Even small churches have big needs. First Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, is on the brink of growth and change. With a congregation of 350 members and a modest office staff of four, First Church is working with ACS software to increase its numbers and better engage current members, which is often a common vision for maturing churches.

Assembling tools. If you ask Valerie Woodworth, one of First Church’s four staff members, what her job title is, she’ll laugh and tell you she does “a little bit of everything.” This past spring, First Church purchased an extensive ACS software package in an effort to streamline their management systems. “Previously, we only used the ACS Contribution module,” says Woodworth. “But we have a lot we want to accomplish and adding additional ACS modules will help us get where we want to go.”

“We knew what we needed information wise, but the question was how to manage it all in a usable way,” says Woodworth. With their membership goals in mind, First Church has added ACS People, Attendance, Visitation, Church Report, and Volunteer Manager modules to its platform. “We’re hoping to grow into our ACS software,” says Woodworth. “We bought the additional software so we could have the structure necessary to fill in some of our missing pieces.”

Executing plans. “We want to close the back door to the church, so to speak,” says Woodworth. “People are coming in, but we’re not retaining as many as we would like.” With ACS People and Attendance modules, First Church can now keep track of who’s coming in and can easily follow-up with its visitors.

Keeping better track of current members is as important to First Church as adding new members. “We’re using Attendance to keep up with our congregation,” says Woodworth. “Now, when we don’t see someone for a while, we’re calling them and checking-in.” In an effort to manage their small group participation, First Church is also using the Attendance module to mark group and activity turnout.

Asking for help. Woodworth has made the most of ACS Technologies support services. She has taken two online courses and attended a two-day People module training school. “My advice is ‘invest in hands-on training,’” Woodworth says. “Once you get the hands-on training, you can really start rolling.”

“When I first started working with ACS, I called support services one or two times a week,” Woodworth laughs. “They are amazing in their knowledge and I’ve never gotten a crabby person. The toll-free number is awesome, I can’t say enough about it!”

About First Church
Founded 36 years ago, First Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, is a United Pentecostal Church with Harold Hoffman as Senior Pastor. Hoffman has been with First Church for 16 years. The church began as a Sunday School in an old store front, then moved into a converted school house, and then to its current home. First Church is in the process of starting a sister church called First Praise, which will be based in the heart of Detroit.
 
ACS Technologies Products and Services Used
People Suite: People, Attendance, Contributions, Connections
Financial Suite: General Ledger, Accounts Payable
Growth Products: Church Report, Volunteer Manager, Church Growth
Services: Support, Training

Web Site
http://www.first-church.com