Essential programs for Missionaries

These are just a few of the programs that I use on a regular (if not daily) basis that have greatly enhanced my ministry in various ways.

TNTMPD
www.tntware.com

Tnt is a free program created by Troy Wolbrink, a Campus Crusade for Christ staff member. Here is how Troy describes his program:

TntMPD is a free program for managing your relationships with your ministry partners. Although anyone might find it useful, it is designed specifically for missionaries who raise their own support. The hope in sharing TntMPD with you is that you, a fellow missionary, will have more time to do what God has called you to do.

I have used TntMPD for several years now. For a while it acted mainly as a glorified address book for me. But now that my wife and I are actively raising and living on support, TntMPD has become an invaluable tool. It helps me easily keep track of my donors, current support levels, late reports....etc. TntMPD is a must have for anyone who raises their own support. Troy continues to make improvements and no doubt this program will continue to be tweaked and improved for years to come.

Skype
www.skype.com
Skype is a great and free Voice Over Internet Program, or VOIP. With a broadband connection, Skype acts much like an Instant Messenger program, but with voice chat capabilities. My wife and I use Skype to talk with friends and family around the world....and did I mention it was free!
My wife and I have made hundreds of phone calls to family in Brazil over the years. No doubt we have spent hundreds of dollars on phone cards and long distance charges. With Skype, the cost is ZERO. The quality is just as good, if not better than a traditional phone line.

Things you will need:
* Broadband internet connection.
* Speakers for your computer.
* Microphone for your computer. (my Dell laptop comes with a built in mic, cheek to see if yours does.)

(your friends and family will need to have all of the above to use Skype for free. There is a way for you to call a traditional phone line for a fee using SkypeOut, but why bother if you can use the internet)

A few other programs have entered the market to compete with Skype. Google has Google Talk (Google Talk) and Yahoo has added voice into their latest Yahoo! IM client. (Yahoo! IM) I have both, but have only used Google Talk for voice. It worked really well. I would recommend that as a missionary or ministry worker, you get them all. You supporters are likely to use a variety of these programs and if you have all of them you run a better chance of being able to communicate to more of your supporters.