About Sunday Software   |   About Neil MacQueen

About Us  

The owner, President, chief raconteur, and janitor of Sunday Software Inc. is Neil MacQueen (me), a Presbyterian minister, Sunday School teacher, and self-taught computer geek.

I started teaching with software in my suburban Chicago church back in 1990. I quickly realized we had a tiger by the tail, and started telling other churches about what we were doing and learning. To meet growing interest in our project, in 1996 I formed "Sunday School Software Inc." with two other church members, while still serving as the Associate Pastor there. And that's when things unexpectedly took off. 

Sometimes you look around and wonder "who will do this?" In the case of Christian education software I decided to say, "Here I am." So, in the Fall of '96 I moved from full-time parish work to full-time work on Sunday Software.  My family and I moved the company back to central Ohio where my wife and I had grown up. I still teach with computers in Sunday School. In Presbyterian terminology I am classified as an inter-denominational worker and my software company is what they call a  'validated ministry.'

In the early 2000's we began to develop our own software, as well as, carry other people's good software.

A variety of folks constitute the "we" in our ministry. I am also blessed to work several highly skilled independent service providers, programmers, artists, sound recordists, voice and video talent -most of whom have been working with us for many years. We have a great creative and service team who go above and beyond the call every time. Learn more about our people.

Here's WHAT we do and are:

• We find the good stuff. We are the ONLY catalog of Christian software that's reviewed, tested and proven for use in Christian education. If we/I don't like it, you won't see it in our catalog. (View a list of the software we don't recommend.) Unlike some denominational publishers and bookstores, we have no contractual ties that force us to carry inferior product. We write our own descriptions and give you more than a 3 sentence statement and a box shot.
  
• We are now {trumpets please} "the largest producer of Christian education software in the known universe." We have released more new & different Christian titles than any other producer, mainly because our customers need them!

• We've made it a point to know our software IN DETAIL. I teach with this stuff too and can help you pick software, as well as, discuss lesson ideas, theology, and CE ministry in general.
  
• We're no "Johnny-come-lately" to Christian software. We're not just trying to fill a page in a catalog or supplement our income. This is our full-time passion and vocation. We were here when the big publishers thought this market was too small. We've outlasted the small fly-by-nights that have come and gone. We're in the long haul. So forth and so on.
  
• We write and distribute free teaching materials to go with the software. We also give personal support to teachers, pastors and Christian Education directors.
  
• We look at everywhere and at everything on the market (often in places few are looking). We look at software even before it hits the market and give advice to the producers. In fact, some software producers come to us first with their program ideas to ask what a teacher's needs might be. That's cool.
  
• We make it our business to inform software developers of the needs of the church and teachers. We seek to influence their products and marketing decisions. And sometimes they actually listen to us!
  
• We provide on-going training. Our email newsletter is a major source of reminders, insights and new ideas. 
  
• We provide expert technical support. When you buy software from us, you are entitled to as much technical and teaching support as you need. Our website technical pages offer extensive help and I'm always available via phone or email.

• Our customers include Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Southern Baptist, Mennonites, American Baptists, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics, to name a few. (We ship software overseas to every continent and even quite a few islands.) As a seminary grad, teacher and minister I can help you sort through any theological needs or cautions you may have about software choices. Because a second opinion is always a good thing, I have a page of Customer Quotes posted here.
  
• "Rotation Spoken Here" --We're involved with a grassroots movement to revamp Sunday School called the Workshop Rotation Model. I actually co-authored "the" book on that Model, so go ahead, ask me questions!

Who is Neil MacQueen?

I'm a husband, father, Presbyterian minister, and founder and president of Sunday Software Inc. I've worked in Christian education for the past 28+ years in several capacities: as Associate Minister in two churches, youth leader, Sunday School teacher, Confirmation leader, camp counselor, church elder, deacon, consultant, curriculum writer, and lately as a "Parish Associate" in two congregations.

I'm a 1985 graduate of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary with an undergrad degree from Ohio State (not in computer science). My wife (Malinda) and I have three children. We started Sunday Software when we lived in Chicago and in 1996 moved it with us to Columbus Ohio, our hometown.

In 2008 we moved to St. Croix in the USVI for a 4 year "cultural and warm weather adventure" [but we still ship out of Columbus~Hilliard]. I also currently serve as the "Parish Associate" in a local Reformed church. I'm an avid NHL fan and ocean kayaker.

Many people also know me from my work with the Workshop Rotation Movement --a new model for Sunday School that can include a computer lab. When you call our ministry I (usually) answer the phone and I like a good talk, so don't call in a rush.

I do a little writing and free CE consulting on the side. I've published three books, one with Augsburg titled, Computers, Kids and Christian Education, another titled, Workshop Rotation with Presbyterian Publishing, and our seminal manual, Teaching with Computers in Christian Education. I have published articles in numerous magazines, including Church Educator, Children's Ministry, Your Church, Net Results, Church Web Advisor, Alert, Advocate, Christian Computing, and Presbyterian Outlook. I write a CE & Church Tech Resource blog at www.sundayresources.net and I am also the volunteer web guy for www.rotation.org.

Who else is Sunday Software?

We work with a variety of people and companies to bring you great software and service.

Jim Ramsey (pictured right) -- also known as "Captain Dew Rag," Jim has provided all the shipping and receiving services for Sunday Software since 2000.

Shelley MacQueen -- Shelley helps out in the family business, providing accounting, office, and catalog support. She is also one of our software testers.

Our Software Development Team: Neil works with a number of multimedia guys to develop software. This talented team includes: Colin MacQueen (SoundWrangler), Ben Diehl (PupuPlatters.com),  Deni Yagci (Divine Games), Gilbert Arcand (Montreal Models), Philip Williams (Staircasestudios), Mike Gale (Sonsoft), Tregg Duhigg (Mojomedia), and Marc Ankermann (Ankermann Solutions).

At any given time, our team is hard at work developing another great new title. And a BIG part of that team is our customers. We actively solicit feedback about our software release so that we can improve them. And we email our customers about upcoming projects so that our customers can be part of the process. Unlike many developers and development companies, our designs and features reflect actual classroom use and customer input. Most developers and distributors don't actually teach with their software. We do.

Theologically Speaking....

Occasionally new customers ask about my theology, or they ask if we have a statement of faith.  So here you go:

    All the Bible scholars, theologians and Bible verses put together can't tell us half as much as we'll someday hear from God in person. God told us the Good News in person through Jesus, the Word made flesh. God's heart is full of grace and forgiveness, and God wants us to spend more time doing acts of love, than arguing ad infinitum over doctrine.

To call anything infallible or inerrant other than God is what the Bible calls "idolatry." The Bible is the inspired witness to God's interaction with his people in history. Like all good parents, God will hold his children accountable, but God's eternal love for each of us is more powerful than God's anger.

The only true church is the people of God acting like Christ (or at least confessing that they are supposed to be!). Any one denomination or theological tradition is at most only a portion of the Body of Christ. Those which claim exclusive knowledge are fools (in the un-biblical sense). The forces of divisiveness and factionalism in the Church are the spawn of Satan (in the figurative sense). We're not called to agree with one another on everything, but rather, to love one another.

The highest calling in the church is to raise up children in the way they should go. Our Sunday School kids, -are both disciples now, and for the future. They are the parents, Sunday School teachers, and church leaders of tomorrow. Thus, when a child grows up learning their Bible stories and loving God, they can affect generations to come. That is how I answer the cheapskates who think folding chairs and tile floors are fine equipment to teach God's word with. It's not just about one kid, it's about all the other people that one Sunday School kid can eventually affect, and all the good things all of them can do in God's name. That's why I'm passionate about Sunday School, and teaching with attractive new tools like software.

Plain fact of the matter is you can't teach a kid who isn't there, doesn't want to be there, or isn't coming back. And yet kids love computers and enjoy learning Bible stories with them. Now you know why there is a ministry that's also happens to be a "C corp" called Sunday Software Inc.

<>< Neil

Contact Info
Sunday Software Inc.
4368 Brickwood Dr.
Hilliard Ohio 42026
(in NW Columbus)

1-614-527-8776
1-800-678-1948..

Email: neil@sundaysoftware.com
Website: www.sundaysoftware.com
Owner: (Rev.) Neil MacQueen

Read what our customers say about us, and the idea of Computers in Christian Education.

Musings on our Existence
Notes for Developers & Publishers

We are now the oldest "surviving" Christian software distributor and producer focusing on children and youth titles -who is still producing new software. There were some companies that pre-dated us, or came after us. But they are either gone now, or they carry a limited variety of software, or their main business is something other than software, --or they aren't producing new titles anymore. We've grown quite a bit in the past years thanks to the support of our customers, and what we think is the right approach to selecting and producing software. But we're still pretty small in comparison to many resource providers.

That's a blessing, but I am also reminded that James Cagney once bragged in a movie that HE TOO was "on top of the world, Ma" just before being blown to smithereens.

Occasionally a new company or interested developer will ask me the following two questions. I don't believe Sunday Software should be the only kid on the CE software block. The Bible is a big book. --So here's what I tell them:

How did we survive?
And how have we grown?

1. We've stayed focused on what I know best ~ software for Christian education and the needs of the local church. Many Christian developers have come and "gone on" to other things.

2. Being picky about software. Our customers appreciate that we have an opinion. And those who provide us with good stuff appreciate the sales and loyalty.

3. Recognition that Elaborate and Expensively Produced games usually put the developer out of business, as the Christian marketplace rarely supports such efforts, however well intentioned. Such customers usually only buy one copy and don't come back for more. Whereas the Church has a HUGE need for "teaching games" to attract and inform kids. We are not competing against $50 million dollar Nintendo games, but boring Sunday School curriculum.

4. A belief in offering personal teaching and technical support. Christians and churches expect it, and we enjoy providing it. Churches want content, and teachers want guides to help prepare with. And they want software that can be used in a typical Sunday School class timeframe.

5. A belief in directing profit back into new software, and moving the medium forward -rather than siphoning off profits like some publishers do. Coupled with this belief is a desire to explore new ways of presenting material on the computer screen, and not simply creating cookie-cutter programs.

6. A belief that our first version of every program isn't our last. We have a commitment to making every new program better. Too many developers are one-trick ponies.

7. A belief that the race is not to the swift, but to the enduring.  Some developers put everything they have into one Big title and last about 2 years. We develop good -but modestly elaborate software and make our return on it over a period of many years, not just a few. This model gives us stability and longevity, which builds trust and relationships with our customers, developers, and suppliers.

8. Avoiding traditional "bookstore" distribution channels and not limiting ourselves to one distributor. Many good developers have suffered from such.

9. A belief that people will pay a fair price for good software, and thus, we don't have to engage in Wal-Mart pricing. Those developers who think cheaply priced software produces more good software don't last long.

10. A belief that this is truly a mission field. I used to think the denominational and independent publishers would eventually knock us out, or beat a path to our door. But I've learned that this mission business is for the few who "get it" and are willing to persist in it. But they must also do the things that work, rather than let their enthusiasm blind them to the lessons others have learned.

If you are a developer who would like to talk about your program or ideas, contact me. neil@sundaysoftware.com  My advice is free, and occasionally correct!

<>< Neil MacQueen