Our Experiments
8501-Alexa Skill: Creating a prayer leader out of Alexa to help people pray at home.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It worked! Look for Phase II coming soon. FINAL REPORT
8502-Apple News Prayer Feed: Make it easier for people to engage with scripture during the week, during their daily life by creating a source that can supply content into their Apple Newsfeed.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: This was already going slow because of the technology piece; the pandemic just slowed it to a really slow crawl.
8503-Connected Congregation: Using texting for easy points of contact between the congregation and its members leading to more engagement with the church and higher attendance.
This experiment is CLOSED.
LATEST: This experiment has ended and we are now starting the evaluation process.
8504-Digital Collection Plate: Grow the collection plate amounts at congregations by making it as easy and fast as possible for people to give in forms other than cash.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It did not work as we had wanted it to, but enough to move to phase 2. See 8536 below.
8505-TryTank IdeasFestival: A festival of ideas for church growth and innovation. Seeking to create a '"primordial soup" where the right elements (folks) can bump (meet) and create new ideas beyond the “adjacent possible.” (Now part of "Rooted in Jesus 2020" -- a sizable Episcopal event in January. We will be showcasing eight current innovators in the church in TED Conference-style presentations.)
This experiment is in CLOSED.
Result: It worked!
READ THE REPORT!
8506-Latino/a Ministry in a Box: Using multi-site technology to create a Spanish-speaking congregation taking small steps.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It worked! FINAL REPORT
8507-Latino/a Music Project: Make it easier for the church to provide Spanish-language worship services by creating a music video library of the most used Spanish hymns.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8508-Latino/a Phonetic App: Make it easier for non-native speakers to be able to lead Spanish-language worship services by creating an app that teaches them the phonetic way to say the prayers from the Libro de Oración Común.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. It was too expensive.
8509-Listening Project: Conversations with 100 leaders who have grown and maintained their congregational growth. Leading to the "Habits of Highly Effective Church Growers." Some will be basic, but we also hope to find surprises.
This experiment is ACTIVE.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8510-Spin Church: Taking the basics of a regular "Soul Cycle" group fitness class and making it full-out about Jesus and then sharing a liturgical meal after.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Did NOT work. People were interested, but did not show. FINAL REPORT
8511-Facebook Master Class: A social media expert will lead a one-day master class on how to use Facebook advertising to grow the church. The course comes with three months of subject matter coaching and accountability for the participants.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It worked, but cheaper to outsource! FINAL REPORT
8512-Interactive Sunday: Using technology to have interactive sermons (quizzes, surveys, word clouds, etc.) leading to more engagement with the church and higher attendance.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. No partners wanted to try it.
8513-Theological Explainer Videos: Create a library of whiteboard videos that explain theological concepts in 2 minutes. The videos will be on YouTube, the 2nd largest search engine in the world.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: Our first 6 videos are done. We are in production for 3 more! (It takes about a month to do each new one.) Want to see the first videos? HERE they are.
8514- <Unnamed> (was EpiscoPALS): To connect US high school students with Palestinian high school students with the goal of creating deep accompanying relationships among the faithful.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8515-Home Sermons: Weekly 3 minute sermon videos to be used by Eucharistic ministers as they take communion to the homebound.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: While trying out new ways of distributing the videos during this pandemic, we created an online community for them. Some 1,750 people now like and follow the Facebook page where we post the weekly videos. Check the videos out at Good News on the Go.
8516-Baptism Revival: Create a parish neighborhood baptism revival reaching those who have no church relationship.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8517-HeartEdge USA: Helping to expand the HeartEdge network in the US. Building association, learning, development, and resource of congregations on the edge.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: The US group is now meeting monthly and working on how to expand the work here. A new course on "Being With" will be released this year. You can see more about it on the HeartEdge Facebook page. If you join HeartEdge, there's a special practitioners page with chats and resources.
8518-EpiscoPALS (formerly Text Abbey): Create an SMS-based community that connects seniors to each other, to younger members of the congregations, and to the community.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: The experiment is taking place in Spring, Texas.
8519-Virtual Supply Priest: Creating a network of great Episcopal preachers who can provide recorded video sermons for congregations who do not have a Sunday clergy person and will instead offer Morning Prayer.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8520-Touring Gospel Choir: Organize a touring gospel choir who can go to various Episcopal communities to perform. In each community, the choir will lead a master class for local Episcopal choirs on how to best use the gospel music in our tradition.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8521-Modern Christian Radio: A streaming radio station that plays contemporary music but has Christian messages in between the music.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. It was too expensive.
8522-Street Bible: Produce person on the street interview videos with a re-enactment (and correction!) that make learning Bible truths fun and provide a first step on the path to discipleship.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It did not work. The end result was not entertaining enough.
8523-Cleaning Monks: Create a low-barrier, low-investment, and replicable model of a social enterprise that can provide jobs (as a ministry) and where profits can support the mission of the sponsoring congregation.
This experiment is in CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. No partners wanted to try it.
8524-Millennial Travel Experience: Work with an experienced tour operator to create a trip that can fill the "spiritual experience" desires of millennials.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8525-Evangelism Theater: Organize a small tour for a theatrical show that can be performed in a church and thus make it easy for people to invite their friends to church and have a conversation about spirituality.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8526-The How to Try Podcast: A podcast that's a recorded conversation between an executive coach and someone who's trying new things in the church.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. No partners wanted to try it.
8527-Transformation Weekend: Similar to a self-improvement weekend but fully Christian and the goal is to transform the participants into committed followers of Jesus.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD ... BUT ...Like some of the others, we can plan it now for when we can gather again after the pandemic.
8528-Prayer Puppets (formerly Modern Mr. Rogers): If Mr. Rogers were starting his show in 2019, what might it look like? How would it incorporate technology? And what if it was also a tool for Christian formation. We (cardigans in hand) aim to find out.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: We will officially launch the puppets at the FORMA conference later this month.
8529-Two Podcasts: Create two podcasts to reach new audiences where they are. One, aimed at the LGBTQ community with questions and answers to their spiritual and religious questions. The second one is called "A Priest and a Singer" and it will intersperse inspirational Christian messages with cover acoustic versions of contemporary hit music.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. The podcast market is too saturated to enter.
8530-Virtual Kitchen: There is a need right now for virtual restaurants that can deliver food later in the evening. And many churches have commercially graded kitchens. This experiment will explore how the kitchens can be rented out to local entrepreneurs or used by the church itself to raise funds for mission and ministry.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. No partners wanted to try it.
8531-Social Justice Action Alerts: Develop short "mini-documentaries" that can mobilize people to take action on social justice.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It worked! We were able to go from a 3% engagement to a 48% engagement of Facebook posts!
8532-Regenerative Gardens: Develop a replicable design for church gardens that follows the principles of healing gardens as developed for hospitals.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. No partners wanted to try it.
8533-Young Adult Didactic Novels: Develop a series of on-demand and digital books aimed at a young adult audience that teach the life of discipleship.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: We will soon test to see if there's a market.
8534-Episcopal Prayer Skill in Spanish: Taking what we have learned from our Alexa Skill experiment to develop a Spanish-language version that will be available on the Android platform.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. Spanish speakers are not using Alexa.
8535-Alexa Phase 2: To grow the current skill on Alexa to be on the Google Assistant. Also, to produce it in Spanish.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: It worked. And the ministry now belongs to Forward Movement.
8536-Digital Collection Plate Phase 2: Taking what we learned from the first phase and developing a kiosk solution for congregations to accept digital payments.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8537-Design Research Team: Build out a team trained in design thinking to research experiment opportunities.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: Our team is trained and working with a congregation in Illinois in their youth ministry.
8538-Latino Ministry Launch: Taking the success of the Latino Ministry in a Box experiment (8506) and helping to launch it as an ongoing ministry.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: We are currently putting all the parts in place so that we can begin once people can gather in person again.
8539-Administrative Hubs: To eliminate redundancy by creating administrative hubs that can do work for multiple congregations at once.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. Several dioceses are already moving this idea along.
8540-Comic Con: To have a presence at the international convention to meet younger audiences where they are. Also an opportunity to do research on the same audience.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. Comic-Con didn't want us there.
8541- Growth Path: To create a path for congregations to assess where they are in order to ready themselves to implement church growth programs.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8542- Spanish Missalette: To create a seasonal Spanish language missalette for use in congregations that have Spanish language services.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8543- Crossing the Threshold: How can we create a way for people to be helped/mentored into the church? This way, new people will not feel like outcasts.
This experiment is CLOSED.
Result: Abandoned. There was no real angle for us to exploit to create something new.
8544 – YouTube Channel: To create a YouTube channel aimed at young adults that covers spirituality from the perspective of one young adult.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: Ellie has launched the channel. Check it out.
8545 – Mall Church: To create a pop-up store front church that can minister to workers and shoppers in a mall during a busy season.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8546 – VBS For Latino/a Ministry: To create a culturally Latino/a Vacation Bible School in English aimed at young Latinos/as.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8547 – Re-imagined Easter Vigil: To utilize the new Book of Occasional Services and elements from the catechumenate and the Primitive Church to bring together young people to re-imagine the Easter Vigil service to be a sensory experience that (re)kindles their spirituality.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: Working with a congregation in Illinois to innovate their youth ministry. We are in the process of gathering information from congregational leaders and secondary resources. Next, we'll begin the process of turning those insights into ideas.
8548 – English Language Misa: To create a culturally Latino/a Eucharistic service aimed at second+ generation Latinos/as.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8549 - Eight Minutes Podcast: a podcast aimed at helping parents talk to their children about faith.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: The podcast is in early development testing but as with most things in the field these days, it's taking a bit longer.
8550 - COVID-19 Response: quick initiatives to respond to the pandemic.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: In response to the pandemic, we have done a Digital Church Guide, Dial-A-Priest (see 8551), Crowdfunding in a Box (see 8553), and several webinars. Is there something else we could be doing? Let us know!
8551 - Dial-a-Priest: Phone line connecting retired Episcopal clergy with those needing end of life prayers.
This experiment is CLOSED.
RESULT: It did not work as anticipated but still provided much learning.
8552 - "OPENS" on Facebook: Creating a community on Facebook of people who are open to the message of the church but are unchurched. The FB DNA of the group can then be "mirrored" to connect with people in local contexts. (in development)
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: Check out the update here.
8553 - Crowdfunding in a Box (CFB): a complete easy-to-implement system for churches to follow to create a crowdfunding campaign.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: We started with 34 congregations and nine have completed or are in the process of completing their videos. Soon, we'll start to evaluate the results!
8554 - Plating by Radio: To plant a Spanish-speaking congregation utilizing local radio airtime to build community as the first step.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: The show came out sounding so good that the experiment will now expand into a weekly syndicated radio show for Spanish-speaking stations in the U.S. Stay tuned for more on this soon!
8555 - Latino/a Stewardship: To develop an easy-to-implement system for envelope based Latino stewardship system.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: COVID HOLD.
8556 - Mission Clarity: To develop a simple method for congregations to find their true mission.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: We will launch this as a workshop in the Spring.
8557 - Digital Confirmation: To develop a digital gamified version of the confirmation journey culminating with their confirmation.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: We are developing content based on the best resources. We had a great response to our call for partners last month and should be able to test it in a diverse group of places.
8558 - National Prayer Line: Creating a national prayer hotline staffed by Episcopal clergy volunteers that can be activated quickly in response to national events.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: The National Prayer Line has now been activated twice for special events. It works. We are looking for a permanent home for the line.
8559 - Church 2030: Where is the church headed so that we can best prepare? We are training two people in futures thinking and foresight practice (focusing on practical tools, processes, and methodologies). Their work will inform the work of TryTank and the church.
This experiment is in DEVELOPMENT.
LATEST: See the Director's Letter in our January newsletter. The Signals Network is a core part of this work.
