Selecting Good Church Management Systems
Selecting Good Church Management Systems
Selecting Good Church Management Systems
Many churches today are faced with the task of having to creatively manage all of their administrative needs with limited financial resources. At first glance, free software options for websites, church membership, mass mailings and finances seems to make sense.
However, the money saved by choosing free software often ends up being spent to cover the cost of administration. Often the church staff ends up having to manage many applications to keep track of everything. It often proves to be quite the challenge to find information quickly. Churches that do this end up suffering in the long run. Free software may answer an immediate need, but it isn't a good long-term solution.
Consider these four elements before choosing a system of church mamagement.
1. Web-Based
Having the ability to access information and files from anywhere, be it in the office, at home, in the airport or on a smart phone is vital. If all of the data is stored on the computer in the church office, it can't be accessed from anywhere else. Good church management systems are web based.
A common concern with web-based systems may be, "What happens if the information get's lost/?" When choosing a web based service make sure that it's high end in terms of providing security and privacy. Also look for redundancy in data back up and make sure that it's not all just sitting on a server in an office somewhere.
2. Is it a Permission-Based System? 2. Permission-Based?
A permission based management system ensures that everyone on the church staff can access the information they specifically need and not wander into areas that aren't relevant to their job.
The young adult leader doesn't need to see the church's tithing records.
The drummer in the praise and worship band doesn't need to access other church member's couseling records.
While these people may need to access some resources, a permission based system segments the information to determine who can see what.
3. Is it a Fully-Integrated System?
This simply means that all of the applications within the management system can talk to one another and play well together. Can the tool used to send mass mailings pull addresses from the database application?Are the financial management and database applications fully integrated? Do all of these applications work with the website itself so all of the files are accessible when they need to be?
4. Centered Around a Database?
Anyone with management experience understands that the hub of any application is the database. Always choose a system that focuses primarily on the database. Many great tools are available for mass mailing, websites and social media, but if the applications aren't built around the hub of database management, they are of no real value We always encourage anyone looking for a great church management system to remember that applications can crash, but if the database is lost, so is the most valuable asset.
Churches are built on people. Software tools can be created to connect with people, but if the information about the people is lost, it will take a very long time to replace. When the time arrives to chose a good church management system, remember to look for a web-based, fully ntegrated, permission-based system that is built around a core database.
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