake. I’ll show you how to wire your handy group finder tool to event registration on your website to make geo projects a reality at your church. (Something we did for at Central Christian Church AZ.)

Length: 21:44m

By Our Powers Combined!

Join Tim for a session on the power of community. Learn how to use the Rock community to its fullest potential, and recipes to combine separate plug-ins for virtually limitless power.

Length: 23:50m

Can Rock Really work with Planning Center?

In this session we discuss the importance of having your systems connected, focusing on how we can sync our data from Rock to Planning Center. Tips how to do this, what to look out for and to know you’re not alone trying to figure this out. It’s easier than you think.

Length: 22:36m

Having Reservations about Managing Rooms?

Well don’t. The Room & Resource Reservation plugin (aka Room Management) will set your mind at ease—taking care of approvals, required questions, reservation conflicts, helping staff find an available room, etc. Back by popular demand, I’ll review all the new features we’ve added to the plugin since we talked about it last year.

Length: 27:10m

Demystifying Rock Security

Rock’s security model is super-powerful, but can seem daunting at first. This session aims to pop open the hood and show that Rock security doesn’t have to be scary, and in fact it’s pretty easy once you understand what’s going on. While not a step-by-step tutorial in setting up Rock security, attendees will learn the basics as well as some advanced tips and best practices for getting the most out of Rock security.

Length: 29:45m

Conference Technology: See Rock in Action

This conference is called the Rock Experience because you can experience Rock in action. In this session we’ll look at how RX2018 is using Rock, what went into building Rock’s powerful tools and how the “recipes” used can benefit your organization.

Length: 28:00m

Volunteer Management & Rock

Bringing together all the Rock RMS elements to manage the onboarding process.

Length: 27:08m

Zebra Husbandry: Taming Your Printers

Zebra printing is a world of its own, and can be daunting. We’ll learn real-world tips and tricks on how to best manage our printers, as well as how to print awesome, professional labels.

Length: 27:50m

Devotion

The Making of a Leader, an Interview with Don Wilson

Submit your questions in advance, and participate in this interactive leadership-focused interview with the founder and former senior pastor of Christ's Church of the Valley.

Length: 17:50m

Accounting Systems, In Detail

This researched presentation goes beyond the feature-matrix and delves into what accounting superheroes love about the accounting software they use.

Length: 31:39m

Diving Deep into Financial Reports and Pledge Analytics

Rock offers a lot of powerful options when it comes to reporting and analytics. In this session we’ll cover the basics of how to create financial reports using data views, then dive deep into pledge and giving analytics, including how to report on combined giving.

Length: 28:08m

Using Data Analytics and Rock RMS to Disciple Your Congregation

Identify the key metrics needed to objectively disciple your congregation and grow your church. Learn how to surface connection opportunities, increase church engagement, and inspire congregants of all ages.

Length: 29:08m

Meet Your Middleman

How do payment processors get your congregation's contributions into your church? How can a payment processor help your church improve engagement with your congregation? How can a payment processor make your job easier? Learn about the surprising relationships involved with payment, and maximize value for your church by asking the right questions of your payment partners.

Length: 19:44m

Why Rock RMS Is So Important to the Future of NewSpring Church

Technology impacts almost every area of our life. Generally speaking the church is behind when it comes to using technology to engage the people that attend our churches. Rock RMS is a platform that creates a foundation to understand our people. When we understand our people we are better equipped to help them discover their next step in their journey with Jesus. Learn how we utilize Rock RMS to increase engagement.

Length: 25:56m

Your Church as a Platform

Platforms are the most disruptive business model in the history of the world. For the first time value is detached from ownership. Your church currently might work like a “pipeline” where you produce and the congregants consume. Platforms are about providing motivation and tools to turn consumers into producers.

Length: 29:44m

The State of Opportunity with Church Online Services

Church Online isn’t binary: do it or not. Streaming video. Live chats. Video small groups. The Who, How, and Why are all different. We’ll look at the current variety of models for hosting interactive worship services that you need to consider for 2019 and beyond.

Length: 29:54m

The Ministry of Church Security

How do you protect your church without turning it into Fort Knox? Balancing the ministry of the church and the business of the church can be difficult. But there’s hope. Learn how you can create a secure church that’s more open and approachable than ever.

Length: 38:48m

Leading a Growing Church of Any Size

This workshop challenges church leaders to get back to the basics of growing more and better disciples no matter the size of your church. You will learn how to use the Great Commission Engine™ to prioritize ministries and strategies to grow your church.

Length: 39:21m

Engaging and Keeping Newcomers

As church leaders, we must understand who “our 1” from Luke 15 is and design our connection process accordingly. Your Engagement Pathway© must facilitate movement and relational connects for people as they onboard into church life. In this workshop, you will be taught the basic principles of the Engagement Pathway© and how to start designing your connection process accordingly.

Length: 28:48m

Background Checks Behind the Scenes

There are a plethora of companies offering background checks with a variety of options. We hope to equip you with some solid information that will help you ask the right questions, find and compare features and select the company and options that fit you and your organization the best.

Length: 25:37m

Online Campus

Providing access to a church like experience to those who cannot attend a physical campus. How we launched our online campus with all the tools including Rocket Chat, Rock, Zoom, Livestream, and more. What we learned and where we are today.

Length: 28:47m

Getting from Sunday to Family

How NewSpring Church is redefining what we measure as a church and how we plan to engage people wherever they are. We are on a mission to connect people to Jesus and each other. To do that we want to get people from Sunday to Family! Come check out how we are planning on using Connection Statuses, Metric Dashboards, and a mobile app to better know who our people are and get them engaged!

Length: 36:13m

Online Training

Using Wistia and Rock to build an online training system that helps staff be more efficient and give an excellent user experience. What we learned and how we did it.

Length: 25:57m

Volunteer Application Workflow

Fellowship Greenville needed a tool to help track all the volunteer applications received to various ministries. A workflow seemed to be the best solution allowing the information to be stored in person attributes for ease of access. Take a look at the behind-the-scenes workflow and how you can apply it to your ministry.

Length: 20:40m

Connect Members of Your Congregation to Their Next Step

Morgan will present the process by which Willamette transforms the paper connection cards which are filled out on a Sunday into actionable connection requests in Rock. The connections features within Rock allow the staff to seamlessly track followup and get people connected into their next step at Willamette, whether it’s getting baptized, joining a group, serving, etc. She will also discuss Willamette’s new online Volunteer Board, which allows anyone to search for their perfect volunteer opportunity within the church or with one of our affiliated ministries.

Length: 21:20m

The Southeast Show and Share

The Rock team at Southeast Christian Church has been hard at work on new features and functions. We strive to make sure the tools we create are usable not just in our church but across the community. We’ll be showing off the things that we have been working on to share with everyone.

Length: 37:51m

How NewSpring Church Uses Rock Workflows to Shepherd People

We will demonstrate how we use utilize workflows to engage with guests, and how they help us continually care for them.

Length: 25:10m

Codex of Collaboration

Together we can literally change the world. Honestly, we can! In order for us to do this however we must all row in the same direction. In this session we'll discuss how we can better collaborate as developers and look at some of the tools and processes to make this easier. We'll also share some of the best practices of how the core team collaborates inside of Spark.

Length: 28:08m

It’s Not Finished Until You Package It

You finished that perfect tool and tested it. That’s great. You’re done, right? Wrong. If no one else can use it, you’ve missed out on the greatest blessing Rock has to offer developers—getting to work for ALL churches. Yeah, it takes a little extra effort, but I’ll show you how simple it really is to share the digital fruits of your labor.

Length: 22:46m

Using the Rock REST API

Learn the basics of REST and how to use it in a Rock environment to connect and interact with data. We’ll also cover OData and Swagger, two tools for building and viewing the Rock REST API.

Length: 29:42m

Rock and the Entity Framework

Although Ethan's first love will always be ADO, experience has taught him that Entity Framework makes things a lot easier. In this session, he will give an overview of Entity Framework (or, How he learned to stop worrying and love the IQueryable), explain how Rock uses EF (or, God first, Code second - just don't tell his wife), discuss EF best practices (or, Loading, saving and extending, oh my!), and explain how bulk loading works with Rock and EF (or, EF is a minivan, not a sports car, but we can still insert a lot of data fast-ish-ly).

Length: 19:56m

Extending Rock

What do data filters, data selects, workflow actions, field types and person badges all have in common? These are just a few of the things that you have the power to make more of. Learn how easy it is, with a little bit of code and the power of MEF, to extend Rock by adding your own custom functionality.

Length: 29:07m

Prolific Coding Tips and Tricks

We all waste time in some manner while we are developing code. Developing in Rock is no exception. Learn to get some of that time back by learning some tips and tricks to speeding up your development process. We'll cover some keyboard shortcuts, recommended plugins, and ways to make your debugging session go faster. If there's time, you might even get to see a live coding demo. What could go wrong?

Length: 28:07m

Training Wheels on a Ferrari: The Power and Flexibility of Rock

One of the best things about Rock is that it’s accessible by programmers and non-programmers alike. In fact, as Rock grows in functionality, the tools become even easier for people to use. Yet, behind the interface runs a powerful workhorse. In this motivational session we’ll contrast Rock’s flexibility (simple and easy enough for anyone to use) with its solid architecture (powerful and capable enough to give developers room to create). Using real-life examples, we’ll demonstrate that, when it comes to Rock, you don’t need a Computer Science degree to jump into the driver’s seat.

Length: 27:58m

Code in Context: Designing for People

Between the complexities of flawless code and amazing workflows, it's easy to forget why we're doing any of this in the first place. We build systems to help people! In this session, we'll look at how layout, labels, forms, notifications and workflows shape the user experience. You'll learn how to design web pages and interfaces that are clear, useful, and friendly.

Length: 39:46m

Setting Up Your Rock Environment

Setting up your Rock environment might seem intimidating, but really, it’s quite easy. In this session we’ll walk through how to set up your Rock environment and make your first pull request.

Length: 15:53m

Where Do We Go From Here?

What does the future hold? You'll find out everything as it relates to Rock in this session on vision and future plans.

Length: 23:01m

You've Got Questions; We've Got Answers

Whatever your questions are about Rock RMS, Spark Development Network, the community, and more, submit them during RX2018 and members of the core team will provide answers in this open format Q&A.

Length: 33:13m