A New Digital Tool for Ministry Communication and Connection

Unifyer

Unifyer allows users to customize their own “dashboard” of ministries, information and contacts that interest them.

enlarge

One of the beautiful things about the digital world is that connection is usually organic.  However most of the tools ministries currently use for communication are linear.  Direct mail, Sunday AM announcements, automated phone calls and even bulk e-mail with their single source origination point make them more ofa broadcast model than a digital one.

The new Unifyer application from Pursuant promises to change that.  For less than the cost of a postage stamp monthly per user,  Unifyer is a powerful web-based tool that allows individual church ministries to communicate with their participants and with each other in a more organic fashion than traditional communication methods.

The web application is not a website or a database.  And it’s more than just another online community. It is a tool that removes the bottle-neck of all communication coming from a centralized source and leverages the time and motivation of individual ministry volunteers in your congregation in a way that allows users to customize their experience.  Think iGoogle or a digital dashboard. 

Unifyer handles content such as announcements, images, ministry news feeds, profiles, videos, and blogs in whatever way the user would like to see and arrange it.  The application has checks and balances built in.  The church sets permissions for who controls what and there is a self-policing mechanism that allows any user to flag inappropriate content for quick deletion.

One of the most exciting aspects of the tool is the "real time" aspect of it.  Rather than waiting for the recap video of youth camp on a Sunday morning, parents can view photos and videos each evening as they are uploaded by ministry leaders.  People on mission trips can post daily blog posts. And though most of this is happening using existing tools such as Facebook and Blogger, Unifyer gives the church the opportunity to centralize them in a digital church community and facilitates church members finding each other based on common interests and ministries.

 “People will support what they help to create,” Matt Frazier--the creator of Unifyer says.  “At Pursuant, we have seen this happen with the donors of the non-profits that we serve, and I think the principle plays out even more in a church setting.  Unifyer allows every member to have a voice, to find places of service and leadership in church ministry, and even to initiate new ministry opportunities with people of similar vision.  Imagine the scale of kingdom work that could take place when every Christian—not just the pastor—is empowered to “do ministry.”

To experience Unifyer, visit http://www.unifyer.com.