Get Your Table

No cost, contracts or member limits. Just create a Table for your church and we will handle the rest.

Ready? It only takes 3 minutes and 42 seconds. Roughly.

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We're not about global connection, we're about local engagement.

1. Getting Started Come to the Table
2. Pre-Launch Grease the Wheels
3. Church Wide Launch Go Big
4. Keep the Ball Rolling Build Momentum

1. Getting Started: Come to the Table

Slay anonymity, champion prayer and squash apathy.

Step Zero: Decide to Use the Table

Why do you need the Table?

5 Reasons to Use a Private Social Network
5 Ways the Table is Different
10 Common Objections to the Table
Why the Table Isn't Just a Christian Version of Facebook
Why Your Church Needs a Social Network

Take a Look:

Community made easy: Watch an intro to the Table
Table Promo Video
See it in action: Let's take a tour of the Table
Table Feature Video

Learn more about us:

Our story: What's the Table Project?
What we believe: Table Manifesto
Who's behind the Table Project?
It's free! How does the Table make money? Will it always be free?
You need to decide what works for you, but we think it’s a no-brainer.
Talk it over with your church leadership and bring everybody to the Table.

Step One: Choose Your Champion

Who's your champion? It helps to have a single point person to run the show.

Your pastor is too busy. Pick someone else.
Who should set up the Table for our church?

Step Two: Build Your Team

Your champion can’t do all the heavy lifting, so identify a team of people who can help.

Build a diverse team. A team of twentysomethings could send the message that the Table is only for the "kids."
Download the Table Team Guide for tips on building a team.

Step Three: What's the Plan, Man?

Before you dive into the Table, you need to figure out how your church is going to use it.

Launch Plan: Pick a launch date and come up with a launch timeline.

Content Plan: Will posted content require approval? Will prayer requests sent to the church be posted online? Will all church ministries set up groups on the Table? What content will you post?

Interaction Plan: How open will sign-ups be? Will you allow interactions between adults and teens? How will you encourage discussion?

This is big. Take some time to get it right. But remember that it’s not set in stone. Be flexible. After all, you're herding cats.

Some helpful ideas while you plan:

Decision Checklist for Setting Up the Table
10 Unique Ways to Use the Table for Ministry
Content Carrots
How to Launch the Table

Step Four: Set the Table

It's time to set the Table. Your Table champion can log in, set up your church and get rolling. Pull in your team as needed. Maybe they know where the salad fork goes.

How to Set the Table
SuperAdmin Training
Quick Start Guide
Visit our help section for FAQs, videos, and more.

Step Five: Get Leadership on Board

Now you have a team to run it, a plan to launch it and the basics set up. Time to show it off to leadership and get their full support.

  • Cast the vision. It helps to emphasize two things:
The why: Our intro video summarizes it nicely.
The what: Real world stories are a good way to show what the Table can do.
  • Present a timeline for roll-out.
  • Confirm launch date (be flexible if necessary).
Work the Table into the sermon for launch weekend. Preaching on Acts 2 or 1 Corinthians 12 would be a natural fit.
Picking a Launch Sunday
How To Get Leadership Buy-In
  • Examples help: Show off our case studies of other churches that have launched the Table.

2. Pre-Launch: Grease the Wheels

Getting key people and groups on the Table and using it before launch is important.
But don’t drag it out. Get to the church-wide launch as quickly as you can.

Step OneGet the Staff on Board

The Table is designed primarily for the people in the pews, not the staff, but you still need staff support.

Hold a vision meeting to introduce the staff to the Table. Emphasize why the Table is important: 24-7 Church & Broadcasting vs. Conversation.
Emphasize how it can help staff: Ministry vs. Management.
  • Set up a group for the staff on the Table.
  • Invite staff to the Table, help them set up their profiles (avoid the silent profile) and do any necessary training.
Does the Table seem kind of ho-hum? It doesn’t work well when only the staff are signed up. They already interact daily, so benefits aren’t apparent until more people join.

Step TwoEarly Group Launch

A good strategy to launching the Table is to get key groups using the Table before you launch to your entire church.

  • Hold a group leader meeting to share the vision of the Table with them.
Encourage leaders to set up groups and invite their members to the Table: How To Pre-Populate Groups

Step ThreeReady?

Make sure the Table is ready for launch.

  • Make sure your plan to use the Table is sustainable and working. Now is the time to tweak your plan.
  • What problems are people having? Are there ways you can address those issues before you launch?
Is the Table being used and getting loaded up with content? When you launch to your whole church you want it to be lively and active: Avoid the empty amusement park.

3. Church Wide Launch: Go Big

Now it’s time to launch the Table to your entire church.

Step One Prep for Launch

Create a welcome video.
Create your own promo materials: Posters, T-shirts, handout cards, etc.
Add Table links and banners to your public website.
Prepare videos for launch weekend: Download the video (so you don’t have to stream it) and do a test run.
Draft copy for your invite emails.
Draft copy for the bulletin or create a bulletin insert.
Prepare a platform announcement: Video or live? What are they going to say?
Train volunteers to run a help desk to answer questions and set up a photo booth for profile pics.
Offer Table demos or training sessions.

Step Two Launch Weekend

Start with a launch weekend. Use the entire weekend to make a big deal about the Table. Show the video, unveil the swag, talk it up.

  • Get leadership to cast the vision and show commitment. Devote some platform time. Work the concept of community into the sermon. Here's a powerful example of casting vision for the Table.
  • Focus on sign-ups. Get people to join.
  • Emphasize benefits: Prayer, community, serving. Living church together after the service is over.
If your access type is set to approval, remember that you’ll need to approve everyone who signs up. That could be a flood on launch Sunday. Consider using a secret code which lets people bypass the manual approval, saving you time.

Step Three Post Launch

Launch Sunday is a great way to start, but you won’t catch the Sunday skippers or the sermon sleepers. Keep the effort going.

Immediately following your last service send an invite to your church email list.
  • Put reminders in your standard communication channels: Bulletin, newsletter, Facebook & Twitter, PowerPoint slides, etc.
  • Continue to offer help on Sunday mornings: A help desk, a picture taking station, etc.
  • Mention the Table from the platform every week — it can be shorter, but keep up the reminders.
Assign someone to follow up with people to make sure they complete their profile. Creating a Table Helper account might help. Quicknote high fives are cool too!

4. Keep the Ball Rolling

Once you launch you have to build on that momentum.
It’s easy to coast and then you soon have nothing but crickets at your Table.

Remember the Basics

Remember these 5 c's to have a good launch:

Cast Vision: You have to tell people why the Table is important.
The Telephone and the Internet
24/7 Church
Broadcasting vs. Conversation

Core Audience: Remember that the Table is built for the people in the pews.

Ministry vs. Management

Critical Mass: You need to hit that tipping point when enough people in your church are using the Table to make it worthwhile.

What Does it Take to Hit Critical Mass?

Custom Content: Post unique material to the Table as a carrot to get people there.

Content Carrots

Call Attention: Trumpet your success and keep beating the drum to get people on the Table.

Read some of our stories of how churches are using the Table.
Share your own stories of how the Table is working.

Now you just need to continue the conversation:

10 Ways to Pray Proactively with the Prayer Wall
100 Ways to Use the Serve App
10 Ways to Jump Start Conversation

You’re well on your way to living church together with the Table.

Slay anonymity. Champion prayer. Squash apathy.