ABOUT SUNDAY SOFTWARE and NEIL MACQUEEN
We have closed our retail door and donated all our software to the supporting members of www.Rotation.org, a terrific non-profit Sunday School ministry which I helped found in 1997 and where I continue to serve as webmaster and Lead Writer. See 18 titles and their teaching docs in Rotation.org’s Software Forum where they are available for free to the supporting members of that site.
Scroll down to learn more about our “closing.”
Sunday Software’s owner, President and chief raconteur is Neil MacQueen (me), a Presbyterian minister (PCUSA), Sunday School teacher, curriculum writer, and computer geek. For 20+ years Sunday Software was my livelihood, passion, and “validated” inter-denominational ministry (as they say in my denomination). My main gig these days is serving as webmaster and lead writer for Rotation.org, a ministry supporting creative Sunday Schools.
I started Sunday Software in 1996 to be an independent, ecumenical company focused on Bible software for children’s Christian education. We created 18 of our own software programs! …and featured the best of what other producers had to offer.
About Our Journey and “Closing”
Sunday Software has closed its “virtual” retail door and donated all its software to the supporting members of www.Rotation.org, a terrific non-profit Sunday School ministry which I helped found in 1997 and where I continue to serve as Lead Writer. See all 18 titles and their teaching docs in Rotation.org’s Software Forum.
For over two decades we produced more individual Bible software titles than any other publisher and stayed in business longer than any other Christian software publisher. It’s been a fantastic run and we have been blessed to support tens of thousands of Sunday Schools over the years. But there is a time and season for every purpose under heaven.
It has always been one of my dreams to give away our software, and so we have to the supporting members of www.Rotation.org — people who care about creative Sunday School and not the “same old” Sunday School resources. We’re also “releasing” the licensing restrictions to our customers so that you can install the software you’ve purchased from us on as many PCs in your church as needed, and share the software with your church families for in-home use. (The software may still not be publicly distributed.)
When I started Sunday Software LITERALLY in my basement, I didn’t know if it would work. Quite a few people thought I was crazy, and some even said I was “elitist.” They said, “churches can’t afford computers,” and “kids don’t learn from screens.” 20+ years and a learning-with-computers revolution later… we’ve passed on the mantle and our software.
I updated ALL the Teaching Guides for our software programs and posted them in the public software forum at Rotation.org. Sundaysoftware.com’s SUPPORT PAGES will remain online into 2021. We will also continue to keep descriptions of software and our articles for new volunteers who discover our software among their church’s resources. If you need help, don’t hesitate to email me at neil@sundaysofware.com.
It has been a blast and a blessing. Thank you.
P.S. I’ve had a running joke on various anniversaries to publish a photo of “what Sunday Software has done to me.” Below is my last update. Please be advised this is not an obituary. 😉
My Story
I started teaching with software in my suburban Chicago church back in 1990 where I was serving as Associate Pastor. We quickly realized we had a teaching tiger by the tail, and soon other churches were asking how we did it. To meet growing interest in our project, in 1996 I formed “Sunday School Software Inc,” and that’s when things unexpectedly took off.
Sometimes you look around and wonder “who will do this?” And you realize, the answer is you. In the case of Christian education software, I decided to say, “Here I am, Send Me.”
In the Fall of ’96, I moved from full-time parish work to full-time work on Sunday Software to see what we could do with this exciting new teaching medium. In Presbyterian terminology, I’m classified as a “validated ministry” doing “inter-denominational work.” At that time we also moved back the family back Columbus where my wife and I grew up.
Many people know me from my work with the Workshop Rotation Model for Sunday School. Prior to starting Sunday Software, in 1990 I helped create the Workshop Rotation Model, a model that has spread to thousands of churches. One of the new “workshops” we created was the Bible Computer Workshop, and that’s why many Rotation churches also teach with software.
In 1997, I founded the Rotation movement’s website (www.rotation.org) and recruited a board of directors to run it. In 2005, we incorporated Rotation.org as a non-profit and I stepped away from leading it while continuing to provide advice. In 2015 they invited me back to become their webmaster and Lead Writer.
In the early 2000’s, Sunday Software began to develop its own software, while continuing to carry other people’s good software. Sunday Software has now released more Bible story and Bible game software programs than any other company.
In 2008 my family and I moved from Ohio to St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a “great adventure.” While there I served as the Parish Assistant in a Reformed Church. In 2012 we moved to Florida to get medical help for one of our kids. I served as an Interim Pastor for Children and Youth in a Bradenton area church while continuing to work at Sunday Software. In 2015, Rotation.org called me to become their Lead Writer.
In 2018 we followed our kids and new grandkids back to Columbus Ohio. We closed our “virtual doors” on Sunday Software and gave away our software to Rotation.org.
THEOLOGICALLY SPEAKING…
I was raised in the Presbyterian Church USA, got my M. Div at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and I am an ordained Presbyterian minister. Along with my publishing ministry, I have served in two full-time pastorates, two Parish Associate positions, and one interim pastorate. I consider myself progressive, inclusive, and open-minded.
You can contact me at neil@sundaysoftware.com