Carmine

This article is intended for Bible believing Church leadership. As a conservative old school believer I used to say we dont need user friendly churches; we need user deadly churches. (Romans 6: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. KJV) This is to imply that the church should be so structured to bring about transformation that means proverbial death to the old man and sinful behavior. While this is true one can not abandon wisdom in the name of conservativism, holiness or old time religion. A Church without a life transforming message that challenges the status quo and clarifies right from wrong is nothing more than a hymn singing social club. But thats another article; in this article I want to explore the wisdom of being a user friendly Church and what that means.

I have been inspired by Pauls writing to the Colossian Church: Colossians 1: 9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work. So what is His will? Clearly it is not His will that any should perish. (Matthew 18:14)

With more than nine years as a full time evangelist I have had the opportunity to worship with some of the most successful Churches and ministries in the country. In recent years I have visited scores of Churches in more than half of the continental US states posing only as a visitor; in all of this I have identified 4 qualities of user friendly churches. I have shared these principles with Churches all over the country in much greater detail than is possible here; it is my hope that you will be inspired by these ideas and further explore the user friendly principles. Before I share them with you I want to define what I mean by user friendly. A user friendly church is accessible, comfortable and conducive to visitor participation. Now here are the four qualities.

Visibility

User friendly churches are visible. This does not mean that you have to be in a prime geographic location. What it does mean is that the community needs to know you exist and why it would benefit them to attend.

To create greater visibility lets start with your immediate community. Obviously your property should have curb appeal. Simply a little manicuring of the lawn, landscape and parking lot will make a huge difference. Your property appearance should scream we know youre looking and we welcome you to look closer. It would be a shame if hundreds or thousands of cars passed by your property every day and only a few noticed your church because it blends in with the surroundings. Of course you will want to check on zoning restrictions that restrict what you can do on your property. If restrictions are tight you can do things like folding signs and removable effects that can be placed at your drive access at the start of the service and removed as service begins walk lightly and you can get away with a lot.

Here is a checklist to get your maintenance staff started:
Clear easy to read signage
Clear easy to recognize lot entrance
Cleanliness
Inviting landscape (dont hide the building)
Pleasant lighting
Attention grabbers (banners, flags, special occasion signs, inflatable mascot or seasonal displays)

The second visibility is what I call reference visibility. Reference visibility includes the yellow pages, internet and newspapers as well as a few other options that should be considered. When I arrive in a new city the first thing I do is find the phonebook and check for a UPCI church to attend. Upon surveying a substantial sampling it became obvious that the first place families go to find a new church upon moving is the yellow pages.

Your yellow pages listing should include your church name, defining statement of faith or organizational association, pastors name, at least two contact numbers, address, service times, driving directions and web URL address. If you can afford the space you should also include ministries offered, a benefit statement, map and picture of the property and or pastor.

The reference visibility that is second only to your yellow page listing is the internet website. If your church doesnt have a web presence, make it happen within the next thirty days. Your church website doesnt have to be fancy or complicated; a free site management service is better than nothing. The following checklist includes the minimum information you should make available on your website:

Church name
Statement of faith
Names of ministries and ministry directors
Driving directions and or map
Photo of the church
Articles or audio sermon samples
Event calendar
Contact information (consider alternative contacts)

The third reference visibility is newspapers and periodicals. Obviously your church should run ads to announce special events such as revivals, public seminars and public services offered. Consider assigning the title of publicist to someone that will be responsible for running ads and getting free periodical, news and media space. If your church is offering a public service like gifts for the needy at Christmas send press releases to the area media. Announce available ministries, special events, new ministries, building programs etcetera.

Other possibilities that increase visibility might include billboards, highway signs, bumper stickers, T-shirts, radio spots and TV spots. Next I want to leave you with a couple of power tips for creating visibility.

New Residence Welcome Package

You can easily get information about new residents who move into your city or county. If you share your plan with apartment managers they may help you with distribution. Simply put together a welcome package that includes some home warming gift, some coffee and or tea a brochure and handwritten card of invitation from your assembly. (I like the idea of having the card signed by hand by each member. This can be done in advance.)

Hotel Church Directory

Organize and produce a nice looking church directory to be placed in hotel rooms. The cost of the directory can be shared by all of the churches you choose to involve. Most hotel guests that attend services while visiting your city will attend the church of their choice anyway youre just making your information available through one more media. May also consider an area attractions directory that would include only your church and other businesses; I have seen such directories that list only Christian owned businesses in the area.

Accessibility

Accessibility begins with your marketing pieces (Brochures, yellow page and media ads etc.) you should include clear directions that include popular area landmarks and highways, maps are nice. Once the visitor finds your property it is important that they know how to access your parking lot so have lot entrances clearly marked. The last thing you want is for your visitor feel frustrated or anxious this early in the visit. It is also a good Idea to have visitor parking reserved and marked with signs. Make sure the main entrance is marked clearly so the visitor knows exactly where to go. If you use alternative entrances or walks during bad weather have portable signs to put out to accurately direct the visitor. Greeters should be present to greet the guest; make sure they are trained to inform the guest about where the sanctuary, restrooms, nursery and Sunday school classes are located. A tour should at least be offered; if the tour invitation is turned down hand the guest a diagram of the property that clearly indicates the location of rooms that may be of interest.

Service times should be visible on signs and at all entrances. Greeters should be trained to meet ladies with children and the elderly at the car during adverse weather conditions to assist them into the building. Pathways should be well lit. Restrooms should be clearly marked and if they are hidden down some dark or hidden hallway mark the hallway and light it up. Ushers should ask the guest where they prefer to sit (front or back) and offer to escort them to a seat.

Friendliness

Now this isnt something you can plan and assign. Congregational friendliness must be learned and it must be sincere. The saints should greet the visitor with a smile and a handshake as well as some non-prying personal questions. These personal questions can help identify common ground to create personal relationships. Youth and children should be taught to get to visitors their own age; they may invite the guest to join them in the Sunday school class. I would like to think that someone in our assembly would extend an invitation to our guest to go out to dinner with them. I try to make this invitation myself when time and opportunity permits. If it makes you more comfortable most wont accept.

Someone in leadership should approach all visitors to explain how the service will be conducted, when the children will go to their classes and where those classes are. If an entire family visits find out the ages of the children and adults and inform them where they should go for breakout Sunday school classes. Once you know there ages it can be a good idea for either the Sunday school teacher or a representative from the class to personally greet and invite the visitor to join todays class.

Diversity of Ministry

Truly user friendly churches are aware of unique needs of their community and make an honest effort to meet those needs. If you have a large population of Spanish speaking people, and obvious ministry need is Spanish interpretation or Spanish specific ministry. Other considerations include young married couples, singles, senior citizens, college students, military etcetera.

Charles Carpenter, affectionately known as "Bill" by friends, has inspired and empowered audiences to reach peak performance and dreams for more than a decade. He is known for being a straight forward communicator who shares practical ideas that help listeners overcome the most difficult challenges of life and business.

Charles serves his clients and customers through keynotes, seminars, literature and personal career and life coaching. His clients include small non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 & 1000 companies. He has taught Project Management, Leadership, Management Skills, Communication and Conflict Management at the University level for more than four years.

Charles wit and wisdom has been published in numerous periodicals, ezines and five books including, Real Worl Project Management and The Core Success Journal.

Sinus infection, also known as sinusitis, refers to a condition where our sinuses get infected by bacteria or fungus. Actually, sinuses are nothing but hollow cavities present in the skull near our nose. When sinuses are infected with bacteria, they get blocked. These blockages put a lot of extra pressure on the sinus walls, which in turn causes the person much pain and discomfort. Millions of people in the world suffer from sinusitis and millions of dollars are spent on its treatment. In this article I will tell you how to cure sinus infection easily.

Actually, there can be three types of sinus infections: acute, chronic and recurring. If your sinus infection lasts for no more than three weeks then it is acute. If your sinus infection last for more than three weeks but less than eight weeks, then it is chronic. If you have recurring bouts of sinusitis, then it is called recurring sinus infection. Usually, people who suffer from recurring sinus infection have sinus attacks several times in a year. A good way to treat sinusitis is to use a combination of a decongestant for clearing the nose, antibiotics to cure sinus infection as well as painkillers to soothe the pain.

Some people have a habit of purchasing over-the-counter pills every time they suffer from sinusitis. While over-the-counter drugs maybe good for the short term, I would not recommend you to take these drugs for a long time. If your sinusitis persists for a long time then it is imperative that you consult a doctor because it is possible that you are suffering from other associated diseases such as asthma. In such cases, antibiotics and decongestants may not be of much help. Your doctor may prescribe steroids in order to cure asthma.

Apart from medicines, there are also many home remedies you can use in order to cure sinus infection. Remedies such as nasal spray, mustard seeds, jalapeno pepper, peppermint steam, cinnamon and ginger have been known to cure sinus infection fast. Do note that not all home remedies can work for everybody. Some home remedies give you only temporary relief; others can help you to cure sinus infection permanently. If you are not sure ask your local doctor about which home remedy is best for you.

Discover 3 Home Remedies To Cure Sinus Infection Easily For more information on how to cure sinus infection, visit us at:
http://sinus.besthelptips.com/cure-sinus-infection-2.php
Article Directory

Second mortgages are popular ways to consolidate debts and pay for purchases because of their tax advantages over non-deductible debts. Second mortgages are literally second loans secured by the home, which is why theyre also known as "home equity loans." Second mortgages are also gaining popularity as "piggy back loans"--a home financing option in which property is purchased using mortgages from two or more lenders with the risk being equally spread among them.

2nd Mortgage Advantages:

Whether you have good credit or bad credit, second mortgages allow for you to cash out on larger amounts of money at relatively low fixed mortgage interest rates, as compared with credit card rates and variable interest rate home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

Second mortgage loans may be 100% tax deductible.

Flexible guidelines allow you to use the money for any purpose, including debt consolidation for lower payments and significant monthly savings.

A second mortgage leaves the rates and terms of your first mortgage unchanged, so instead of having to refinance your existing mortgage, just add a second.

2nd mortgages normally fund quickly with little or no closing costs. Example: Nationwide Mortgage offers 125% LTV and other second mortgages, including interest only loans that fund faster, often with no appraisal fees.

2nd Mortgage Disadvantages:

If you fall behind on the payments your mortgage lenders can foreclose, which means you could lose your house.

Second mortgages carry higher interest rates than first mortgages. Nationwide loan officer, Brendon Daly, states that "due to the risk factor with these subordinate liens, most lenders will charge higher fees and higher interest."

According to "Mortgage for Beginners" found through ask.com, some second mortgages carry high upfront fees, closing costs, or other annual fees, as well as prepayment penalties and balloon payments.

Maria is an experienced free-lance writer creating articles about 2nd mortgage and home equity loans. You can read more mortgage related loan articles online at Second Mortgage Nationwide.

To learn more about no equity loan options, please check out 125% Second Mortgage Loans. If you need more useful tips about 2nd mortgage loan consolidation online, please visit Debt Consolidation Loans.

VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. It is the best and latest technology, which allows people for making telephone calls after using the Internet connection in place of analog or regular phone line. People can easily take to large numbers of people at one time by VoIP. It has a capacity for sending other forms of data such as files instead of voice. There are various equipments that can easily take calls of VoIP. But it is necessary to install software programs on the computer like Skype. Some services may be allowed to call one who has a contact number such as local telephone number, international numbers, long distance telephone numbers and mobile numbers. Voice can be send over the Internet by using VoIP. There are various Internet Telephony Applications available such as Net Meeting and Cool Talk along with famous Web Browsers. VoIP is also represented to IP telephony, Internet telephony and Voice over the Internet. Features of VoIP

VoIP can do the following jobs that might be very hard to get by making use of traditional networks:

* Most of VoIP packages contain PSTN functions that many telecommunication organizations generally charge extra for or might be not come from local telco like call forwarding, caller ID, 3-way calling and automatic redial.

* VoIP is to be found independent, just the connection of internet is required to find a connection towards a VoIP provider, such as extreme call center agencies making use of VoIP phones can do from everywhere with a adequately quick and constant internet connection.

* It has capability to spread many telephone calls down the same broadband-linked telephone line. It can be made VoIP an easy method to attach an extra telephone line to an office or home.

* Capacity to spread wide band speech that can considerably develop the quality of music and speech.

* Making use of presented off the shelf protocols as Secure Real-time Transport Protocol can protect it.

* VoIP phones can be integrated with other features come over the Internet, containing data or message file exchange with the audio conferencing, conversation, passing information and managing address books are come online to concerned parties.

Achievement

As UDP is not offered a mechanism to make sure that data packets are delivered in sequential order or offer quality of service guarantees, the implementations of VoIP face situations dealing with jitter and latency. It is particularly fact while satellite circuits are concerned; because of long round trip broadcast delay. It challenges packet loss, echo, reliability, bandwidth, security, Jitter and Network latency.

voip and complete voip solution

You've made the decision to move ahead in the real estate world and get your real estate license through an online course. Navigating the waters of online real estate courses can be tricky, as there are so many institutes, colleges and universities online which promise you the best education programmes. With all of the information that's available, you'll probably need some help. Here is a guide to resources for online real estate courses.

One of the best online guides to help you get started is Elearners.com. This is a great site, that is easy to navigate and fun to use. It offers extensive links to a comprehensive database, which will help you to find that online real estate course that is just right for you. The webmasters also maintain a large collection of FAQs, or Frequently Asked Questions, which will most likely answer many of the questions that you have about getting your degree online. For example, there are questions and answers regarding the types of technological requirements that are needed for online courses.

It is also very important that you verify your online school's accreditation before you officially enrol in your real estate course. This is a significant step, because you need to be sure that your college is approved to teach your real estate programme. Accreditation can be verified by several agencies, but the most reliable agency is the Distance Education Office, which will be happy to help you.

Finally, if you are relying on financial aid for online real estate courses, the Department of Education is a great place to start the application process. You can download your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, for short, at their website. You can also fill it out online, thus speeding up the application process.

Earning your real estate credentials through an online programme should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience and there are many great resources to help you get started.

Matt Norman is the founder of Easy Distance Learning a website providing information on learning online.

Buying a boat is related to its purpose. You can buy a fishing boat, high speed ski boat. It depends on your choice and spending power. You want to enjoy a trip with the boat with your family. You should not forget to take the boat insurance as it is necessary and important both. Once you take the boat insurance, you hedged yourself against the unknown risk and your investment is protected. Insurance broker may sell you dream but during the emergency you will left alone. Hence understand the total risk and take adequate insurance coverage. Boat owners like you need to follow some simple rules so that you can properly judge all the recommendations made by insurance consultant.

It is necessary for you to know the basics of boat insurance and do little homework. You can Google in the net to find out more on boat insurance, insurance consultants and related quotes. Abundant information is available in the net.

It is utmost necessary to check the reputation of insurance broker. Check with other boat owners on insurance policy and insurance consultant. Please request for testimonial from insurance broker. A good broker is difficult to find. However, an honest insurance broker always sees your interest first. He can guide you in selection of a proper policy. You need help from insurance broker to identify cost efficient and effective boat insurance.

Try to find a boat insurance agent with a good reputation of getting the best possible policies for his clients and a good record in claim settlement.

Some broker might insist you to take boat insurance and home owner insurance together. This kind of insurance policy has several pitfalls regarding limit of coverage. Avoid this type of broker.

Author is renowned Personal Financial Planner. Refer his site on http://www.insuranceconsultant-uk.com/travel_insurance.php for latest information

Hair loss is a problem that affects millions of Americans. Male-pattern-baldness is the most common type of hair loss in men. However, this is not only a problem for men; woman and children can also be affected due to several reasons.

The Causes

There is a large variety of reason why some people experience hair loss. Stress and illness can affect temporary hair loss. The hormone imbalances due to pregnancy and childbirth can also cause hair loss. Its important to understand that pregnancy induced hair loss is generally temporary so you can expect hair to start growing again after the child is born. Its also common knowledge that chemotherapy treatments can also cause the loss of ones hair. Family ties can be partly to blame with some forms of hair loss. There is some scientific evidence that supports the idea that male-pattern-baldness is hereditary and a product of lineage. Its best to talk to a doctor about your specific circumstances, so he can recommend the right treatment for you.

Treatments

Hair replacement is a very popular treatment option, with men. This is where hair follicles are taken from the back of the scalp and transplanted to the top of the scalp and hairline. For many people, surgery isnt the best option. In these cases there are numerous productions available that can help. One of the most popular options is Rogaine (minoxidil). While Rogaine was originally developed as a high blood pressure medication, a known side effect was the re-growth of hair. Since it wasnt very effect at treating high blood pressure, it was remarketed as a treatment for hair loss. Propecia (finasteride) is another popular option. Originally developed to treat prostate issues, it was also determined to be more effective at stimulating hair growth. Since every patent is different its importance to talk to your physician before starting any treatment program.

For more hair loss prevention tips, please visit: Hair Loss Solutions a website that specializes combating hair loss and Propecia hair loss treatments

When it comes to creating the perfect home deck railings, there are hundreds of designs to choose from. The Railings are generally the most important part of the deck and so you really need to ensure that in order to create that perfect look, you choose the perfect design.

Getting the Design Just Right

When it comes to choosing the design of the railings, it is important to realize that you do not have to match the design of the deck with the railings. For example, you could choose a base which is made of wood due to the fact that it is durable. However, you may wish to have an iron railing. As long as it looks OK it shouldnt really matter but a lot of the time people feel it looks too odd sot hey do choose a matching design and material.

Generally deck railings go well on the porch and before you install anything you need a porch railing plan. You need to take measurements, figure out which style you would like to achieve. Do you want a particular pattern for example flowers or an animal of some sorts? Try and find something which matches your personality.

Sometimes the best material to go for and a good deck railing design include the stainless steel cable railing. For this type of a railing a stainless steel top is used but instead of using balusters like most railings do, cables are used instead. Glass balusters are also quite commonly used and they tend to add a touch of sophistication to the railings.

If you really want to add something a little more special, flower boxes may be a good idea. They make the railings more welcoming and they also add a touch of elegance too. There are various different accessories to choose from and some can add a classic look to the railings whilst others look a little more modern.

Overall it is always better to create a plan of action beforehand. So, if you are choosing the railings for the porch create a porch railing plan. It is important to write down everything that you need to know before going on a search for the perfect materials and accessories. Include all measurements, what theme you are going for i.e. modern, contemporary, and what material you would prefer.

It might take a little shopping around but you should find something to suit your deck railing needs eventually.

Andrew Caxton is a reliable journalist who has published more articles on this issue for http://www.deck-porch-railings.com If you would like more information on this topic please checkout his website at porch railing plan