RockRMS

The Spark offices are all abuzz lately with the exciting new things coming in the latest version update and in the community. In this episode, Jon, Nick and Emily give you a peek into not only v13 and ... [More] v14, but also v15 and beyond. With so many mysteries and surprises to look forward to, it's like Christmas all over again! Rock Sponsors We are thankful for our Rock Sponsors and their support of the Rock Community. Visit their websites through the link above to learn how they can help your ministry and confirm that those you work with are as invested in the success of Rock as you are! [Less]

Rock v13 is just around the corner, with Early Access release set for January 31st. Get ready for the update by watching this video covering the new features and changes.

Rock v13 is just around the corner, with Early Access release set for January 31st. Get ready for the update by watching this video covering the new features and changes.

Rock v13 is just around the corner, with Early Access release set for January 31st. Get ready for the update by watching this video covering the new features and changes.

Rock v13 is just around the corner, with Early Access release set for January 31st. Get ready for the update by watching this video covering the new features and changes.

Rock v13 is just around the corner, with Early Access release set for January 31st. Get ready for the update by watching this video covering the new features and changes.

Rock v13 is just around the corner, with Early Access release set for January 31st. Get ready for the update by watching this video covering the new features and changes.

The end of the year is always a good time to recognize and celebrate the growth you've made during the year. Join the Rock team as we reflect on some of the highlights of 2021, the journey of Spark, and ... [More] the great things to come. Rock Partners We are thankful for our Rock Partners and their support of the Rock Community. Visit their websites through the link above to learn how they can help your ministry and confirm that those you work with are as invested in the success of Rock as you are! [Less]

For those worried about the newly reported Log4j vulnerability there is little to fear as far as Rock is concerned. The Log4j library is a Java library and Rock is entirely C#. We use an alternative library for ... [More] logging called Serilog. For churches using Elasticsearch as a universal search provider (we only know of a handful) there may be a possibility for exposure. The server running Elasticsearch runs on a separate server than the Rock server. While the latest version of Elasticsearch is not vulnerable to the exploit , there is no mention of the version of Elasticsearch supported by Rock (v2.x) in their article. Because of this Spark would highly recommend that the ElasticSearch server be behind a firewall (this is a best-practice) until there is an official statement from Elasticsearch. [Less]

The future is now: chatbots are now part of our everyday interactions, from finding information to completing an order. 40% of millenials engage with chatbots daily (Mobile Marketer). 35% of people ... [More] use chatbots to resolve a complaint, fix a problem, or get detailed answers (Drift). Eight out of ten people who have engaged with a chatbot report it as an overall positive customer experience (Uberall). Can today's chatbots boost generosity and church engagement? Absolutely. Introducing OnlineGiving.org's all new Giving Assistant Chatbot! This unique generosity boosting bot now exists on all OnlineGiving.org church giving pages, tirelessly serving donors around the clock. First launched in 2017 and newly revamped in 2020, the bot includes automatic theming to church branding. It offers the ability to aid and assist donors in completeing gifts and much more. Churches can embed the new giving assistant into thier website easily. The smart OnlineGiving.org church chatbot is multi-channel; it operates on websites, text messages, Facebook Messenger, Google Voice and Alexa. The website church bot version has a minimal foorprint and lives in the bottom right corner of the web page until the end-user interacts. The latest technology gives the bot the ability to speak its responses and includes voice-to-text features. The ability to have a conversation with the bot should prove useful for tech-challenged users, or by merely adding an extra bit of fun to being generous. Donors using the bot get engaged in an interactive conversation to complete a donation. The entire contribution process remains within the conversation window for signed-in donors. The bot goes way beyond giving by tapping into OnlineGiving.org's powerful text marketing and interactive chatbot conversation features for interactive baptism sign-ups, Christ acceptance, care requests and more. Church administrators can visually build out interactive conversations that collect information and then smartly process responses into external church management systems. These chatbots operate on many different channels. Gone are the days of keyword-based text marketing forcing users to visit a web farm. Given today's current COVID circumstances, churches are already taking advantage of text messages to engage with end-users over digital mediums. Using chatbot allows for engaging interactions that remain entirely within the chat window and do no require web form links while still allowing information to be collected and processed in an automated and organized manner. So say hello to the future now with the OnlineGiving.org Giving Assistant! This vital medium of engagement is now available to all churches using the OnlineGiving.org platform. To learn more about Online Giving, you can visit OnlineGiving.org or give us a call at 615-206-4000. We'd love to chat with you and learn more about how we may partner together to enhance engagement with your congregation. [Less]