Church Software

When churches are determining which software to purchase, they may decide to invest in on-line or web-based solutions for many reasons. Key among these reasons is the 24/7 access and the incredible reach of the Web. By having a ministry that is available round the clock, the church is able to serve many members at odd hours that might otherwise not be in contact with their church.

Too, the web site is available from anywhere in the world so that the limits of a physical ministry are overcome by the technology available to the pastor and the church staff.

Other features of web-based solutions are the convenience of having little upfront costs. The client simply pays a monthly fee for the service and up-dates are included automatically. There are no programs to install, backups to maintain, or specialized hardware to purchase. Vendors typically work with the equipment of the user (whether Mac, Windows or Linux). Thus problems of different types of users within the same church are eliminated.

Church data can be handled through content management systems (CMS) that organize membership, donations, group records, reports, mailings, events and address books. Members may make their donations on-line and even download their own tax-deductible gift statements.

As security and identity theft become more and more a problem in the technological world, web-based hosting provides for data encryption and back-ups that are frequently absent in the on-site data systems of most churches.

In addition to these functions, web-based software permits evangelization and teaching of the membership through sermons, blogs, devotionals, and Bible studies available through on-line websites. Pastors devote hours and hours to planning sermons and devotionals weekly, so why not take advantage of this space for conserving work so that it is available to members for years to come?

Churches can publish event calendars, newsletters, and announcements to keep members informed. By producing FAQs (or frequently asked questions) sections, many repetitive questions which tie up staff members can be eliminated. When photo galleries of members can be accessed through the Web, these pictures may be enjoyed over and over again by members while the staff can access them for bulletins, newsletters, and church publicity.

In previous years, web-based systems for churches were unavailable. In today's market, however, this is no longer true. Churches no longer have to spend five figures to acquire the systems they need. Now, affordable subscription plans are available for churches and for far less cost than comparable software.

The church considering investing in web-based software solutions should look for a system that not only handles church management membership data, but also allows for integration of this data to the church's web site. Most church management software does not have this capability, but it is an added feature of on-line publishing that needs to be considered when going "on-line" with your church.