Podcast Episode 134: Podcast Episode 107: Special Edition with Jennifer Troeger

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Encouraging and inspiring, this interview with Rock Star Jennifer Troeger will put a smile on your face and motivation in your fingertips. Tune in to hear more about her journey in the Rock community from newbie to conference speaker.

Transcribed Content

This episode of Rockcast is brought to you by Rock partner Triumph Tech, a full service specialist partner. Rock partners provide crucial support for Spark Development Network and important services for the Rock community. Connect with Triumph Tech today at rockrms.com/partners. Welcome to this special edition of Rockcast where we have an interview with a member of our community, and we're very excited to have someone special with us today that I know a lot of people will recognize the name of and have been able to interact with. So we're excited about that. So welcome. I'm Emily Forman. I have Jon Edmiston and our special guest, Jennifer Traeger, who is the director of database services at Kensington Church. Welcome, Jennifer. Good morning. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Well, we're so excited to have you too. There is so much good stuff to cover, and I think that just having you here on the podcast with us is exciting. It's been a year where we've not connected with a lot of people in a lot of ways, so it's always fun to see a face and hear a conversation. But I think you have a lot to share with the community that they can relate to too. So let's start with telling us a little bit about Kensington and Rock. , go back to the beginning when and how you guys discovered Rock and decided to move to Rock. Sure. So we had started many years ago, we were on a different platform and we decided it was time to make a change. We had started investigating a couple other products out there and I don't exactly remember when someone mentioned the Rock platform to us, but we latched onto it. And it was 2016 where we sent a team to California for Rx 2016 and that's where we really started just ingesting everything we could and we started thinking, this could be the one. And it really just took off from there. We made that decision to really move forward and make our presentation to executive team that, yep, this is the direction we wanna go. From there, I think I went to master class in 2017, which I will say maybe was a little premature because we didn't launch until 2018. So I wanted all the knowledge, but I couldn't apply the knowledge. And that's the only reason why I felt I was just I wish it would have been really close to launch time, but we launched in 2018. Here we are today, 2021. So much has changed throughout the years. Not only has ROT grown with its platform, but I've grown in my role and in the community. And I will say I love my job. And part of the reason I love my job is because of Rock. Oh, wow. That's awesome. That's really cool. So I remember that conference in particular because we were pretty surprised when we showed up and realized in the middle of day one, many people were there investigating Rock for the first time. And I don't think we'd anticipated that. And we got to rearrange day two to have this whole, , intro to Rock, , answer questions at lunchtime things so that we could interact with churches that I think were in a similar position to yours. Do you remember attending that? Did you come to that session? Don't remember. I probably did. I probably did. Yeah. I think that was a time when we didn't realize quite how quickly the community growth was taking off. So that was an exciting time to be a part of. I don't remember that conference very well except this last week. Remember switching the way the room was laid out. It was supposed to go the long way. , we're supposed to all face the long way. And at the last minute, we chose to go the other way. And I think the church thought we were nuts doing it that way because they always did it the other way. And for some reason, was thinking about that. And then I was thinking about how the the production truck got stuck. Oh, yeah. That's right. We always focus on the things that go wrong. Right? Totally. And then I was literally thinking, I wonder how much they had to pay that tow truck to get them out of that. I think everybody else was gone except for my mind. Yeah. All the little things of changing all the pieces up. It was definitely a fun conference and I think we kind of got a taste for, oh, this is really starting to take off. Yeah. And so, , watch the I've been to every Rock conference since, right? It's a priority in my life and to see the transition of the conference over the years, not only has it grown with the number of attendees, but just the layout and the presentations that are given, the speakers and the topics, and it's really evolved in a great way. It's been so fun to help facilitate that. , lot of that growth has been, there's definitely a vision for where to go and and the community. But so many community members yourself have really stepped into that and said, hey. Not only am I learning incredible things, but I wanna package that up and share it with people. And that's really incredible about this community of people, and it takes everyone involved. And I'm so glad you mentioned the growth and evolution of the conference and the speakers because you had a presentation that really knocked some people's socks off the last time around. That was awesome. Lava for the layperson. And I have to tell you, , we didn't see it coming on this end. Really? , no, the community didn't see it coming. No one had yet attempted that topic in that way to make it accessible to people. And it was incredibly received. So that was Thank you. That was a great brainstorm, a great , it demonstrates so much learning growth, and it was incredible. I will tell you, there was a moment when because everything was virtual. Right? Yes. When John spoke about it and he called me out by name, promoting it, I literally, I was at home and I just screamed. , I couldn't believe he just said that. And I was so blown away by how well it was received. It really stemmed from a couple things. Number one, John, your words have impacted me so much over the You really need to know that. It started with the master class. You said anybody can learn lava and it sank. I will never forget those words. And and truly, you're a great teacher on it. You're , I just did the sequel class and I know there was a switcheroo, someone else was supposed to teach it. When you you came on the screen, I went, yes. , does everybody else appreciate this as much as I do? We got John. So so really that started it out. And then having gone to the conferences with kind of this expectation of what I wanted to get out of it. And I wanted to take something, learn something there that I could take back with me and put into practice right then and there. And one of my hurdles over the years has been LABA. And it's it's not I never thought it was inaccessible. It was just that I there were so many things that I would ask myself. I'd be , well, why are we using the person table instead of the person alias table here? And and when you're early on, you just go with it because this is what you're told. This is what you're given and it And you're , I gotta get this done. I'm putting it into practice. Here we go. Well, I just thought, , there's there is logic and reasoning behind it. So I wanna figure it out and I wanna share it. And I wanted to give a presentation that if I were sitting in the seats, I would wanna hear. And I thought, honestly, I'm not the most qualified person to be doing this presentation. Right? But I knew that the content I could deliver and I just wanted to make sure my content was accurate. So I did my research. I put it together. I ran it by some other people to make sure that a, it was accurate and b, it was understandable. And I just laid it out from there and I was so incredibly nervous, but, , is my first presentation and it went off with pretty well. So I'm happy. I would say so. It went off really well. And I think that's interesting too because I think many potential conference speakers kinda get derailed with the thought of how nervous they are or how potentially unqualified they feel next to a certain lineup. And I don't think that feeling ever goes away. I know I feel that before every conference Being costurious in Germany. Yes. Completely. I think what was really interesting is that you swung for the fence. , if you're gonna do your first first presentation, probably Lava is not the one that most people are gonna go to, but but you did it, and and you, , grand slammed it out of the park. Yeah. And I think what was really cool about that is it was good content. It was , you covered lava in a lot of different areas, but but just the way you explained it was very approachable. Was even taking notes going, gosh. I have to use that example. , that's just it makes sense that way. And I think it goes back to what what Rock is all about. It's not about building technology. It's about building technologists. , the church needs people. The technology is gonna keep changing. And that's what I love about our community and and about what's happening here is that people are growing in in-depth of knowledge and sharing that with And it's not about one church, it's about the church. And, , I think you've been a great reflection of that in in terms of Lava Now Sequel and you're gonna keep, , you keep doing that and just seeing how you're helping people in the community. It's really inspiring. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It was there are so many great masterminds in the community and we can't all be, an expert at everything, but we can choose what we latch onto, what resonates so well with us. And I've always said , Kensington is not the trendsetter church. We but we take, , we adapt what Rock allows us to put into play. It's little Lego pieces and everybody's got their little their uniqueness and Rock allows us to apply that in our unique ways. I do not have an IT background. So I want everyone to understand that you don't have to have an IT background, you just have to have that willingness to enter into it, go deep, ask the questions, remove the fear, there is no judgment. The community truly I know everybody talks about the community. It really is. We talk about it because it really is a great place to learn and connect. And not only have I just learned so much from the community, but I have a great connection of friends as well that have evolved and stuck with me. It goes back to that masterclass. I've got a core group of people there and then we have some communities local to us. I'm part of a community in Detroit and a community down in South Carolina. And those people, it's you truly look forward to working with them, seeing them at the conferences, sharing. Another thing I want people to understand with the community, you don't have to feel that you have to jump on to rocket chat and start answering all the questions. Right? You just have to find your lane and that's what I've done over the years. I use rocket chat, I really do, but I don't at one point I thought I'm gonna try and answer everybody's questions and then I realized I can't, that's just not my lane. But I realized what I can do is I can sign up to be a beta tester. And so I really make that's where I put my effort in and if somebody reaches out to me through Rocket Chat or via an email, I am more than happy to schedule time in my calendar and talk to you one on one. I will problem solve with you. I will answer all of your questions to the best of my ability or point you in another direction where you'll get a better answer. So I just encourage people to jump in to rocket chat into the community and ask your questions. There is no dumb question. We've all been there. We all had to start out someplace and you're not going to know it all right away. it's an evolution, and you'll get there. Yeah. I think sometimes even the most basic questions is insightful in its own way. There's so many new features, even smaller or big that are written because someone asked a question and we never considered something a certain way. I'm sure to them it was a stupid question, but it actually impacted the product even in huge ways. Absolutely. Absolutely. I think about, for example, when we started out fundraising and fundraising groups was a new, product, a new part of Rock. And, of course, everyone thinks short term trips and that's what we're gonna use fundraising for is short term trips. Well, here we were as a church and John, I think I actually spoke to you about this at the conference in 2016 because we have an intern program and we recognize that fundraising groups would work for our intern program but we needed to tweak it a bit and we did. And so, I want people to know that you can take what's there and still evolve it to meet your needs. It might require a little bit of customization but we have a great tool now that we use for our intern program. We run our payroll off of it. It was customized for us, but we're sharing it with other churches as well. And Cedar Creek is another church, Jason Jones. We collaborate on that often and, yeah, just open up your mind to the possibilities. Yeah. , the community is the real deal and and I keep hearing people promote that. And I think what you said is exactly. It can be a little overwhelming to think I have to be in league with someone who's been knowing what they're doing for a long time, but you have to find your lane. And Right. And you don't have to have a certain background. And that's why there are all these options on our how to get connected page for people. Maybe it's conversations with churches, who are looking at Rock. As a nonprofit, there's no sales team. And and the and who wants a sales team? I mean, honestly, if you can talk to someone who's using something and applying it and finding value from it, it's so much better. So there are so many ways that go from nontechnical to extremely technical and everything in between to get involved and contribute to the community. I know a lot of people have found fulfillment in helping out in those ways. And you've been a rockstar for a couple of years now too. I have, it's just, it's not something I set out to be. It evolved into it. I mean, I'm certainly I'm happy to be a Rock star. Absolutely. Any way I can give back, I'm glad that you can find value in what I do and what I have to offer. For sure. So what was your background before you got involved in the position you're at and with Rock? Well, my degree, my college degree, I went to the University of Michigan and it has nothing to do with what I do now. It really was a non specialized degree, but my role at Kensington evolved over the years. I've been with Kensington since 02/2005 and I've held many different roles and with my moves that I because I live in North Carolina, but Kensington is based out of Michigan. And so I've transitioned in that. I've been working remote since 2014. And it was one of those things where they had just asked many years ago, , hey, and this is when we were on a different product, , what do you think about transitioning into the database field? And I was , hey, , great, I'm happy, let's do it. And so it's just snowballed from there. But in the process, I learned a lot about myself and I love the technical side of things. And so with Rock, that's great. For those who aren't technical, you don't have to be. But for those who are, there's this whole other side that you can learn. It opens up your eyes. I never thought I would dive into the world of code. And here I am with I might not be able to write the code, but I'm able to look at it, interpret it, and say, well, if this does this and I tweak this Mhmm. What does that do? So and then the sequel, that's that's been new to me over the years and I absolutely love it. So it's it's there for you if you wanna embrace it. That's great. I that is I could not have put that better myself. It's exactly right. So it's so cool to hear that you're experiencing, living, and contributing back to it, and it is exactly everything it's been stated to be. That's what I always tell churches who are looking at Rock and comparing it to product platforms. I'm , you have got to figure out this community, and and you can't really see it. You have to you have to experience it. But you don't you really don't know what Rock is if you just take it as a feature by feature comparison, and it's amazing for that. I don't wanna discount that, but it's that whole community aspect. And so we're always encouraging people to check out Rocket Chat or make sure you get to a conference, because that's where you really see it in action and and it was a little different this past year, but it's pretty incredible to see. So tell us a little bit about your family. I have been married for twenty six years, happily married. Congratulations. And I have, thank you, I have two adult daughters who are just this year planning on flying the coop, leaving us as empty nesters, probably by late summer, we should be empty nesters. So that's a little bit scary for me. I love having everybody close. We're a very tight knit family having traveled so much over the years back and forth. And other than that, love to hike in the North Carolina Mountains. I spend my time, I love animals. I am also the volunteer coordinator for a horse rescue here in North Carolina. So I love spending my time on the weekends with horses. It's really fun, but I'm trying to learn who am I now other than mom and wife. And that's been a transition in the last year or so I would say. For sure. Well, it's been really fun to have you join us on this podcast. Thank you so much. You've just infused a whole exciting part of life into what we're doing here. We're so thrilled to have you as such a key member of the community. So not to put you on the spot, but Jennifer, what's your conference presentation plan for this year? Oh, I will probably do lava for the layperson again. Great. Tackling it in person will be probably doing it new for the first time. Right? So I'll review it, maybe make a couple tweaks, but it'll probably be I I know that there's always going to be new people to the community that are at that step in their journey. And just to have the translation, , I might I might have a couple people that I peg to sit front and center. I'm a little nervous about the questions, the on the spot questions. But if I have someone there to kinda hold my hand, we'll get through it. Definitely. You'll do a great job and I think that's a great choice. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here and I'm just honored. So thank you for inviting me. Absolutely. Well, thanks so much for joining us. It's been really fun to connect with you again. I know the community is gonna this podcast. Alright. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Do a church that loves the idea of using Rock but hasn't taken that leap yet? With managed hosting, churches of any size can get access to Rock's amazing technology, hassle free. 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