Resources for ministry are just a click away. Networking online is vital to communicate your faith story in strategic ways.

Update your church officer list

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, each church must make any changes in its church officer list, in the Conference’s online database.

Go to www.okumc.org  and follow these links: Finance—Local Church Officer Update Information—Instructions for Updating Church Information. You will need your church’s Brick River log-in code. Send questions to websupport@okumc.org  or mmyers@okumc.org.

This update and its timing are critical to communicate accurately at all levels of our Church in Oklahoma. Names, addresses, email, and other data are vital to connect us—including this newspaper!

Posting for friends and fans

Here are a few Facebook tips.

• Write posts for a 15- to 20-second attention span.

• Don’t make every interaction "churchy." Ask what’s happening. Worst fishing story? Best vacation experience?

• Follow the 80/20 rule. On your page, link to and promote others 80 percent of the time; use only 20 percent for self-promotion. This builds trust and grows fans and friends.

• Extend pastoral care as you read and learn of needs on other pages.

• Leave negative posts on the page and respond proactively, questioningly. How you respond determines how others perceive you.

Check out the Media Library

Four more DVDs about John and Charles Wesley are available in the Media Library. To check out these resources, contact Amelia Ballew, 405-530-2075, aballew@okumc.org.

"A Heart Set Free: The Life, Ministry, and Lyrics of Charles Wesley." This documentary has chapters. 101 minutes total.

"Wesley." John Wesley heartfelt struggles, his passion for authentic faith expressing itself through meaningful kingdom work, and his message of saving grace resonate with all ages. 117 minutes.

"Sweet Singer: a Musical about Charles Wesley" tells the story behind many of Charles’ great hymns. 90 minutes.

"Encounters with John Wesley." Follow John around the English countryside, meeting people and preaching the Gospel. This DVD has dramatized versions of four sermons. 89 minutes.

Copyrights require attention

The importance of securing copyright permissions cannot be overstated. As God’s representatives, we seek to be "above reproach" (1 Timothy 3:1-2) in legal matters.

For songs and video playback, a majority of Oklahoma Conference churches hold licenses with Christian Copyright Licensing Inc. (CCLI), which offers coverage to nonprofits for about 200,000 religious songs.

Using an artist’s original music to add sound to a PowerPoint or video created by you is not covered by these licenses.

CCLI Church Copyright License allows your church to legally copy, store, and project songs to assist with congregational singing within the worship service.

The CCLI Church Rehearsal License is now available, to legally copy and share commercial CD recordings of songs your musicians want to learn. You can send out music through email, flash drives, and on worship planning websites. Go to the CCLI website, to the online reporting page, search and verify a song is covered, and report the number of copies and date. Without this step, you are not covered.

The CCLI Church Streaming & Podcast License allows streaming or podcasting of your church’s live musical performances of certain songs. This license is affordable, covers all CCLI songs, and there’s no reporting necessary!

Your church needs the Church Copyright License to also get the two newer licenses.

Here are two other valuable contacts as your church endeavors to stay copyright-compliant.

• Christian Copyright Solutions (CCS) offers a wider set of music licensing from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. www.copyrightsolver.com.

• Christian Video Licensing Inc. (CVLI) is a sibling organization of CCLI. www.cvli.com

More pertinent information about copyright laws: A church cannot charge a fee for streaming or podcasting a service nor grant a third party the right to stream, podcast, or otherwise digitally transmit songs in any manner. A church cannot stream or podcast pre-recorded music, such as artist or record-label recordings of songs sold commercially. —Nyla Wallin

Quick links at www.okumc.org

• The "Donations" button at www.okumc.org  enables you to give online directly to Special Sundays and Conference ministries. You can contribute one time or make recurring gifts, and the electronic process is certified secure. The Conference Treasurer’s Office manages this.

• Did you know you can download the Conference Calendar to your computer to use with Outlook, Google, or any other email program that has a calendar feature? Click "View Calendar" at www.okumc.org,  then look for "iCal" on the Calendar page. Click "iCal" to download the file to your computer. Then import it into your email program by following the software instructions.

National awards go to Dept. of Communications

The Oklahoma Conference Department of Communications received four awards recently from the national United Methodist Association of Communicators (UMAC).

The honors were announced on Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C., at the association’s 2012 Annual Meeting.

An Award of Excellence for Special Publications recognized this year’s commemorative issue of Contact, the Magazine. Its theme was "Weaving a Witness in Oklahoma."

Certificates of Merit were given to three department projects.

The historical video "Woven Together for Transformation" was recognized in the category of Video Production Costing $500 to $2,000. The video introduced the Oklahoma Methodist story to delegates at the 2012 South Central Jurisdictional Conference. (View it online at www.okumc.org;  choose OKVideo.)

The 2012 Summer Camps materials designed by the department proved the effectiveness of using multiple media for a single purpose. The entry was honored in the Campaign/Strategic Planning category, Publicity & Advertising class.

The Contact was awarded a certificate in the Newspaper category. Three issues were submitted for judging as a group.