Audio over IP Enables Scheduling at K-12 Church School

Barix AG of Zurich, Switzerland, a pioneer in Internet Protocol- or IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring with U.S. offices in St. Paul, Minn., reports that Houston’s Calvary Baptist School and Church is using Barix Audio over IP equipment as a core part of its multi-zone voice and audio scheduling system for K-12 classrooms. The campus is also installing a Barix Annuncicom 1000 two-way IP audio device to stream music and announcements to eight outdoor zones during school days and worship-oriented events.

Calvary Baptist School has approximately 225 students spread across seven buildings— some of them mixing elementary, junior high and/or high school classrooms. The school was seeking an audio and notification system capable of distributing scheduled events, including bells and announcements, to seven distinct zones. The zones are segregated by grade levels instead of buildings, requiring an intelligent system that could clearly recognize the specified PA points within each zone.

After evaluating several hard-wired systems, the campus selected an IP-based system based on the BellCommander audio scheduling system from AcroVista Software. Events are entered into the system and automatically distributed to seven zones on schedule, where Barix Exstreamer 100 IP devices receive and decode the signals for playback over the PA system.

“We quickly realized that since our campus was so spread out that it was easier to design and install a system we could set up over TCP/IP,” says Jerry Boyd, IT manager and a classroom instructor at Calvary Baptist School and Church. “The timing was good ... we had just built an infrastructure for our computer networks and could use the backbone of our existing Cat5/Cat6 network. The Barix and BellCommander system was something we could easily afford. We saved a minimum of $11,000 compared to the least expensive hard-wired system, and the audio quality from Barix is great.”

Safety, too, is another benefit of the school’s new audio system. As Boyd reports, “We had no way of communicating across campus before.... We can also better evaluate fire drills and have a more viable emergency action plan in place.”

www.barix.com; www.ip-audio.info

Shelby Systems Launches Arena Select Software for Churches

Cordova, Tenn.-based Shelby Systems announces the launch of Arena Select, a new line of its Arena church management software. Arena Select is reportedly loaded with the most requested features, optimized for medium- to large-sized churches.

“Arena Select provides churches with a powerful toolset that helps connect with their members and grow their ministries,” says Frank Canady, president of Shelby Systems. “The easy-to-use interface allows new users and volunteers to quickly make an impact in their work.”

Key elements of Arena Select include membership and contact management, reporting tools, and simple grouping and search options—all accessible by the Internet. With connectivity from virtually anywhere, an Arena user has the tools needed to work from the office, home, or on the road. The software also includes these items: mission trip management; check-in and contributions, online giving, and event registration.

Shelby Systems’ original Arena product will now be known as Arena Premium and contain features not included in Arena Select, such as web publishing, assignments and the ability to add community-created modules.

www.arenachms.com

Saving Energy at School: The Roles of Daylight, Hot Water

American Hometec offers a cost effective, tankless, coil-free water heater that’s reportedly ideal for delivering hot water to specific locations within schools.

As is the case with any building design, much of the savings that churches can potentially reap in operating a daycare or school are related to how well the facility was planned out before it was actually built.

One of the most significant costs associated with building management is, of course, electricity. Mike Bailey, director at Ecos in Portland, Ore., notes that while many churches opt to house their pre-schools in the basement, this isn’t always the optimum solution when it comes to lighting. “They should try to take advantage of as much natural lighting as possible,” he says. “If the daycare is in the basement, they can’t always take advantage of natural light.”

Hot water is another big expenditure, and a number of facilities employ tankless systems in an effort to supply it on demand. Frank Menditch, vice president of sales at American Hometec, a hot water systems provider based in Wilmington, Del., explains that one of the benefits of a tankless system is that the water heater is located close to where the hot water is actually being used, eliminating the need to run long water lines around the building. “You’re also not wasting energy with all of the standby losses from the unheated water that’s already in the lines,” he adds.

Another advantage is that with a tankless system, the water heater is not operational when not actually in use. “It has a flow switch that activates the water heater when the water is turned on, and it takes only a couple of seconds to get hot water,” Menditch states.

www.ecosconsulting.com; www.americanhometec.com

Honeywell Notifier Offers Fire, Life Safety Systems Financing for Schools

Church schools can now apply for financing of Honeywell’s Notifier system. The emergency communications system is reportedly ideal for mass notification, such as emails, texts and computer pop-up alerts.

Notifier by Honeywell in Northford, Conn., introduces a financing program to assist facility owners with the expense of new fire/life safety systems and upgrades to existing systems mandated by code. An assortment of financing options can be customized to cover equipment, regular maintenance and service fees while allowing facility owners to conserve working capital and overcome budget constraints.

The new financing program, maintained by LEAF Financial Corp., reportedly offers simple documentation and fast results with live, one-on-one support from local LEAF representatives throughout the process. The new program's flexible loan and leasing options enable Notifier Engineered Systems Distributors throughout the U.S. to offer an affordable means for the expansion or upgrade of existing systems.

Notifier representatives report that the financing program is ideal for grade schools and university campuses planning to install a state-of-the-art emergency communications system with distributed recipient mass notification (i.e., emails, texts, computer pop-up alerts, etc.). In addition, a high-rise or multi-building property maintaining a series of obsolete systems plagued by false alarms could lease or finance up to 100% of the installation, equipment and service for a new fire/life safety system.

www.honeywell.com

Does Lower Giving Indicate a Vision Problem? And How Does it Affect Christian Schools?

A Q&A between church strategist Tony Morgan, Jim Sheppard of Atlanta’s Generis, and Worship Facilities Magazine

Earlier this month, pastor and strategist Tony Morgan posted a blog at tonymorganlive.com—a conversation between himself and Jim Sheppard, CEO and principal with Generis in Atlanta. Following is that discussion, peppered with some Christian school-specific questions from Worship Facilities Magazine.

From tonymorganlive.com ...
Despite the doom and gloom reported by daily media economists, the Blackbaud Index [www.blackbaud.com] reports that charitable giving has increased from 2009. For the entire nonprofit sector, which includes colleges, universities, churches, and all other nonprofit organizations, giving increased 12.1% in April 2010.

Tony Morgan, strategist, coach, consultant, tonymorganlive.com; pastor of ministries, West Ridge Church, Dallas, GA

I wondered if this trend was happening specifically in church giving, so I contacted my friend Jim Sheppard, CEO of Generis. Jim and his team of strategists consult faith-based nonprofits and religious organizations to connect them with people who want to financially support their mission and vision. Here’s what Jim had to say about church giving:

Morgan: The Blackbaud Index says giving is up. Is the index a reliable measurement?
Sheppard: The index is probably a good overall indicator. The limitation of the Blackbaud, like most of these type [of] surveys is that they do not take into account very much, if any, church giving.

Morgan: So churches should expect lower-than-average giving?
Sheppard: About one-third of churches have giving that is down. Of the churches I know whose giving is down, there is typically another story [involving] factors other than the economy. Many of them are churches with little or no vision. The prosperous economy concealed the fact that they were not in good shape. The lean economy reveals it.

Morgan:Are you saying church giving is less about the economy than the media would have us believe?

Jim Sheppard, CEO and principal, Generis, Atlanta, GA

Sheppard: Scarcity clarifies—the lean economy has revealed, in general, which churches are healthy and which are not. Yes, there are a few spots that have been hammered by the economy (Detroit, Las Vegas, etc.) but that is not the main problem for many of the churches that are down. Having said that, it appears most of our clients and prospective clients have seen an uptick in giving. Plus, the confidence level of church leaders seems to be much better than it was at the end of 2009. They are now talking about taking on projects like mortgage reduction, buildings, property acquisition and ministry venture capital.

WFM: How are Christian schools faring financially and weathering the economy? What words of wisdom do you have for Christian school administrators and church leaders?
Sheppard: Many Christian schools have been hit with a ‘double whammy’ effect from the economy—enrollment is down, which puts pressure on the school budget. One solution would be to increase the ‘ask’ for the annual fund, but that is where the second effect has an impact—the giving capacity of those who are still enrolled is diminished.

In many Christian schools tuition is purposefully kept low since the church views the school as a ministry. Schools will have to resort to additional fundraising. This is the time to call on some of the higher capacity families, both within the school family and the church family, and ask if they would be willing to participate at a higher level for a couple of years.

WFM: How does the strong overall vision of a church — thereby helping the church’s giving be more stable and healthy — filter over into a church’s Christian school?
Sheppard: In general, a healthy church begets a healthy school, although this is not always the case. Typically, there is some overlap between the ministry vision of the church and the vision of the school. However, strong schools have managed to develop their own sense of vision, not contrary to the vision of the church, but to extend the vision of the church. Schools that are able to do this well tend to do better at raising financial support.

WFM: What advice do you have for churches that operate Christian schools—to keep them afloat and strong until congregants and consumers regain confidence?
Sheppard: Whatever else you do, don’t panic. This is the time for a strong board and school leadership team to step up with strategic financial management and, where appropriate, develop sound plans to raise additional funding, whether annual funds or capital funds or small tuition increases. Keep the parent constituency well informed. They will know you are facing challenges and will want to know the measures that are being taken to manage the school in the best interests of the students.

In times like these, encouragement and prayerful expressions of faith are critically important to both school families and church members. Some in the church may express the opinion that a school or another ministry [should] be shut down to provide more support for the church. This is the easy road leading to shallow answers. The more faithful response is to challenge the church and school families to respond to these needs with a spirit of generosity forged through sacrificial giving.

TonyMorganLive.com
www.generis.com
www.worshipfacilities.com