We are officially assembling the fourth annual ChurchMag Top 30 Church Tech Blogs list. We wanted to put together a top 30 list formula that was as objective as possible and added little to no subjectivity to the project. The formula finds the most popular Church tech blogs on the Internet through an array of data points including social media followers, blog traffic, and RSS feeds.
While we rework the algorithm to update it from 12 months ago, we would love to hear your recommendations. We will cease receiving recommendations by the end of the month, June 30th, so make sure you submit your favorites or your own ASAP in the comments! Details below on what we are using to rank and what we are looking for in blog submissions.
How We Measure The Rankings
- Web Traffic
We believe that a significant weight of the ranking should come from the traffic that comes to someone’s blog. Advertisers measure it through impressions and visits, we simply look at the unique number of visitors that visit your site. At the same time, we do factor in Alexa rankings too, but it should be noted that this is but a study and has many fallacies in its measurements because they rely on the habits of only a small group of web surfers, making it very important that it is only a small factor in the overall ranking. - mozRank and RSS Readers
Web traffic is only a portion of the influence. We must remember to include mozRank that is influenced by backlinks as well as those who still read your blog posts through an RSS feed. mozRank is a 10-point measure of link authority and popularity. - Social Media
I do not know of a single blog ranking system that incorporates social media into its statistics, so we have found the top three networks (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) and incorporated them into the formula. Not only is the size of the audience important here, but how active they are with their fans and followers.
I’ve said this every year, this is not a fail-proof formula and we are okay with that. We do not plan to be Klout, but what we do have is a great and fair process.
What We Are Looking For
So now we need your help. We need to hear from you guys about some great Church tech and creative blogs to add to the search for the top 30 Church tech blogs.
What makes a site qualify?
- It must have a main blog component. We are not looking for companies to submit their website for free advertising.
- You must talk about your Christian faith somewhat frequently in blog posts. It does not have to be affiliated with a specific church or organization in any way.
- Your blog must focus on technology and creativity in some format. This includes a wild array of topics including social media, web programming, blogging, IT security, mobile apps, graphic design, video, audio, and so on.
- No aggregate blogs.
- No social media networks. i.e. GodTube.
- No inappropriate content on the website.
How You Can Submit Your Site
If you want to submit a blog into the search for the top 30 Church tech blogs, here is all you need to do.
Chris Denning says
hey guys,
I’d like to think that my site, cdenning.com is a great church tech blog. I talk about worship, leadership & technology, and I hope that worship & tech leaders alike are encouraged and equipped by it. Hope you find it helpful too! Thanks for the consideration,
Chris
Jeremy Smith says
Added it to the list.
Grace McCrorie says
Hey guys, I’m submitting Church Website Ideas for consideration this year.
Thanks so much!
Jeremy Smith says
Considerate done! 🙂
Grace McCrorie says
Hey guys,
I’d like to also nominate Communicate Jesus (http://www.communicatejesus.com), and ProChurchTools (http://prochurchtools.com). I find Steven and Brady consistently serve up “good food” for thought on their blogs. Their ministries bless me.
His,
Grace
Jeremy Smith says
Added both! Thanks for their nominations!
Stephen Morrissey says
I’m being selfish here and self-nominating my blog Church Web Strategies. It’s not the best church tech website, but it’s been my creative outlet for nearly 4 years. Thanks in advance Jeremy! I’m looking forward to the seeing the list and learning from everyone.
Jeremy Smith says
We definitely need to have you on this list too! Anyone else you’ve learned from over the last year or more?
Joe Gallant says
I’d be surprised if it’s not already on your list, but I’ve spent a great deal of time looking at Steve Fogg’s site. Some really helpful content there.
http://www.stevefogg.com/
My own blog has only been going for a couple of months, and, with it being early days, I’m still getting a sense of what direction to take it in.
If any one reading this thread (by its nature that suggests you readers will be tech-savvy church goers) has any feedback to give about my site I’d be extremely grateful, and I’d love to connect, so take a look and get in touch!
http://www.joegallant.co.uk/blog
Steve says
That’s very kind of you Joe!
Jeremy Smith says
Steve, you have anyone not mentioned in the comments that is a go to for you with church tech, church communications, or church media/creativity?
Jeremy Smith says
I’ve added both, thanks!
Katie Allred says
Me too, I reckon! (http://katieallred.com) Also my boss: http://www.darrelgirardier.com (Can I nominate someone else?) haha
Jeremy Smith says
Added both, but please nominate as many as you can think of! The more the merrier!
Josh says
Our friends at prochurchtools.com are awesome, so I’ll nominate them.
I’ll also give a shameless plug for socialchurch.co
Thanks for doing this!
Jeremy Smith says
Done and done
Mike says
I just recently redesigned http://www.faithengineer.com and plan on posting more frequently.
Jeremy Smith says
Sweet!
Eric Dye says
Lookin’ good, man! 😀
Jeffrey Kranz says
A few suggestions:
– The eChurchGiving blog gives churches tips on tech and generosity: http://blog.echurchgiving.com/
– Of course, the Disciplr blog is all about the nexus of church ministry and tech: http://disciplr.com/blog/
Can’t wait to see this list!
Jeremy Smith says
Done and done sir
Lauren Hunter says
Would love to be on the list this year! http://ChurchTechToday.com
Thanks for including us in past years!
Jeremy Smith says
Done
Grace says
Hey guys,
I wish to remove my submission of Church Website Ideas for consideration in this year’s Top Church Tech blogs review. Since I made my submission here, it seemed right that I should close the circle here.
And, I want you to understand what prompted me to make this decision.
The long and short of it is that, along with my Small Group, I’m currently engaged in a study of the book of James. This past Friday, I began to look at the first few verses of chapter 2, which deals with the sin of showing partiality.
Reading Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on verses 1-4, my heart was deeply convicted,
“Jewish people in that day coveted (yearned to possess) recognition and honor, and vied with one another for praise.”
There is much more in his commentary that, to my shame, is true for me. However, it is the comment I’ve shared here that’s most biting. I do covet recognition and honor, and vie with other Christians for praise.
My motivation for submitting CWI for consideration had nothing to do with pursuing God’s glory. It was (and still is) my own glory that I’m after. I have no doubt that, should I have made the list, I would look at my position with the same prideful heart as I did last year.
God was not pleased then, and He would not be pleased now. I’m thinking that’s why I have no joy in my heart at the thought of possibly making the list this year.
Not only that, but knowing the human propensity to “judge by the outer appearance,” I don’t want any longer to use this “badge of honor” as a way to entice others to sin (by showing me partiality because of the badge).
I’ve been deceived. My self-commendation is foolishness. I see now this is a form of boasting.
That’s why God is picking away at that scab now. It’s painful, but I’ve got to let Him remove it.
If I am to be cleansed of this sin of pride (as I will), I must confess it. I have already confessed it to the One Who is faithful and just to forgive me (1 John 1:9). But, I’m also encouraged to make it a habit to confess my sins to my brothers and sisters in the faith (James 5:16).
Finally, let me say to Eric and Jeremy: neither this decision, nor anything I’ve said should be construed to mean that I think the list is wrong or bad.
What I’ve endeavored to share here is the effect upon me that being on the list is making. This decision is part of my personal, spiritual journey.
Please remember me in your prayers, and thanks so much for the support and kindness you’ve shown me. Some of you have welcomed me warmly into this ministry we all share. You’ve been a tremendous encouragement to me.
It means so much.
His,
Grace