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Connections Online Photo Directory
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Using the Your Online Directory as Communication Tool.

Connections Online Photo Directories began as the problem of maintaining an up-to-date church directory that would promote interactions and connections between members in a rapidly growing church and allow the church staff to have a common database of contact information that would facilitate church ministries. Thus there are two levels of communications that Connections Online Photo Directories is designed for. The first is to promote communications and connection of members. This is the part that most members see when downloading or searching the online photo directory. The second is as a shared contact database for team leaders. This part is only visible to those who have administrative access.

Everyone who is in the database of a Connections Directory need not be published in "public" directory. This allows your Connections Online Photo Directory to contain individuals who may not be ready to fully participate in your church.

Here is how it could work. Imagine that you have a guest that brings their child to the nursery for the first or second time. From the contact information form you have then fill out (for emergencies, allergies, etc.), you ask if they are a first time or second time visitor. If the answer is yes then after the service the nursery directory could enter their name and contact information and child's name into the database. In the notes section, view able only to those with administrative access, the nursery director could note: "First time attending, child has allergies to ..." or "Second time attending, ... should be contacted by John for follow up and to be made aware of possibilities for small groups."

To make finding recent notes easy Connections Online Photo Directory has a "Notes" menu item in the administrative section. This provides a dated list of recently entered notes. In the above example `John' could find the note entered by the nursery directory along with the contact information needed.

You can perhaps start to see the potential of using the Connections Online Photo Directory as a communication tool for ministry to follow up with or intentionally connecting new comers. Utilizing your Connections Online Photo Directory in this manner does require viewing it as a contact database rather than just a photo directory.