With 6,800 members and an office staff of 75, Asbury United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Okalahoma relies on ACS to help run the administrative side of the church. Teresa Springer, Asbury’s IT director, has worked side-by-side with the ACS Support team in order to set up and manage their large Windows 2003 network with 90 terminals. With its own dedicated server, ACS has become the central knowledge base of the church, according to Springer.

“Our prior software system didn’t meet our activity needs, so we chose ACS to replace it,” notes Springer. “With 6,800 members and over 12,000 people in our database, ACS is by far the most beneficial source of information for us. Keeping track of attendance is invaluable.”

Networking Challenges. With such a large networked system, Springer has relied upon ACS Support to assist her in making technology decisions. On several occasions, she has run into challenging IT issues that needed quick solutions. ACS Support was there to walk her through the problems and find resolution without delay.

By working hand-in-hand with the ACS support team to set up a computer network to meet her churches needs, Springer has learned the true value of working with a company that she knows and trusts.

In addition, due to Asbury’s size, they have had several occasions where a customized solution was needed to meet the demands of the church. In one instance, ACS wrote a special statistics software program to work directly with Asbury’s activities module in order to provide them with information they needed to help manage volunteers. Asbury is also in the process of implementing the Volunteer Manager module to help run their large volunteers program within the church.

With ACS, Asbury can do everything from creating labels to sending emails. “ACS saves us lots of time. The Activities module helps us manage small groups and attendance, and offers us an easy way to track committee and volunteer information. We can also supply people with a transcript of the training and Bible studies they attend. We’re also using Volunteer Manager in conjunction with Activities to plug volunteers into ministry,” Springer notes.

Asbury has always been pleased with the fact that ACS has always been able to listen and make changes. “‘What do you need?’ and ‘How can we help you?’ is their motto,” says Springer.

Service Solutions. This attitude of helpfulness is evident at every level of ACS. Teresa goes on to note that even Hal Campbell, ACS Technologies’ President and CEO, took the time to call her just to make sure all was well after a recent update installation. A regular attendee at the ACS National Convention, Teresa has gotten to know Hal and other company leaders over the years and appreciate the dedication they show to their clients.

“That the CEO cares enough to help, means a lot to us,” says Springer. “ACS Support is awesome. They will follow through until the problem is solved. It’s the integrity of the ACS support team that differentiates them from other companies.”

Asbury’s “Perceptions” ministry reaches thousands of northeastern Oklahomans each day and has been a significant source of our growth for the church. Due to this growth and its well-known ministry to children, youth, and families, Asbury developed a Long-Term Planning Task Force in 1997 to determine how to proceed.

Expansion Success. On February 29, 2004, Asbury moved into their new facility. The beautiful traditional new building is located in the busiest area of Tulsa. Even with over 250,000 square feet, they already need to add on! Their new sign outside states “Asbury Church Meets Here.” Asbury welcomes all visitors with open arms.

ACS has been able to support Asbury in its efforts to expand beyond its current size. By providing financial software tools to crunch the numbers, and user-defined fields that provide ways for the church to make note of specific data relevant to its growth program, Asbury is now well on its way to achieving its goals for growth. With their proven success, Asbury will continue to rely on ACS as its church management partner as their organization grows.

Asbury looks forward to continuing to use the Membership, Attendance, and Contributions modules during its heightened period of growth. Keeping track of increased giving amounts and designating funds specifically for the new building project is very important to the church.

Reaching Out. Asbury believes in Missions and outreach. Spring Break 2005 Asbury sent over 260 youth and adults to participate in ministries in Houston, Kentucky, Mexico and Guatemala. Asbury welcomes over 1,000 children each Sunday from birth – 6th grade.

On Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005 Asbury offered four services to accommodate the anticipated turnout, which was over 7,400 people in worship—with 1,700 visitors! They offered one service that was very contemporary and held in the Chapel which seats 550 people. It was full with 511 in attendance.

The pastoral staff at Asbury United Methodist Church continue to have a heart for the lost which is reflected in their Mission Statement: “Glorify God and Make Disciples.”

About Asbury United Methodist Church
Asbury United Methodist Church was founded in 1962. Beginning at Key Elementary School, the church became known quickly for pastoral care through the hospital visitation and door-to-door visits from Rev. Bill Mason. Asbury moved to a building at 5838 S. Sheridan a few years after first opening at Key. Since that time, Asbury conducted several building projects to expand at that site, ranging from sanctuary construction to the Mason Center, which served as a youth and recreation building. Over 3,200 families call Asbury their church home today with an average of 4,000 people in worship on a weekly basis.

ACS Technologies Products & Services Used
People Suite: People, Attendance, Contributions, Connections
Financial Suite: General Ledger, Payroll, Accounts Payable
Service Suite: Support, Training, Network/Multi-user Module

Web site
http://www.asburytulsa.org