Jason Powell - Church IT and Other Musings

Church IT/IS/Web Positions at Christ Fellowship in sunny Florida

Jason Reynolds just sent me this info on 3 positions open on his team at Christ Fellowhip. If you know of someone with the right heart and skills and would like to live in Flordia (duh! who wouldn't!) please send them this info.

You chasing Jesus?

Love Jesus and have serious technology skills too? Want to make a contribution to something big? Does the idea of leaving a legacy spark something in your soul?

If the above fits and you are either an IT, IS, or Web superman or superwoman, one of our three manager spots at Christ Fellowship church in Palm Beach Gardens may be of interest to you. Our Information Systems department is a team of ten focused on serving our church staff and attendees with great skill and great heart.

Factoids

Something you may be interested to know about our church is that we run a large Mac network and Mac computers with 16T of storage. We use open source any time we can, which allows us to share what works with other churches around the nation. Oh, and we are considering now the decision to go HD Video in the next few years, which will change the way we approach multimedia, storage, networks, digital community, resourcing our volunteers with video training, etc.

Contribution Opportunities

If you have five or more years of management experience leading Interactive, Information Systems, or Information Technology teams, check out:

    * Interactive Platform Manager - All things web and web marketing, except content creation and management.
    * Information Systems Manager - All things database, enterprise software, analytics, and reporting.
    * Information Technology Manager - All things hardware, network, help-desk, and asset management.

Willow Creek Community Church - Technical Support Specialist Opening

Beth over at Willow Creek sent this job opening to us recently. Pretty sweet opportunity for some lucky guy/gal :-)

Willow Creek Community Church - Information Systems - Technical Support Specialist (FT)
This position is responsible for identifying and resolving hardware and software problems on PC and Mac computers at the church. Additionally, this position can include new software installation, new equipment distribution, user training, and tracking of inventory. We are seeking a person who is passionate about leveraging technology in the church for the cause of Christ. Those with previous experience in hardware/software support, PC and Mac operating systems, and spiritual gifts of Helps and Administration should apply.

Install microcomputer hardware and peripheral components on both PC and Macintosh platforms. Load and verify correct operation of operating systems and other software.

Provide user training and technical assistance. Identify and resolve hardware, software, and operator problems and make repairs to refer to outside vendors. Maintain consistent customer service attitude

Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation and records to track inventory and work activity.

Maintain up-to-date awareness of PC and Macintosh hardware and software developments and make recommendation for upgrades to existing platforms or replacement with new platforms, based on cost effective uses of technology to meet identified user needs. Maintain relationships with outside vendors and technical advisors to ensure access to information on new development and optimum pricing.

Coordinate the work of volunteer teams, ensuring definition and assignment of task, quality assurance of completion while building caring relationships.

Beth Hayes
Information Technology Operations Manager
Willow Creek Community Church
224-512-1101

IT/Web Positions at Fellowship Church

Just a heads up that Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) has 2 open IT positions:

Web Designer

We are looking for an experienced master of web design. 2+ years of professional experience with HTML, CSS, and Javascript is a must. Excellent skills and experience are important, but just as critical are a desire to take ownership, work independently, and push the envelope. Requirements: able to hand-code to current web standards. Applicants will be proficient in Photoshop and must demonstrate strong visual design skills.

Systems/Network Administrator

Looking for highly motivated technical person to be responsible for all aspects of systems administration including servers, networking devices, applications, and databases. Requires a minimum of 5 years of knowledge and experience with the Microsoft Windows 2003 domain administration, Microsoft Exchange 2003, SQL, and LAN/WAN hardware, software and Internet/Intranet/Extranet integration and connectivity. This person will be responsible for network software and hardware installation and upgrades. This person must have a sound understanding of the interactions between hardware, operating system software and network operations and the design and administrative requirements to ensure an efficient, reliable, secure infrastructure.

Info on how to apply on their website here

IT Position at Seacoast Church

Trace just let me know he's posted a full time IT Position at Seacoast on his blog ...

We now have a full-time I.T. position available here at Seacoast. It’s 40 hours a week; balancing the hours as a help desk tech (installs, repairs, upgrades, user distress calls, etc.) and assisting me with network and server needs.

The work hours are during normal business hours and being on-call.

If you’d like more info, or would like to apply, here’s the job description and the application. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Trace is a great guy and this is a great opportunity for the right person ... and talk about a sweet place to live :-)

Belated Welcome Justin Moore To The GCC Team

It's a week late, but here's the all staff email I sent out this morning ... a week after Justin joined our IT team ... better late than never right?  Last week was pretty crazy with Leadership Summit so I have a better-than-lame excuse :-)

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls...

If you missed the introduction at SWAT last week … it’s my most excellent joy to welcome the newest member of the GCC IT Team ... Justin Moore!  Justin joins our merry band of geeks as our new IT Specialist.  That means once he gets settled in, he'll be your initial contact for tech support issues as well as working on all sorts of uber kewl IT projects so amazing your head would explode if we told you about ‘em.  So I will protect your cranium by refraining from further details.  Yes, I’m just that thoughtful.

Here’s a few insider tidbits about Justin (and his wife Bonnie) ...

· Was born and raised “in the sticks” – Polk County, NC. And no, there is no town name – it’s just “Polk County”

(If you want to sound like a native, say “poke county”)

· Loves sweet tea and Sun Drop (if you don’t know the joys of Sun Drop, think “Mountain Dew, but sweeter and with more caffeine”)

· Always thought he’d marry a Southern Belle.

o Bonnie’s last address before us getting married was Brevard, NC.

o However, she was born and lived the first 11 years of her life in Lincoln Park, NJ.

o That’s right – married a Yankee!

· Justin and Bonnie have been to Russia 3 times for missions work … see http://www.wantmoore.com/archives/archives/category/missions/

· Strength Finder Top 5

• Belief
• Strategic
• Connectedness
• Self-Assurance
• Ideation

· Big Dave Ramsey fans … Justin lead a Financial Peace University small group this past Spring at their prior church

· All their pets are named after techie stuff: Two cats, Apache and Pixel and female Chocolate Lab named Java.

o Yes, we’re “one of those couples” who call them our children.   See http://www.wantmoore.com/archives/2007/11/19/happy-birthday-java/

Like the rest of the IT team, Justin has a blog and twitter … you can learn more about him via:

Blog: http://wantmoore.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wantmoore

So please welcome Justin (and Bonnie) to the team ... we're so excited to have them!  …and please help convince them winter is a fun time in Indiana ;-)

Jason ... pondering a career in Men’s synchronized swimming … NOT! ... Powell

Jason Powell
IT Director
Granger Community Church

Crossings Community Church Network Admin Opening

Just noticed this posting over on Jason Lee's blog

"Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City is expanding their MIS Team.

Network Administrator

Scope of Position: Assist in supporting the stable operation of the in-house computers, servers and IP network infrastructure as well as other information systems applicable to Crossings Community Church.

Organizational Relationships: While this position will interact with most, if not all, of the departments of the church, the Network Administrator shall report to the Director of Management Information Systems (MIS).

Responsibilities: The Network Administrator’s role is to enable the ministry of the church with information technology hardware and software. This includes planning, developing, installing, configuring, maintaining, supporting, and optimizing all network hardware, software, and communication links. The person will also analyze and resolve end user hardware and software computer problems in a timely and accurate fashion, and provide end user training where required. This person will also work closely with the MIS Director to optimize all areas of the church’s information systems.

Skills Required for Position: Working knowledge of a Microsoft Windows domain and networking. Proficiency with Microsoft Office, desktop operating systems, and a strong willingness and ability to learn.

Education and Experience: The Network Administrator should hold a vo-tech or college diploma, at a minimum, and should have a minimum of 1 to 2 years experience in working with computers and various information systems components. A+ Certification or equivalent knowledge is required and any Microsoft or Cisco certifications will be beneficial.

If you are interested email a resume to Michael Foster (mfoster at crossingsokc dot org)"

Watermark Community Church IT Openings

Scott sent me a note today that he's got a couple IT openings at Watermark in Dallas, TX.

"Do you have as much enthusiasm for God as you do for technology?  If so, Watermark is looking for you to join us as we grow.  Right now, we have a full-time Network Administrator position available as well as a part-time helpdesk position.  We are looking for someone who is…"  MORE

Interested?  Give Scott a holler and see if this is your next step :-)

IT Opening at Fellowship Technologies

Curtis over at Fellowship Tech passed the following IT job opening along ... if you or someone you know might fit the bill check it out. 

Seeking IT Pro with Passion for Tech and Local Church

Are you searching for a career with true meaning? A job that allows you to use your God given talents to empower the local church through advanced technology? A job where everyone you work with shares your passion, drive, and intense work ethic while keeping in check the priorities of God and family before work.

Fellowship Technologies is currently seeking an IT professional with passion for technology and the local church. Click here for a detailed description of the role and experience required. Please pass along if you know someone.

Please send inquiries and qualified resumés to careers@fellowshiptech.com.

w00t Worthy NEWS! Justin Moore to join GCC IT Team!

I'm soooooo flippin' excited I could explode!  If you've been following my twitter you already know ... but for those not ... today we could finally go public with our newest addition to the GCC IT team!

Justin Moore will be joining our ranks in August to fill our IT Specialist position! w00t w00t!!!

It's been a very long process ... but we couldn't be more excited!

I'll post more down the road, but I just had to share the great news.  Please congratulate Justin and if you're not following his blog you'll for sure want to now! :-)

Great days are ahead for my team, our church, and the greater Church IT Roundtable movement ...

IT Director Opening at The Chapel in Libertyville, IL

Our friends over at The Chapel passed along an IT opening they are looking to fill.  I chatted with Jim about the position this evening and it sounds like a great opportunity.  Here's the job description PDF and associated blurbage:

Download chapel_exec_dir_of_infotech.pdf

The Chapel is a contemporary, non-denominational, casual and kid-friendly church made up of people from all walks of life.  We’re a multi-campus church with locations in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  For more information about us, please visit www.launchingamovement.org or www.chapel.org.

God has continued to bless our church and we’ve experienced some terrific growth.  We are currently searching for an Information Technology professional to lead our central Operations Info Tech team out of our Libertyville, IL campus.  This team is responsible for providing the technology infrastructure and support systems across all of our campuses. 

We are always looking for ways to use technology so the church can be effective and relevant to our community.  Our current systems include leading edge technologies such as a four-campus wide area Cisco network, Cisco Call Manager, MS Exchange, Blackberry’s and iPhones, ACS Financials, FellowshipOne, Windows and Mac clients and servers, a PerformancePoint data warehouse, and intra-campus video transmission. We’re continuing to advance our systems and processes as we expand to more campuses in the Chicago area and beyond.

If you’re interested in joining our team in this fast-paced, entrepreneurial and creative environment, please contact us.  Please visit www.chapel.org, click on the “How To Get Involved” tab, and then the “Employment Opportunities” in the left column.

Jim Alexander
Executive Pastor of Operations
The Chapel
847.281.3333
jalexander at chapel dot org