This quarter, we’ll be going over and sharing three digital tools with you that can help your ministry grow to a better online presence and, as a result, a wider audience for God!
Every tool we suggest will be put to the test, and we’ll let you know about its advantages and disadvantages. I want to clarify that Digital Club Ministry is not being sponsored by any of the tools reviewed here.
Here are the TOP 3 tools for this quarter, without further ado:
1. Adobe Express – (Content Creation Tool) – https://new.express.adobe.com/
This is the latest single task-based web and mobile platform from ADOBE to create content. Adobe Creative Cloud Express (previously Adobe Spark) It is a quick and fairly easy to use tool where you can create rich multimedia content, from social network posts and tales to invitations and marketing materials like banners, brochures, and logos. Students, Educators, business and specially Ministries can take advantages of this app and its flexibility.
If you know what you want to design but don’t know where to begin, Adobe Express offers hundreds of lovely, customizable templates to get you started. Additionally, you can search and browse the whole library of royalty-free Adobe Stock* images as well as Adobe Fonts directly within the app.
With the help of this adaptable application, you can add new elements to photos or remove undesired ones, improving any type of content. I utilize it in practically all of my projects since it’s one of my favorites. Additional capabilities enabled by Adobe’s decades of experience include additional quick actions to remove backgrounds, convert videos to GIFs, merge videos, convert to PDFs, and more.
Creative pros can leverage brand kits—a place within the app where you can store your branding files—and seamless collaboration to expedite the creation of mobile content for social marketing teams. Because Firefly and Adobe Express are connected, knowledge workers and enterprise marketers can easily expand the generation of on-brand content for mobile devices.
Key Adobe Express mobile app features include:
- Text to Image: Quickly create a new look for a project by instantly generating extraordinary new images with Firefly generative AI.
- Generative Fill: Insert, remove or replace people, objects and more with simple text prompts.
- Text Effects: Make attention-grabbing headlines, copy and messages that pop with text stylings using generative AI.
- Video: Get started with unique templates, combine video clips, images and music, add animations, and generate real-time captions in 100+ languages – instantly. Video timeline, layer timing and support for 4K video features make it simple to create social-first videos from anywhere.
- Expanded Content and Templates: Access thousands of stunning video and multipage templates, more than 25,000 Adobe Fonts and hundreds of thousands of Adobe Stock videos, music tracks and image and design assets.
- Quick Actions: Edit photos and videos, remove background and resize images with just one click.
- Content Scheduler: Plan, preview, schedule and publish to social media channels like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and more, quickly and easily.
- Brand Kits: Upload and share brand assets and easily use brand fonts, colors and logos on any design to speed up on-brand content creation.
- Collaboration: Real-time co-editing and seamless review and commenting capabilitiesadd speed to the creation process
The Good!
All things considered, Adobe Express is a rather reliable and user-friendly web application including excellent templates and other aspects that are available for free.
Using the templates and suggested designs, you may complete the designs quickly and even share them online for teamwork with other members.
They offer a ton of free lessons and videos where you can learn how to make stunning material from the ground up.
Using the scheduling function, which allows you to connect your social media channels to post efficiently, is quite practical.
Very user-friendly for novices as well as seasoned designers with knowledge of Adobe or other creative software.
For my own projects, I’m utilizing this app more and more, and I can see the benefits it offers to my workflow—where quality and speed are critical.
The Bad!
I don’t see many drawbacks to Adobe Express because it has so many benefits. The first one that comes to mind—and possibly the only one, in my humble opinion—is that, despite the large number of templates that are available in the free edition, you must purchase a premium membership in order to access the professionally created templates and other resources. I promise that the investment is worthwhile!
2. You Version – (Spiritual Tool) – https://www.youversion.com/
Created by Bobby Gruenewald (born July 31, 1976) Pastor and Innovation Leader at Life Church, a multisite church based in Oklahoma. YouVersion Bible App is the latest single task-based web and mobile platform free Bible experience for smartphones, tablets, and online at Bible.com. The Web/App has more than 3,000 Bible versions in 2,000 languages for free, and without advertising.
I started using this incredibly user-friendly and useful App on my phone as my personal bible, and I now use the web version for creating content design. From the app, you can highlight favorites bible verses using a color system and you can share those verses via email or through different social channels. There are some practical tools as well, like Bookmarks to help you remember verses, Image, where you can create an image out of a bible verse and share it and one of my favorites Plans that you can save, read and even create reminders for your personal daily devotionals.
The Good!
Since I have been using this app for a while and haven’t really found any drawbacks to discuss, I will just focus on how wonderful it is that it’s free to use and is, after all, like having the bible in your pocket! There’s no better way to make the most of your mobile device than to read the Bible wherever you are at any time!
I adore the ability to personalize your bible reading experience by adjusting the text size and backdrop color to a darker shade, which helps you read the bible without lighting up the entire room when you open your smartphone.
3. CHAT GPT – (AI Tool) – https://chat.openai.com/
ChatGPT “Generative Pre-trained Transformer,” is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that simulates human speech through natural language processing. The language model may write emails, articles, essays, code, social media postings, and other textual content in addition to responding to queries.
Generative AI refers to ChatGPT, a technology that allows users to input prompts and receive AI-generated images, text, or videos that resemble people.
Because users can ask questions and get clarifications on responses from ChatGPT, it resembles the automated chat services available on customer support websites. Through the use of specialized algorithms, ChatGPT’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer identifies patterns in data sequences. The transformer pulls from a significant amount of data to formulate a response. Reward models that rate the best answers and human input are used to train ChatGPT using reinforcement learning. By adding machine learning to ChatGPT, this input helps make future responses even better.
CLICK HERE if you are interested to read more in deep about this fantastic topic from a complete article from TechTarget.com.
The Good!
When utilized appropriately, ChatGPT can be a very useful resource for your ministry. Use AI technology as a tool or foundation to generate ideas to reach others for Jesus, as I specifically say in my presentations to club directors, educators, and leaders of other ministries. However, be sure to double-check the outcomes you are obtaining from it. Examine and verify the data that the program offers.
Without a doubt, AI-enabled technologies have revolutionized a number of industries thanks to their many benefits, like; reducing human error, automatizing repetitive tasks, handling big data, facilitating quick decision making, performing risky tasks, assisting in medical applications among ohers.
It’s now obvious that artificial intelligence (AI) can outsmart humans and complete any given task far more quickly and correctly. Furthermore, there is no denying AI’s enormous potential, which contributes to making the world a better place to live.
But nothing comes close to the perfection and beauty of the human brain, which was made by God. In the end, human brains are what actually develop technology like this one..
The Bad!
Because of the potential applications, the employment of AI tools in general has generated considerable concern. Our duty as Christian educators and leaders is to represent Christ, and this obligation extends to our digital lives as well.
Unfortunately, as young people – and adults as well – become accustomed to the idea that an AI tool can write articles, assignments, or replies for them, conversational GPT may negatively impact their capacity to absorb and apply knowledge.
It is our responsibility to continue researching these kinds of technologies with an open mind and a prayerful heart to make sure we use them appropriately—that is, in a way that will advance our spiritual development and strengthen our bonds with our community so that we can spread our beliefs and morals to others.
Sources mentioned and consulted:
Marlee Bever, Adobe – March 07, 2024 – New Adobe Express Mobile App Brings Firefly Generative AI Models Directly into Mobile Workflows.
Article created by:
Luis Agudelo – Founder of Digital Club Ministry
Luis is a Colombian native who has spent the previous 24 years living in the United States. He, his spouse, and their two young children, ages three and five, reside in the state of Florida. He holds degrees in digital design, computers, and electronics and has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He has been blessed to assist other leaders and ministries in the United States and South America through his ministry. He currently leads youth ministry in his town and church..