By MARGARET BLOHM
For Bewick Publications
Beginning in early to mid-March, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across the United States, churches that rely on traditional ways of worship, fellowship and caring for people soon realized its impact. Many are still trying to figure it out.
“Five More Talents has been developing websites for churches throughout North America for more than 10 years now,” said Doug Vos, the company’s president. “Because we’re aware of the limited technical and financial resources many churches have, we felt compelled to step up,”
“Within two weeks, our team put together the COVID-19 dashboard to give churches recommended tools and resources for online giving, video streaming and alternatives for staying connected while self-distancing.”
One of the first to preview the COVID-19 dashboard was David Nakhla, disaster response coordinator for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, headquartered in Pennsylvania.
“This dashboard provides a comprehensive list of helpful resources useful to churches scrambling to update their online communications during this time of crisis,” said Nakhla, who shared that Five More Talents developed the original disaster response website for their denomination.
In addition to providing the COVID-19 dashboard, Five More Talents is scheduling free educational webinars for churches interested in receiving more information about available tools for online giving, live streaming worship services, video streaming for small group meetings and Bible study, and ways to protect against hacking and phishing attacks.
“Much of this technology is new for a lot of churches so they do need guidance and education in adjusting to a ‘new normal,’” Vos said. “They also need online giving so they can still care for the elderly and vulnerable in their church and community. As our company name suggests, we are glad to offer our talents to give churches hope and help them weather this crisis.”
Founded in 2009, metropolitan Detroit-based Five More Talents offers ready-to-go and custom designed websites for churches of all sizes along with web hosting, monitoring and security protection. To access the COVID-19 dashboard and sign up for a free webinar, go to https://fivemoretalents.com/covid19/.
For more information, call 313-718-1010 or email [email protected]