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Sneak peek at New features like Table Pro and the What's New app

Just in case you missed our Webinar highlighting our last couple releases and debuting the new features that are just around the corner. Check out the video to see all the details. 

Here is a quick preview at some of the features discussed. 

The What's New app will aggregate all new content into a visual stream that is updated in real-time. This will make the browsing experience on the Table much better as you can not only view all new content from one area but also intereact with it. Pray for people, post comments, commit to serve items and discuss a topic all from one application. 

Table Pro is debuting in September and is a monthly subscription option for organizations ($50/mo under 2500 users and $100/mo for over 2500 users) that want extra customization. Add a large header image to increase brand awareness. 

Adjust naming conventions to better fit your organization. This option now opens the Table up to organizations outside of the Church that are interested in connecting their constiuates, volunteers or employees. 

Control what Apps show up in the app directory and adjust defaults for every page on the Table. 

We will always host the Table for you but if you want to decide where people find it, add a custom URL that matches your brand. 

Other features include editing staff roles and group categories. 

Any church can upgrade to Table Pro and it will not effect your current data or integrations. Soon you will see a "Go Pro" button on your SuperAdmin dashboard. We make it easy to try out. There are no contracts, so cancel anytime. Enjoy!

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Prayer Video: Will You Pray?

We've created a one-minute video you can use to promote the Table's Prayer Wall to your church. It's a top-notch video dramatizing how powerful it is to know that people are praying for you.

We're now making this video available publicly and there are several ways you can share it with your congregation:

1) Show It On Sunday Morning
Download the video and show it to your congregation during your worship services. It's a short video and powerfully communicates how the Table can impact lives.

You could go a step further and follow up the video with some personal stories of how the Table is impacting your church. We hear lots of stories about the Prayer Wall so there are surely some in your church as well.

2) Share It
Share the video through all your online communication channels. Either download it and create a custom version to share or use the generic version we've uploaded (see details below). Embed the video on your website, share it on Facebook, feature it on YouTube, talk it up on Twitter, plug it in your email newsletter. This is the kind of video people will share, so it's an opportunity to spread the word about your church and the power of prayer.

Here's some sample text you can use to spread the word:

Long form text:

Version 1:
You get that dreaded phone call and you're off to the hospital. While you sit in uncomfortable chairs waiting for more bad news, you feel so alone. But your phone chimes and you've got email—people are praying for you. On the way to the hospital you posted a quick request on the Table's Prayer Wall. You're not alone. That's the power of prayer. Watch this video to see how it works with the Table: [link/embed video]

Version 2:
Prayer changes lives and can deepen and strengthen our community. Will you pray? When you post a simple prayer request to the Table, emails are automatically sent to people in our church who are waiting to pray for you. When they click that ‘Pray Now' button, an email comes back to you—instant encouragement when you need it most. Watch this video to see it in action: [link/embed video]

Version 3:
The Bible tells us to be devoted to prayer, that our prayers are powerful and effective, to pray without end. Jesus asked his disciples to pray with him in his most desperate hour. The Bible tells us that God is attentive to our prayers.

So let's pray! When you post a prayer request to the Prayer Wall on the Table, it closes the loop on the old school prayer chain. People willing to pray are instantly notified, and when they pray you're notified as well, giving you the encouragement you need. Watch this video to see it in action: [link/embed video]

Short form text:

Version 1:
How can we pray for you? Post your needs to the Table. Here's what that kind of encouragement can look like: [link/embed video]

Version 2:
Will you pray? We have requests on the Table that need prayer. Watch this video & see how prayer can impact lives: [link/embed video]

Version 3:
The Table's Prayer Wall is an amazing way we can support and encourage one another. Watch this video to see it in action: [link/embed video]

Get the Video
We've made two versions of the video available.

1) Generic Table Version: This version is meant to be used as is and closes by pointing people to the tableproject.org. If you want to share this video immediately, this is the one to use. You can download the video and then upload it yourself, or just share or embed the versions we've uploaded to several video sites. Notice that this version won't point people specifically to your church's Table, so you might want to add your church's Table url (yourchurch.tableproject.org) to any description or comment text when you share it.

Download: Generic Prayer Video (ZIP, 70 MB)
YouTube / Vimeo / Facebook

2) Customizable Version: This version is meant to be customized by adding your church's logo and Table url at the end. This will require some video editing skills, but the bonus here is that the video can point people directly to your church. If you have the time and skills, we strongly recommend going this route as it will drive people to your church (and that's really the point, right?).

Download: Customizable Prayer Video (ZIP, 380 MB)

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Granger's Welcome Video

In the past we've offered recommendations for how to make a welcome video. We included all kinds of examples and tips.

But when Granger Community Church near South Bend, Ind., launched the Table, they didn't take our advice. They used this video:

Notice that it never once mentions the Table, or even the words "Internet" or "social network." The video was created and posted before they even decided to use the Table.

But it works.

Why?

Because the video is about who they are as a church. It says: This is who we are as a community. Join us.

You couldn't ask for a better introduction to the Table.

Because the Table is all about enhancing and building on the relationships that exist in your congregation. A lot of churches think of the Table as something extra, another thing to add on to what they're already doing. But Granger recognizes that the Table simply compliments what they're doing.

So their welcome video doesn't need to be about the Table (or even mention the Table). Instead it can simply focus on the community. Because that's what matters.

Learn more about how Granger uses the Table with our case study: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

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How to Cast Vision for the Table: Granger Video

Last week Granger Community Church near South Bend, Ind., launched the Table. They've been sharing some incredible numbers on Twitter, but it helps to understand what's fueling those numbers.

Teaching pastor Rob Wegner introduced the Table during the Sunday service, explaining why they're using it and what it can accomplish. He did a powerful job casting vision for the Table and giving people a reason to use it.

Check out the video. We couldn't have said it better ourselves:

Watch Granger Vision Video (5:52)

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New Videos for SuperAdmins

We recently created three new videos to help SuperAdmins get started.

How to Customize Your Table (1:44)

How to Invite People to Your Table (2:06)

How to Pre-populate Groups on Your Table (3:17)

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How To Create a Table Welcome Video

The welcome video is the first thing that greets your church members when they sign up to join the Table. It's like a handshake at the door. It's a way to personalize the Table for your church and cast vision for how you're going to use the Table.

The Table intro video is displayed by default so you have something that explains the Table. It's pretty good (if we do say so ourselves), but it's not addressing your church family specifically. We recommend creating a customized, personal video to serve as that handshake. Seeing a familiar face welcoming you to the Table sets the stage for what to expect.

Here are some tips and ideas for making a video:

• Consider making a video of your pastor welcoming people and explaining the vision behind the Table at your church. It will put a recognizable face on the Table and communicate how important this tool is to your church.
• Tell people what to do once they've signed up. Encourage people to fill out their profile, upload a photo, join some groups and post a prayer. Giving them specific things to do will get them using the Table right away and see for themselves how beneficial it can be. Both Pastor Charles at Innovation Church and Pastor Peter at Substance Church encouraged people to complete their profile, upload a picture and then join some groups.
• Give an example of how the Table can help. Brett is a pastor at Christ Community Church and explained how they used the Serve App to coordinate meals for someone who had surgery and talked about how a mother posted on the Prayer Wall and received encouraging emails while she was at work. These examples make the Table real and make the benefits obvious.
• Keep it short. People don't have unlimited patience online, so make your point and move on. Woodland Hills has a great video that's only 36 seconds. Discovery's video is only 55 seconds. It doesn't have to be long.
• Keep it simple. Use a plain background so there's nothing distracting and zoom in on the person talking. You can also get creative with the background: Innovation Church put a green screen behind Pastor Charles and showed screenshots of the Table behind him.
• Keep it fun. Pastor Steve and Pastor Andy at Oakwood Church have a little fun with their video and it keeps it light and engaging. You can tell it reflects the fun, personal, caring vibe at Oakwood.
• One approach is to work our default intro video into your welcome video. The intro video gives a thorough overview of the Table and looks professional. If you sandwich the intro video with someone from your church that can be a powerful combination. That's what Bethlehem Baptist did. Just remember to keep it short—our intro video is already four and a half minutes. (You can download our intro video here.)
• Use good lighting and sound. Especially when a video is posted online so-so sound can suddenly become horrible. Use an external microphone and extra lighting.
• When you're finished you can upload the video to a video sharing site like YouTube or Vimeo and then post the embed code into the SuperAdmin section of the Table. That's all you have to do.

Sample Script
Here's a sample script you can use as a starting point for your welcome video:

Welcome Video Sample Script (PDF, 170 KB)

Sample Videos
We mentioned most of these above, but here's a more complete list of some church welcome videos:

• Bethlehem Baptist Church
• Christ Community Church
• Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church
• Discovery Church
• Innovation Church
• Oakwood Church
• New City Covenant Church
• St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
• Substance Church
• Woodland Hills Church

Did we skip your welcome video? Share your welcome video, let us know how it's working and we'll add it to the list.

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For Your Community's Sake, Avoid the Silent Profile

Thousands of people all over America (from 30 of the 50 states!) are already using the Table, praying for each other, and going deeper in community with each other. We couldn't be more excited, and from the feedback we're hearing, many of them feel the same! But even if you're not in one of the 50 fast-acting churches to have gotten onto the Table in November, you won't have to wait long to experience it for yourself. Stay tuned.

For those folks who are already on the Table, there's one troubling trend we're seeing that we'd like to warn against. It acts like a wet blanket on your community. We'll call this trend the "silent profile." You'll recognize a silent profile right away when you see it. It looks a lot like this:

If you were in a church with this person, and you wanted to get to know them, what would you do next? You don't know what their hobbies or gifts are because they haven't entered any on their profile. You can't recognize them in the hallway next Sunday because they haven't uploaded a profile photo. They haven't linked to any of their profiles on other social networks, so you can't get to know them that way either. It's hard to relate to this person because we know nothing about him.

You might be thinking, "But I can just walk up to a stranger next Sunday, introduce myself, and start asking questions." You're right. But let's face it, most of us simply never introduce ourselves to strangers, and we leave it at that. Some people even react negatively to that kind of introduction.

A better idea is to have more options for more kinds of introductions. Let's lower the bar, make the introduction less nerve-wracking, and get something started that's convenient for everyone. It's forward momentum even if it's not a big first step. Don't worry, you'll be shaking hands in the foyer and having coffee soon enough. It's already happening at the churches that are on the Table now.

Now, let's pretend this was the profile we saw instead of the "silent" one:

We can see quite a lot about this person! We know what he looks like, we can see he's a technology enthusiast, he's on several other social networks, and he loves to sing. From his choice of Leviticus 13:40 we can even tell he has a sense of humor about his bald head.

It's a lot easier to introduce yourself to the person in this profile than the person in the first one. We could send him a quicknote and ask questions about which video games he's currently playing, we could ask for help in developing a website, or send him an email and discuss the finer points of his favorite verses.

The options are limitless, and many of them may lead to meeting him in person, becoming good friends, and having a relationship where you pray for each other, sharpen each other, and serve each other. Eventually, you may even serve others in your community side-by-side with him.

So for your sake and your community's sake, avoid the silent profile. If you see someone on your church's Table with a silent profile, send them a quicknote and ask them to upload a photo or add some information about themselves to their profile! You'll both be glad you did.

If you're the owner of a silent profile, don't feel bad. We don't mean to pick on you. But we do want to point out that you can't get a lot out of the Table if you put nothing in, just like any other relationship. So you want to improve your profile? There's hope! Our friend Jeff has made two videos showing you how to upload your own profile photo, and how to show your interests and skills using "tags" on your profile. It's easy! Enjoy. You'll be making life-long friends in no time.

How to Add a Profile Photo on The Table

How to Add "About Me" Tags to your Profile on The Table

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