A greeting and a hug of gratitude!

Gracias por haber estado con nosotros en los proyectos de este año.
El 2010 fue productivo, retador, edificante! 
El 2011 nos deparara más proyectos nuevos, ahora en la apertura 

de nuestra operación comercial en Maryland EEUU.
Ahora con un sitio web renovado, seguiremos poniendo nuestro empeño y talento en hacer que sus seguidores y clientes estén bien informados, activos y comprometidos con Su misión. Nuestras fuerzas están renovadas para seguir aportando un granito de oro y para seguir haciendo que las cosas pasen!

¡Un saludo y abrazo de gratitud!

ANDRES HENAO
www.GospelMarketing.org

http://www.gospelmarketing.blogspot.com/

http://www.andresfelipehenao.blogspot.com/

Skype: andres_henao

 

Our wishes for this Christmas are...

Thank you for being with us in the draft this year.
The year 2010 was productive, challenging, uplifting!
The 2011 will bring more new projects, now at the opening of our 

U.S. commercial operations in Maryland.

Now with a revamped website, we will continue our efforts and talent to make your fans and customers are well informed, active and committed to your mission. Our forces are renewed to continue to provide a grain of gold and to keep making things happen!

A greeting and a hug of gratitude!

Curso de Entrenamiento en Israel: El Empresarismo– Un Medio de Empoderamiento para las Mujeres

Hola buen dia y felices fiestas:

(Esta informacion es util para ustedes, sus colegas y sus estudiantes)...

Curso de Entrenamiento en Israel:

Este curso-taller tiene por objetivo capacitar a profesionales que asuman el papel

de "facilitadores empresariales" que estimulen y preparen a mujeres hacia la

 independencia económica, mediante la formación de micro y pequeñas empresas.

Fechas del Curso: 7 al 24 de marzo de 2011

Instituto: Centro Internacional de Capacitación Golda Meir Monte Carmel

Idioma: Español

La Beca Incluye: Alojamiento, alimentación, capacitación y visitas turísticas

No incluye: Tiquetes Aéreos

El curso/taller está diseñado para 26 a 30 participantes, representantes de

instituciones gubernamentales y organismos de apoyo a PYMEs, ONGs dedicadas al

avance de la mujer, asociaciones de mujeres empresarias en pequeña escala.

Se requieren estudios universitarios o equivalentes en economía, administración

de empresas, planificación regional, la gestión industrial, trabajo social u

otros títulos afines al tema del taller. Experiencia mínima: 5 años.

Las personas que tengan el perfil para este programa y estén interesados en

participar en la convocatoria, favor enviar el formulario descargable (ver abajo)

 y la documentación allí solicitada, a la embajada de Israel en su país, a mas

tardar el 29 de diciembre de 2010.

Términos de la Beca: http://www.myybiz.net/file-storage/view/oportunities/Form.doc

Formulario de Aplicación: http://www.myybiz.net/file-storage/view/oportunities/BecaIsrael2011.pdf

Nota: También pueden aplicar personas del género masculino.

Gaming for God

One reason for the mobile phone's popularity worldwide has been the addition of games onto the phone.  When someone has a few free moments they can always pull out the phone and whittle the time away playing Tetris, Angry Birds, etc.. 

In social media like Facebook we’ve seen the amazing popularity of Farmville and Mafia Wars.  The combination of mobile, social media and gaming is now being "monetized" by companies like Foursquare so that you game and socialize your way into parting with your hard earned money at stores they contract with. This gaming trend isn’t all bad, though. Some people, like Seth Priebatsch, believe that the combination of social media and games can be a powerful force for good (seen in this TED video presentation).

 One growing voice on the potential of games for positive impact is the embattled field of journalism. The news media has begun growing in awareness of the power of games to communicate the news in a fuller way while also fostering deeper interactions between them and their audience.  In a recent article in the Atlantic profesor Ian Bogost or Georgia Tech shared about the concept of digital "newsgames". 

Dr. Bogost described several genres of newsgames:
 1) Editorial Games- games that replace the editorial or comic strip and seek to persuade the player to adopt a certain position (he illustrates this using September 12th, a game created to address the "war on terror").  
 2) Current Events Games- these games help the player to interact in a more detailed way with a current event which then allows them to understand more fully the dynamics that have created the event.  An example of this was Wired's reporting on the Somali pirate crisis.  Wired included a free game Cutthroat Capitalism in which the player acted out the part of the pirate.  Playing the game helped Wired's audience to more fully understand the economic realities faced by Somalis and the draw that piracy had for them.  
 3) Infographic Games- these allow the player to interact with information in a visual format.  Depending on how the player moves different information is exposed, expanded upon, etc. in a visual, rather than textual, way (Cutthroat Capitalism also uses the infographic game paradigm).
 4) Documentary Games- "titles that engage broader historical and current events in a manner similar to documentary photography, cinema, and investigative reporting. Usually larger in scale and scope, these games offer experiences of newsworthy events, something impossible to capture in print or broadcast news. In the case of past events, they recreate times, spaces, and systems that one can otherwise only understand from archival film footage or imagination."
 5) Puzzle Games- games which require the reader to either discover the answer or get quizzed on a subject
 6) Literacy Games- games which can train journalists in the skills of their trade
 7) Community games- games which can create, nurture or direct community

Dr. Bogost goes on to imagine how newsgames could be used to transform the news:

what if a news organization released a documentary game "yearbook" about
the changes in a local community? What if Yoshi the dinosaur from Super
Mario World needed health care, and he had to buy insurance at the going
rates? What if the dynamics of New York City racketeering laws could be
operationalized in Grand Theft Auto?

These possibilities suggest how journalists might think about what they do in
new ways, instead of simply translating old media for digital distribution

In closing, Dr. Bogost says "Newsgames are not a charmed salve that will cure the ills of news organizations overnight. But they do represent a real and viable opportunity to help citizens form beliefs and make decisions."

Can we step back and imagine how games might help the unreached form a new mindset about the Lord Jesus Christ?  How they could assist in their making decisions to follow Him?  Mobiles can provide the screen but here’s a way to take mobile content to a whole new level! Don’t think this is just pie in the sky ideas- this is not a pipe dream as you can see in this two minute ABC World News video webcast showing how educators in India are using games on mobiles to teach English to children there.

Take a few minutes to go down the list of games types Dr. Bogost described and imagine games that could be developed which might bring the good news to the unreached, develop church pastors, disciple new believers, teach the Bible to children, etc. etc.!  Perhaps you could even go and play one of the games mentioned above just to see what the experience is like as you think the possibilities through.

Please don't keep your ideas to yourself- share them via the comment tab or Forum and let’s work together to see if we can't move even just one of these from concept to reality!!!


Further Resources:
Newsgames Blog at Georgia Tech
http://jag.lcc.gatech.edu/blog/
  
Book: Newsgames- Journalism at Play (Ian Bogost)
http://www.amazon.com/Newsgames-Journalism-Play-Ian-Bogost/dp/0262014874

Open Learning's List of the Top 100 Learning Game Web Resources
http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2009/06/24/top-100-learning-game-resources/

Mobile and Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging Economies (mobile game learning in India)
http://www.millee.org/          
Research Papers:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mattkam/publications/CHI2009.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mattkam/publications/DIS2008.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mattkam/publications/CHI2010a.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mattkam/publications/CHI2010b.pdf

Mobile Advance is a ministry of WEC International

http://www.wec-int.org/

9-bloggers-im-thankful-for

Continuing our theme of gratitude in the run up to holydays, I'd like to express my gratitude to 9 bloggers I'm thankful for.  9  people whose blogs I recommend you read if you don't already.

• Michael Hyatt – Thanks for being a great example as CEO, blogger, and social media .  I aspire to lead people within my company and influence those outside of it the way you do.
• Steve Fogg – Thanks for your passion for church communications and for raising the bar through your blog.
• Tim Schraeder – Thanks for all you do to help other church communicators through your blog, Outspoken, Cultivate, and more.
• Mike Ellis – Thanks for pushing the envelope and challenging me and others to love people that most tend to ignore – the poor, homeless, alcoholics, people who have messed up, people who think different that I do.
• Brandon Cox – Thanks for being a pastor of pastors.  And thanks for being an exceptional example and advocate for pastors leading through blogging and social media.
• John Saddington – Thanks for raising the bar in the church/tech niche of the blogosphere.  I learn a ton from you and am a better blogger because of your blogging.
• Dan King – Thanks for working with me on the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, for the awesome job you did tweeting from Haiti, and for all you do with The High Calling.
• Phill Gibb – Thanks for engaging with me on Christian Web Trends and in social media.  You've been one of the most frequent commenters and retweets for a long time, and have contributed a lot of insight here over the years.
• Ron Edmonson – Thanks for heart you have for developing leaders and for the way you challenge and encourage leaders through your blog.

Of course, there are lots of other bloggers who I appreciate but just don't have the space to thank here.
What bloggers are you thankful for?

http://gospelmarketing.blogspot.com/2010/11/changing-paradigms.html

http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/11/16/9-bloggers-im-thankful-for/

http://virtualtabernacle.blogspot.com/

The impact of Facebook on The Church

The impact of Facebook is far reaching, even surpassing the developers expectations, it has infiltrated the social media scene like a storm. When Facebook launched in 2004 it was strictly for college students to connect with each other and share information with friends. Facebook went public, but hardly anyone knew about it and it was... 

About the author of this post: http://www.inspiks.com/

"I am a Graphic Designer from Miami and I love experimenting with design concepts and applications. I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and He inspires the work that I do, View my Portfolio"

Facebook went public, but hardly anyone knew about it and it was competing heavily with other social networks like Myspace, today many people are connecting and meeting up with friends and family. Businesses are now using Facebook as a means to increase exposure with target advertising, increase traffic to their websites and develop credibility between customers and their brands.

So how has Facebook impacted the Church? First we must clarify what “the Church” is. Most people understand the Church as a building but, the word “Church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” The root meaning of “Church” is not that of a building, but of people, basically the community of God’s people.

Facebook has impacted the Church in many positive ways, not only is it effective, but the fact that so many people are already using it, gives the Church a great opportunity to spread the Gospel. Many Church’s have caught on to the idea of making a Facebook page, this enables them to have a main contact point for their congregation to share news, photos, send invitations and be more visible.

Some Christians use Facebook as a place to spread the Word of God, by sharing Bible verses, having online Bible studies, ministry fan pages, sharing articles and getting to know other people around the world. See this interesting article by Frank Chipperino “10 Reasons Your Church Should be On Facebook”.

In a culture where our virtual and real lives overlap constantly, It’s great to have a place to connect with people and share the Gospel of Christ. In a 2007 article by Church Marketing Sucks, Kevin D. Hendricks asked the question “Where’s the Church on Facebook?“. He had the insight to encourage Christians to test out Facebook.

“With any new tech development it’s always a question of whether it’s going to live up to the hype. This may very well be another move that fizzles. But who knows? It could explode. Sometimes you just have to play with it and see what happens. – Kevin D. Hendricks

Facebook has become a major part of our communication lifeline and continues to impact the world in various ways. In 2007, 24 million people were already on Facebook, today the number is 500 million and growing. The harvest is plentiful and the Church should continue to seek opportunities to reach the masses where they are meeting. Yesterday it was Myspace but, today it is Facebook, so the Church has another place to fulfill the great commission in Matthew 28:19

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19

Facebook reflects greatly on our interest and how we interact with people online, so we should be careful how we use these types of communication tools.  It should not be a replacement for face to face interactions, but  it can be a great compliment to the task of reaching and connecting. How are you using Facebook to let others know about Christ? Share your experience with us.

Fracture mechanics and how it relates to our sinful nature

Fracture mechanics is the science of studying sudden-failure phenomenon. Materials have a yield strength (the stress under which they will yield) but in many cases materials fail at applied stresses below their yield strength. We Christians have also a spiritual yield strength—a spiritual potential–but in many cases fail to reach that potential because we fail at spiritual levels way below what we are capable of. The Bible is full of such examples, such as: the sin of King David with Bathsheba; King Saul; and of course Samson. Why do structures fail at applied stresses lower than the known yield strength of their material? That’s because all structures contain small flaws (cracks) determined by their material and processing. We, Christians, all have small flaws determined by two things. First, our natural spiritual strengths and weakness. It is a fact that some people are naturally servants, or preachers, etc; and others naturally feel weaker towards alcohol, or pornography. Second, our response to God’s work in our lives (the process of the Christian life). Some people feel bitter when their love is rejected, while others pray for the one who rejected them. Some grow up being bad parents because they never had good parents, others become good parents and make sure their children won’t go through what they went through.

“…every structure contains small flaws whose size and distribution are dependent upon the material and its processing.”  - Dolan

It is important here to remember that ALL of us have flaws, may be small flaws may be big ones but we all have them. Anyone who thinks he is spiritually complete is deceived. We should never underestimate our capacity to sin. I once read on the Internet a conversation between two Christian men:

First man: I will never be tempted with a sexual sin.
Second man: WOW! So you are godlier than David, wiser than Solomon, and stronger than Samson!

There are two interesting facts about cracks in materials:

First, it is the flaws that are on the surface that will cause the failure—not the interior ones. Same principle applies to us as Christians. Let’s say you are angry with someone on the inside, but it won’t be a problem if you deal with the temptation. It is only a problem when you lose your self-control and express that anger towards the person. Or if you are being sexually tempted toward someone, again, it won’t be a problem if you deal with the temptation. It is only a problem if you act upon your lust. We all have weaknesses on the inside, but through prayer, self-control and accountability we can prevent them from surfacing and damaging our lives and witness.

Second, the effectiveness of the damage that flaws causes, depends on the loading of the structure. Imagine you have a pen in your hand and you are bending it downward into the shape of an arc. If the crack is on the top edge of the pen (the crack being stretched open) then it will accelerate the pen’s failure. If the crack is on the bottom edge of the pen (the crack is being pressed together) then it will make little to no difference. So even if the crack exists, and as we saw we all have flaws, it will only cause a damage to your spiritual life if your actions put you in a situation where you are tempted. For example, if you have a natural weakness toward alcohol addiction and you go to the bar then it will be very likely you will end up drinking and getting drunk. So we should not be dismayed just because we all have flaws. We should not throw our hands up in the air and say, “Ok then since I have flaws I might as well go along with my weaknesses!” No, depending on how you live, how you load your spiritual life, you can be victorious or defeated.

So what do cracks really do? They act as stress concentrations. And that’s what our spiritual weaknesses do to us: they act as footholds for Satan to gain ground in our spiritual lives to defeat us. When the stress reaches a certain level, the crack will propagate suddenly to failure. The velocities of some crack propagation reach as high as 1 mile/sec! So don’t be deceived playing around sin by lingering on temptation, thinking, “Hmmm…just this once. I think I can handle the situation.” Doesn’t this remind us of King David? When you read his story it is like three parts:

First part is long: obedience–rewarding/full of God’s blessings,
Second part is very short: disobedience/sin,
Third part is long: consequences of sin–full of personal disasters.

What are your spiritual flaws? Are they natural or did you acquire them through your life journey? Did you let God process you to deal with them? If not, what are they costing you?

Tks to http://www.inspiks.com for this interesting article...  

This post was written by Fadi who has written 25 posts on INSPIKS.

My name is Fadi, I am a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Toronto. Photography is my hobby. I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and that the Bible is God's perfect word. Connect with me on Flickr

You

En el primer siglo,por el año 30, empezó un movimientohecho por un grupo de judíos que insistían en que su rabino,un hombre llamado Jesús,de la región de Galilea en lsrael, había resucitadodespués de haber sido crucificadopor el lmperio Romano... 

Facebook safety tips

Facebook safety tips/Consejos de seguridad en Facebook

Changing Paradigms

Ken Robinson: Changing Paradigms (Spanish)

"Hay 3 tipos de personas en el mundo: los inamovibles, los movibles y los que se mueven" Estas son palabras de Benjamin Franklin, recitadas por Ken Robinson en enero del presente año, al finalizar su exposición dada en uno de los eventos organizados por RSA". Interesante!

"There are three types of people in the world: the immovable, the movable and moving" These are the words of Benjamin Franklin, recited by Ken Robinson in January this year, at the end of his presentation given at one of the events organized by RSA ". Interesting!

Mobile Missions

The Incredible Potential of Mobile Ministry

We are sharing this amazing Ministry. Thanks God for them and thanks to Mobile Advance's mission, for this material. God bless them. 

A brief introduction to the mobile phone revolution sweeping the planet and the possibilities that this revolution offers in seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ brought into the lives of the unreached peoples of the world.

Mobile Advance's mission and vision is connecting the unreached with the good news and church of Jesus Christ through the device that connects them with the world- the mobile phone. At this website you will find:

1. Resources to help you to get started and advance in mobile phone ministry.
   
2. A community of like-minded “world Christians” who are using the mobile phone to help bring the gospel to their neighbors and friends.  Some of these people have faced the same issues you are facing and have answers you need.  Others may be facing barriers you can help them overcome.
   
3. Research, reviews, case studies and strategy papers that will help you and the Church to advance into new, more powerful realms of mobile phone outreach

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Christian Twitter Backgrounds

Hi friends, this post is really interesting. 
We are sharing new resources to Twitter. 
Enjoy it all. 
Thanks to pople of INSPIKS, the mission of Mathew 28:19 could be done "inspiring the world one pixel at a time".
Greetings from Gospel Marketing.

There is no shortage of Twitter Backgrounds and websites out there that offer them for free, however, there is a definite shortage of Christian Twitter Backgrounds. Here are some that we designed that will fill the void for you. Feel free to download, use and share them with a friend. We have a commission to spread The Gospel to all nations and Twitter, one of the largest Social Networks, is a great venue for sharing it. Follow this post on twitter to be updated when we add a new Twitter background.

Applying the new theme to your Twitter account:

1. Download the theme you like and uncompress it to get the background image (JPG format) and theme colors . Log on to your Twitter Account and click “Settings”, then click the “Design” tab on the “Settings” page. Click the “Change background image” button, then use the “Choose File” button to select the image you downloaded to your computer. Click the “Save Changes” button to finish the upload.
2. Each theme on this page has a list of five recommended, 6 character DESIGN COLOR codes to match the image and complete the design of the theme. Example, Bck (background): c48bc0 | Txt (text): 333333 | Lnk (link): 92278e | Sbar (sidebar): f5e3fa | Sbar Border (Sidebar Border): c48bc0. Click the “Design colors” button on the design page to edit your colors. Copy the corresponding 6 character color codes to the color picker and then Click “Save Changes”.

For God and Country

DESIGN COLORS
Bck: 0084da | Txt: 003580 | Lnk: ca0000 | Sbar: ffffff | Sbar Border: 0084da
  For God and Country (192.3 KiB, 220 hits)

By His Strips

DESIGN COLORS

Bck: faf3eb | Txt: 999797 | Lnk: f3b524 | Sbar: ffffff | Sbar Border: d6d2d2
  By His Stripes (21.3 KiB, 197 hits)

Glory and Majesty

DESIGN COLORS

Bck: 000000 | Txt: 333333 | Lnk: 8624bd | Sbar: cce4cb | Sbar Border: d6d2d2
  Glory and Majesty (179.0 KiB, 284 hits)

Before We Loved Him

DESIGN COLORS
Bck: d38830 | Txt: 300d01 | Lnk: 7e0303 | Sbar: ebe6e7 | Sbar Border: 631c03
  Before We Loved Him (421.0 KiB, 528 hits)

Splendor of Your Majesty

DESIGN COLORS
Bck: c48bc0 | Txt: 333333 | Lnk: 92278e | Sbar: f5e3fa | Sbar Border: c48bc0
  Splendor of Your Majesty (164.7 KiB, 261 hits)

You Are My God

DESIGN COLORS
Bck: c48bc0 | Txt: 333333 | Lnk: 92278e | Sbar: f5e3fa | Sbar Border: c48bc0


  You Are My God (47.7 KiB, 214 hits)

Living Water

DESIGN COLORS Bck: 38aed9 | Txt: 333333 | Lnk: 17b6ff | Sbar: ebe6e7 | Sbar Border: 8a8787

  Living Water (285.8 KiB, 261 hits)

Fruit of The Spirit

DESIGN COLORS
Bck: 38aed9 | Txt: 333333 | Lnk: 17b6ff | Sbar: ebe6e7 | Sbar Border: 8a8787


  Fruit of The Spirit (142.1 KiB, 269 hits)

All this post was made thanks to the talented work of the brothers of INSPIKS.

Trust

Alcanzando el mundo a través de la tecnología

^{Mateo 28:19-20} 

"Por tanto, vayan y hagan discípulos de todas las naciones, bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, enseñándoles a obedecer todo lo que les he mandado a ustedes. Y les aseguro que estaré con ustedes siempre, hasta el fin del mundo".

Reaching the Entire World Through Technology 

QUOTE: "We are the first generation in all of human history to hold within our hands the technology to reach every man, woman and child on the earth by 2020. Our generation has within its grasp everything that is required to fulfill the Great Commission." —Walt Wilson, founder of Global Media Outreach during Biola’s recent iSummit. 

Wilson claims that by 2015 Wi-Fi will be available everywhere. Though his projections may be more optimistic than others, large parts of the globe, including China and India, will be getting the Wi-Fi treatment in the next five years, meaning billions of people will be able to talk through the Internet for the first time. [churchcentral.com, 4/19/10]

Matthew 28:^19-20  

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

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Descargar vídeos de Youtube sin instalar ningun programa

Te ha impactado el video de un testimonio? Alguna alabanza que te conmovió? Quieres compartirlo con un amigo o en tu congregación?  Mira esta herramienta tan interesante.

Alguna vez nos hemos visto en la necesidad de capturar o descargar un vídeo de Youtube para guardarlo en nuestro disco y después poder visualizarlo sin estar conectados a Internet. En la Red hay muchos programas para capturar y descargar vídeos de Youtube, pero PWN! YouTube nos lo hace muy fácil porque no hemos de instalar ningún programa, ya que simplemente hay que añadir 3 letras a la dirección de la página web de nuestro navegador.

Como muestra la imagen, cuando estamos visualizando el vídeo de Youtube, simplemente hay que escribir las letras pwn delante de youtube. De esta manera accedemos a la web de PWN! Youtube, donde podemos elegir el formato del vídeo a descargar, .flv (Flash Video) para calidad estándar o .mp4 para vídeos de alta calidad.

Desde la página de PWN! Youtube también podemos descargar cualquier vídeo de Youtube incrustado en cualquier página web introduciendo la dirección de la página. También funciona para los sitios locales de cada país de Youtube, como http://es.youtube.com.

Otro que uso frecuentemente es: http://keepvid.com/

Funciona igual que lo anterior.

Follow us - Síguenos en:

Virtual Church

Nuevo concepto de evangelismo por internet: 

Las iglesias en Second Life

Article of John Brandon Ministry Outreach - Topic: Innovation - Virtual Gospel

For some churches, “to the ends of the earth” now includes the online virtual world of Second Life. LifeChurch.tv's newest campus is extraordinarily small. Although it holds an entire island with a large building, the new church takes up no more square footage than the server that houses it. That's because it exists in Second Life, the popular 3-D online virtual world.

LifeChurch.tv is no newcomer when it comes to using technology to reach the lost in new, previously unknown ways. Since 2002, it has taken the multi-site church idea to a new level with campuses across the United States that share services together via live satellite and the Internet and reach about 19,000 people. But this new, virtual campus pushes technology in ministry to a new level.

Second Life is an online portal that thousands of people log in to from their computers every day. They use an avatar (a virtual alter-ego) to talk with other visitors, buy and exchange items—such as a new pair of shoes, real estate, or a car—and go out to meet people at different places in the virtual world, all without revealing their true identities.

Just as in real life, there are Second Lifers who seek the mature-rated side of the alternate world, and there are those who just want to meet new people and talk about politics. Large companies such as Dell, IBM and Cisco have virtual campuses in Second Life, and companies such as H&R Block offer free tax advice on the service. A few retailers, such as Reebok and Circuit City, have virtual stores on Second Life, and Best Buy has a Geek Squad island where you can ask technical questions.

There's even a separate currency in Second Life, Linden dollars, which currently has an exchange rate of around 270 to one U.S. dollar. Some people have jobs in Second Life and make enough to support themselves in real life.

The whole point seems to be less about an actual online game—since there is no score-keeping or quests to complete—and more about just hanging out and chatting.

The Virtual Advantage

The anonymity of Second Life is what makes a virtual church particularly interesting because it creates a more open environment. People can ask questions, share the gospel, debate an issue, meet to pray together or just listen to worship music and sermons without the confrontational aspects of some ministries.

"The church is designed for people to discuss spiritual topics because an avatar lets them ask questions that they would never ask in real life," says Bobby Gruenewald, a pastor at LifeChurch.tv who was instrumental in building the Second Life virtual church. "Yet, there's a real person behind every avatar."

LifeChurch.tv first started exploring how to do ministry online with its Web site, a popular forum for people to chat and watch sermon broadcasts.

The first church service in Second Life was held on Easter this year, and about 200 people attended. Though that number might seem small, it actually stretched the limits of how many avatars can gather in one place in Second Life.

"The response has been great so far," Gruenewald says. "Second Life is an immersive metaverse environment, and we thought it would be an ideal place to connect and reach people on the Internet. During the first service, we noticed a geographically diverse group—some were clearly not Christians who just came to see what it was all about."

The Online Challenge

Gruenewald, who writes a blog at swerve.lifechurch.tv that recounts his experiences building the Internet church, noted that there have been several technical challenges in creating this unique ministry.

At the first service, some of the issues had to do with streaming a live broadcast through Second Life to so many attendees, a hurdle that has more to do with the Internet and streaming technology than the Second Life platform. They are currently working out these kinks for additional Sunday services.

There are also ministry challenges. While a company such as Dell or IBM will limit what you can do in their campus (for example, you cannot wield a weapon), LifeChurch.tv is less restrictive. Anyone can visit, and the church could potentially become a place where disruptive individuals stage their own talks.

Another challenge is just in promoting itself outside its service times. Second Life tends to be event driven because the world is so massive and visitors want to know that other people will be around. However, the church is open 24 hours a day and is usually only occupied by a few church attendees and Second Life regulars, as well as brand-new visitors.

The Second Life pastor, Larry Transue, says that some of the challenges in Second Life are the same as they are in real life, such as running slideshows that hold the attention of participants. He says the technology adds to the normal expenses, however. For example, land costs about $100 for 5,000 square miles in Second Life, plus all the streaming media fees and equipment costs.

"I think the bigger investment is time," Transue says. "Time to prepare, time to produce audio files, and time online building relationships and ministries."

A New Frontier?

In the actual virtual building, there are recorded sermons available, a worship music mix that starts playing as soon as you arrive and plenty of trinkets, such as a free LifeChurch.tv in-game T-shirt.

To find the church, you must install Second Life (just go to secondlife.com) and then search for LifeChurch.tv. When you first visit, you are placed outside where you can see the elaborate church building, which looks like it was modeled after Willow Creek or Saddleback. A large entryway leads you to a spacious foyer. The worship center has a massive streaming video screen and a stage.

"An online community is no different from all of the other media influences out there, and it can be used for good or bad purposes," Gruenewald explains. "These technologies are not inherently evil, but if the church abandons them, they will turn to evil purposes."

Other churches are holding services in Second Life as well. One example is Northbound Community Church, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which has a thriving virtual campus.

These virtual churches are just learning what it takes to impact a diverse group of technology-savvy people, but the rewards of planting spiritual seeds, challenging people to think about faith issues, and even leading someone to Christ through Second Life have eternal value—even if the church is just pixels on a computer screen.

John Brandon is a full-time writer, confirmed technogeek, doting husband and father of four. He is based outside of Minneapolis.

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LifeChurch.tv has a Second Life Church Campus

For the last few months we have been working on a virtual campus in Second Life. If you are not familiar with Second Life, you can read more about it in Wikipedia.

We purchased an island (16 virtual acres of real estate) and have worked with both in-house and outside developers to develop the property. There are still several areas of the island that we have not developed, but we are opening the island for a “beta test” this week.

You can download the software and create an avatar (see the wiki above) on Second Life for free and using the map you can search for “Experience Island” then teleport there. If you already have the software installed you can simply go there.

 

Some of the things to checkout when you are there:

- On-demand video
- Free LifeChurch.tv T-shirts
- The environment and theming of our LifeKids area and the building in general
- The Mysecret.tv glass house

Also, on the island you will see an area dedicated to content from our friends at xxxchurch.com. I need to warn you that there is a huge problem on Second Life with porn and “virtual sex”. It is one of several reasons we are there, but it is also something that you need to be on guard about.

Below you can see several screenshots of the island and buildings.

We will have a grand opening very soon, but in the meantime visit Experience Island if you can and give me your feedback please.

If you want to know more go to:

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2007/03/12/lifechurchtv-has-a-second-life-church-campus/

Article taken from SWERVE BLOG  a leadership, technology, and innovation blog for pastors and church leaders. March 12th, 2007 WRITTEN by Bobby Gruenewald.

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Congreso para Mujeres en Argentina

DESDE CANADÁ:

Hola Argentina te saluda Heidi Arlette,
para todos quienes estan en Buenos Aires
queremos invitarte a que nos acompañes a una fiesta especial!
"Bellas por Dentro y por Fuera".

Hotel Bauen
1,2 y 3 de octubre de 2010
Buenos Aires, Argentina 

Serás muy bienvenida, llevá a tus amigas.
Un abrazo, Heidi Arlette

HEIDI ARLETTE
MODELO, CONFERENCISTA Y PREDICADORA 

http://www.wix.com/heidieventos/bellas

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