[{"id":1045,"date":"2026-01-30T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/?p=1045"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:42:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:42:49","slug":"acst-catholic-announces-comprehensive-diocesan-accounting-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-announces-comprehensive-diocesan-accounting-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"ACST Catholic Announces Comprehensive Diocesan Accounting Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Supporting Faithful Stewardship with Transparent Oversight and United Accounting<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, January 30, 2026 <\/strong>\u2014 Across every diocese, financial stewardship is a sacred responsibility. Parishes rely on their diocese for guidance, consistency, and accountability in managing the gifts entrusted to them. Yet, gathering and standardizing parish financial information is often a complex, manual process that relies on different systems, inconsistent charts of accounts, and time-consuming annual reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>ACST Catholic diocesan accounting solution<\/strong> is composed of two complementary components: <strong>diocesan Accounting Oversight and parish-level accounting<\/strong>. Diocesan staff use Accounting Oversight to collect, standardize, and consolidate financial data, while each parish manages its finances using ACS Technologies Accounting. The deployment of a <strong>standard chart of accounts<\/strong> ensures that data from each parish can be accurately aggregated and reported, giving the diocese a clear and consistent view of parish finances\u2014without relying on manual submissions or spreadsheets. The diocesan accounting solution from ACST Catholic is part of <strong>Abundant<\/strong>, ACST Catholic\u2019s suite of integrated financial solutions for parishes and dioceses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deacon Bill Koniers of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sees this shift as foundational to the future of diocesan financial management: \u201cWith the power of [this] system, that is the future.&#8221; The diocesan accounting solution from ACST Catholic is part of <strong>Abundant<\/strong>, ACST Catholic\u2019s suite of integrated financial solutions for parishes and dioceses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Diocesan Accounting Oversight&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Diocesan Accounting Oversight is a web-based platform designed for diocesan finance offices. It extends the ACS Technologies&#8217; accounting solution to provide diocesan-level visibility, standardization, and reporting across all parishes and related organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through Accounting Oversight, diocesan staff can manage a master chart of accounts, generate standard financial reports such as the Statement of Activities and Statement of Financial Position, and view consolidated statements for one, several, or all parishes\/organizations, with just a few clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oversight eliminates the need for manual data collection from parishes, assuring that every report aligns with diocesan standards and policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Features<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Master Chart of Accounts:<\/strong> Establish and maintain a diocesan-standard chart of accounts for all organizations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Automated Reporting:<\/strong> Generate consolidated or parish-level reports directly from the accounting system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Web-Based Access:<\/strong> Securely access Oversight through a browser\u2014no file exchanges or email submissions required.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Consistent Data Flow:<\/strong> Parish financial data automatically syncs from the accounting platform to Oversight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Multi-Organization Visibility:<\/strong> Review financial information for one, several, or all parishes or organizations simultaneously.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Audit &amp; Compliance Support:<\/strong> Simplify the process of reviewing and validating parish records.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Benefits<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthens Stewardship:<\/strong> Promotes transparency and accountability in the Church&#8217;s management of its resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saves Time &amp; Reduces Errors:<\/strong> Eliminates manual data collection and report compilation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ensures Consistency:<\/strong> Aligns all parishes under a single, standardized chart of accounts and reporting format.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improves Decision-Making:<\/strong> Gives diocesan leaders real-time insight into the financial health of parishes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supports Parishes:<\/strong> Reduces the administrative burden on parish staff and finance councils.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Parish Accounting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>ACST Catholic Accounting provides a comprehensive, cloud-based fund accounting solution designed to meet the unique needs of Catholic parishes and dioceses. Seamlessly integrated with MinistryPlatform contributions, it allows finance staff to easily manage income, expenses, and fund disbursements, while maintaining clear accountability and compliance with Church and accounting standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Features<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"nv-cv-m wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>True Fund Accounting:<\/strong> Manage all entities, including parish schools, cemeteries, ministries, or other organizations within a single system. Dedicated fund structures maintain the distinct financial activity of each entity while still allowing for accurate reporting.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integration with MinistryPlatform Contributions:<\/strong> Connect giving data with the general ledger, so donations flow directly into your accounting system without duplication or manual entry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flexible Chart of Accounts:<\/strong> Utilize customizable accounting segments to create a structure that reflects your parish or diocese&#8217;s unique operational framework, segmented by funds, departments, ministries, and more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vendor and Payee Management:<\/strong> Set up recurring invoices, process payments, and manage check runs with efficiency and confidence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Budgeting and Reporting Tools:<\/strong> Create, edit, and share budgets; export or import files; and generate detailed reports for leadership, finance councils, and auditors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Payroll:<\/strong> Manage staff payroll within Accounting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Permissions:<\/strong> Control access to financial data by role\/responsibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cloud-Based Access:<\/strong> Work securely from anywhere, knowing your data is protected and up to date.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Working Together for Faithful Stewardship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The two complementary components comprising the ACST Catholic diocesan accounting solution serve parishes and dioceses with a robust, flexible, secure system. By integrating Accounting Oversight with parish-level accounting, dioceses gain a clear, consistent, and faithful picture of financial stewardship across the Church, while parishes operate with efficiency and accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Together, we safeguard the gifts entrusted to us so that every act of generosity continues to serve the mission of the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For more information, visit acstcatholic.com or call (800) 736-7425.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>About ACST Catholic<\/strong><br>ACST Catholic, a business of ACS Technologies, is devoted to serving and equipping Catholic parishes and dioceses with the tools to engage, inspire, and accompany their communities and form missionary disciples. By harnessing technology as a tool for connection and growth, we amplify ministry impact and foster more meaningful experiences that can lead to intentional discipleship.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><br>Founded in 1978, ACS Technologies is a leading provider of church management, financial, and engagement solutions serving nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. As part of Vanco, ACS Technologies offers integrated platforms\u2014including Realm, MinistryPlatform, and ACST Catholic solutions\u2014that help faith communities manage membership, giving, accounting, communications, and operations with confidence. Based in Florence, South Carolina, ACS Technologies is committed to equipping ministry teams with reliable technology so they can spend less time on systems and more time with people.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporting Faithful Stewardship with Transparent Oversight and United Accounting Florence, SC, January 30, 2026 \u2014 Across every diocese, financial stewardship is a sacred responsibility. Parishes rely on their diocese for guidance, consistency, and accountability in managing the gifts entrusted to them. Yet, gathering and standardizing parish financial information is often a complex, manual process that&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-announces-comprehensive-diocesan-accounting-solution\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">ACST Catholic Announces Comprehensive Diocesan Accounting Solution<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,16],"tags":[20,19,21,22],"class_list":["post-1045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-presskit","tag-accounting-oversight","tag-acst-catholic","tag-diocesan-accounting-solution","tag-parish-accounting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ACST Catholic Announces Comprehensive Diocesan Accounting Solution - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Supporting Faithful Stewardship with Transparent Oversight and United Accounting Florence, SC, January 30, 2026 \u2014 Across every diocese, financial\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-announces-comprehensive-diocesan-accounting-solution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ACST Catholic Announces Comprehensive Diocesan Accounting Solution - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Supporting Faithful Stewardship with Transparent Oversight and United Accounting Florence, SC, January 30, 2026 \u2014 Across every diocese, financial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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and ACS Technologies Unite to Deliver More Connected Services and Solutions for Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Trusted church management provider ACS Technologies and secure payments leader Vanco come together to serve more churches with a connected, seamless experience.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 Dec. 3, 2025<\/strong> \u2014 Vanco, a leader in secure digital payments and online giving for faith communities, schools, and nonprofits, and ACS Technologies (ACST), the category pioneer and market leader in church management software and services, today announced they will come together as one organization to help ministries spend less time on systems and more time with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vanco and ACST have worked as partners for over a decade, and their combined reach now serves more than 40,000 churches and ministries. Vanco\u2019s faith organization will operate under the ACS Technologies name, and its trusted payments capabilities will be woven into ACST\u2019s leading platforms\u2014including Realm and MinistryPlatform\u2014so churches experience a more seamless, connected workflow. Vanco\u2019s education solutions, including RevTrak for school payments and SmartCare for daycare will operate under the RevTrak brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\u201cChurches have told us they want one place to turn for a full suite of services and solutions that simply work,\u201d said Joe Koehling, chief executive officer of ACS Technologies, who will lead the faith division at Vanco. \u201cBringing ACST\u2019s ministry experience together with Vanco\u2019s trusted payments lets staff and volunteers spend more time with people and less time on systems. It\u2019s a practical step forward\u2014one that reflects our shared commitment to serve the Church with care and reliability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTogether with ACS Technologies, Vanco offers a connected platform that covers giving, payments, and church management,\u201d said Jim McGinnis, chief executive officer of Vanco. \u201cOur customers can expect the same dependable performance and service they trust today, strengthened by even greater reliability, security, and results. No one serves more churches than our combined teams, and with that shared scale and experience, we\u2019ll support ministries, schools, and nonprofits with even greater care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For nearly five decades, ACS Technologies has partnered with ministries to manage membership, giving, accounting, mission trips, and engagement. Their solutions, including Realm and MinistryPlatform, reflect a heritage of faith-led service and a deep understanding of how churches operate on a day-to-day basis. That legacy will continue as Joe Koehling leads the faith business, ensuring the ministry-first mission at the heart of ACST remains at the center of the work ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vanco brings more than 30 years of innovation and service leadership in secure digital payments and online giving, helping faith communities and educational organizations simplify administration and strengthen participation. With broad adoption across churches and schools, and a history of dependable integrations with leading church management solutions, Vanco adds the reliability and scale that make connected workflows simpler for staff and volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>About Vanco<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Vanco is a leading provider of secure digital payments, online giving, and administrative software for faith communities, schools, and nonprofits. Vanco helps organizations accept and manage payments, streamline everyday tasks, and deepen participation with reliable tools and practical support. The company\u2019s faith business will now operate as ACS Technologies, offering trusted church management platforms such as Realm and MinistryPlatform that help ministries manage membership, contributions, accounting, missions trip management, events, and communication. Vanco also serves K\u201312 districts with education payments solutions, including RevTrak and SmartCare. Across every offering, Vanco\u2019s purpose is simple: help teams spend less time on systems and more time with people. Learn more at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vancopayments.com\/\">https:\/\/www.vancopayments.com\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trusted church management provider ACS Technologies and secure payments leader Vanco come together to serve more churches with a connected, seamless experience.\u00a0 MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 Dec. 3, 2025 \u2014 Vanco, a leader in secure digital payments and online giving for faith communities, schools, and nonprofits, and ACS Technologies (ACST), the category pioneer and market leader in&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/vanco-and-acs-technologies-unite-to-deliver-more-connected-services-and-solutions-for-churches\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Vanco and ACS Technologies Unite to Deliver More Connected Services and Solutions for Churches<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vanco and ACS Technologies Unite to Deliver More Connected Services and Solutions for Churches - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trusted church management 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Survey from the American Beliefs Study Explores Alarming \u201cJesus Without Church\u201d Paradox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em><em><em><em>Data from ACS Technologies highlights growing personal belief alongside distrust in organized religion<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, November 3, 2025<\/strong>\u2014ACS Technologies, a 45-year leader in church management software, market expertise, and data analysis is investigating contradictory trends in its ground-breaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/american-beliefs\/\"><em>American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices<\/em><\/a>, which surveyed over 15,000 Americans on Christian preferences, affiliations, values, and beliefs. In the latest findings, many respondents said their personal relationship with Jesus was deepening, yet they paradoxically did not see regular church attendance or participation as essential, challenging traditional church structures and organized religion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The questionnaire was originally conducted in 2012-2013 and then repeated in 2016-2017, 2020-2021, and 2024-2025. Its significant polling sample size and decades-long timespan have established the American Beliefs Study as a recognized leader in understanding American religious practices and preferences. ACST Catholic, a business of ACS Technologies, specifically examined feedback from the subset of 3,100 self-identified Catholics in the larger cross-denominational study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe encouraging news from our latest survey is that core Catholic beliefs\u2014such as the Resurrection and the divinity and humanity of Jesus\u2014have grown,\u201d said Terry Poplava, General Manager of ACST Catholic. \u201cHowever, there is a troubling trend toward individualism in which respondents more strongly agreed that belief in Jesus does not require attending Mass. Given that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and the Catechism clearly communicates our need to live in community, we should be very concerned by this response.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly half of Catholic respondents reported irregular Mass attendance, giving reasons that have consistently appeared in each wave of the study: (1) religion is too focused on money, (2) they have fallen out of the habit since COVID-19, (3) religious people are too judgmental, (4) they do not trust religious leaders, and (5) they do not trust organized religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every few years, as the American Beliefs Study is reissued, ACST Catholic provides parish leaders with actionable insights to better align ministries with the evolving needs and priorities of their communities. Previous reports have highlighted trends such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/11\/Loneliness-Guide.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorbNCmNo6T_1i3FkZfl6qBpU3bXxrIIDpn57rWMibQyNCv4iHXs\">Epidemic of Loneliness<\/a> and the importance respondents place on \u201cwarm and friendly encounters\u201d when seeking a parish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRecent data clearly show what people are seeking in a parish,\u201d said Poplava. \u201cAuthentic community and meaningful relationships are even more important to people than quality sermons or sacramental celebrations. Our parishes have an opportunity to respond to this need and foster the real connections people are longing for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All reports in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/american-beliefs\/\">American Beliefs Study series <\/a>are available for free.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on the latest findings, to download ACST Catholic\u2019s analysis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/09\/Faith-in-Flux-Guide.pdf\">Faith in Flux<\/a>, and to access the full press kit, visit<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/presskit-faith-flux\/\"> https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/presskit-faith-flux\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Poplava is available for comment. To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at <a href=\"mailto:carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com\">carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About ACST Catholic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACST Catholic, a business of ACS Technologies, is devoted to serving and equipping Catholic parishes and dioceses with the tools to engage, inspire, and accompany their communities and form missionary disciples. By harnessing technology as a tool for connection and growth, we amplify ministry impact and foster more meaningful experiences that can lead to intentional discipleship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACS Technologies, founded in 1978, is the leading provider of comprehensive church ministry tools, support, and expertise to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. As the parent company of ACST Catholic, ACS Technologies is committed to creating personalized ministry environments that enable churches to make God-honoring decisions. Based in Florence, SC, ACS Technologies remains a privately held, independent Christian family-led company with team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data from ACS Technologies highlights growing personal belief alongside distrust in organized religion Florence, SC, November 3, 2025\u2014ACS Technologies, a 45-year leader in church management software, market expertise, and data analysis is investigating contradictory trends in its ground-breaking American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices, which surveyed over 15,000 Americans on Christian preferences, affiliations, values,&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/new-survey-from-the-american-beliefs-study-explores-alarming-jesus-without-church-paradox\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Survey from the American Beliefs Study Explores Alarming \u201cJesus Without Church\u201d Paradox<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Survey from the American Beliefs Study Explores Alarming \u201cJesus Without Church\u201d Paradox - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Data from ACS Technologies 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Beliefs Study Highlights Relational Importance of Parish Communities to Combat Epidemic of Loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em><em><em>Data from ACS Technologies supports faith communities as antidote to mental illness risk factors<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, May 13, 2025<\/strong>\u2014 In recent years, a variety of studies have commonly reported the value of clergy and places of worship for those who are religious and also battling isolation, loneliness, and other risk factors that can lead to mental illness. During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, ACS Technologies, a 45-year leader in church management software, market expertise, and data analysis, is affirming these findings with data from their ground-breaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/american-beliefs\/\"><em>American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices<\/em><\/a> that examined the theological beliefs of 15,000 Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study, originally conducted in 2013 and then repeated in 2017 and 2021, revealed valuable insights about the changing behaviors and social and moral attitudes and trends within communities of faith.&nbsp; Distilled into a series of nine unique reports, a surprising finding showed \u201cwarm and friendly encounters\u201d to be as important or nearly as important as \u201ccelebration of the sacraments\u201d and \u201cquality sermons\/homilies\u201d when asked, \u201cWhat do you look for when searching for a new parish?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Poplava, General Manager of ACST Catholic, a division of ACS Technologies, noted, \u201cParish hospitality became a real priority for many church leaders, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. Social isolation was at an all-time high, which had a significant impact on mental health across populations. Once parishes were reopened, it became clear that simply keeping a greeter at the door or having friendly ushers was not enough.&nbsp; Church leaders had to rethink the foundational practices that support meaningful relationships when reaching the lost and lonely as well as how to foster&nbsp; \u2018pro-connection cultures.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early towns historically were developed around places of worship, as they were the hub for not only religious practices but also social gatherings, which innately created neighborhood connectedness and sense of belonging.&nbsp; With trends showing lower numbers of Mass attendees, and the American Beliefs Study additionally indicating that two-thirds of Americans are not involved in any faith community, it is no surprise that Americans are lacking the community and connection we were made for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re surrounded by digital \u2018connections,\u2019 but we lack the real relationships that parish communities are uniquely able to nurture for well being,\u201d said Poplava. \u201cIt\u2019s never been more important for parishes to better know and understand those who come in and out of their doors.&nbsp; Having a well-managed database is paramount in monitoring attendance, tracking preferred activities, and even giving. These are simple steps that can flag alarming changes in behavior. It is the role of both church leaders and parishioners to let people know that they\u2019re not \u2018just missed,\u2019 but that their presence matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All available reports in the <em>American Beliefs Study<\/em> series can be accessed for free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/presskit-abs\/\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on the role of the parish in addressing the epidemic of loneliness, practical steps to cultivate connection, and to access a complete press kit, visit here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Poplava is available for comment.&nbsp; To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at <a href=\"mailto:carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com\">carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACST Catholic<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>ACST Catholic, a business of ACS Technologies, is devoted to serving and equipping Catholic parishes and dioceses with the tools to engage, inspire, and accompany their communities and form missionary disciples. By harnessing technology as a tool for connection and growth, we amplify ministry impact and foster more meaningful experiences that can lead to intentional discipleship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About ACS Technologies<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>ACS Technologies, founded in 1978, is the leading provider of comprehensive church ministry tools, support, and expertise to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. As the parent company of ACST Catholic, ACS Technologies is committed to creating personalized ministry environments that enable churches to make God-honoring decisions. Based in Florence, SC, ACS Technologies remains a privately held, independent Christian family-led company with team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data from ACS Technologies supports faith communities as antidote to mental illness risk factors Florence, SC, May 13, 2025\u2014 In recent years, a variety of studies have commonly reported the value of clergy and places of worship for those who are religious and also battling isolation, loneliness, and other risk factors that can lead to&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/american-beliefs-study-highlights-relational-importance-of-parish-communities-to-combat-epidemic-of-loneliness\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">American Beliefs Study Highlights Relational Importance of Parish Communities to Combat Epidemic of Loneliness<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>American Beliefs Study Highlights Relational Importance of Parish Communities to Combat Epidemic of Loneliness - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Data from ACS 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Survey from ACS Technologies Reveals Key Ways for Parishes to Make People Feel Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em><em>Measurement of \u201cWarm and Friendly Encounters\u201d in new survey can help parishes evangelize more effectively during Advent and beyond<\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, November 6, 2024 <\/strong>\u2014 With overall trends showing lower numbers of Mass attendees, Catholic parishes seek to better understand how to improve their outreach strategies, particularly leading up to Christmas, one of two times of the year when Americans are most likely to attend church.&nbsp; ACS Technologies, a 45-year leader in church management software, market expertise, and data analysis, gleaned key insights from a recent survey aimed at further investigating why self-identifying Catholics consider \u201cwarm and friendly encounters\u201d to be highly important when visiting a new parish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACS Technologies examined the theological beliefs of 15,000 Americans with their ground-breaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/american-beliefs\/\"><em>American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices<\/em><\/a>, originally conducted in 2013 and then repeated in 2017 and 2021.&nbsp; Distilled into a series of nine unique reports, valuable insights revealed changing behaviors and social and moral attitudes and trends within communities of faith.&nbsp; Data in these reports, namely with regard to the question, \u201cWhat do you look for when searching for a new parish?\u201d impelled ACS Technologies to conduct a smaller follow-up survey in February 2024 on hospitality alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChristmas is a time that churches usually see an influx in attendance, and it gives us an incredible opportunity to perform outreach initiatives based on reliable data,\u201d said Terry Poplava, General Manager of ACST Catholic, a division of ACS Technologies. \u201cIn the <em>American Beliefs Study<\/em>, newcomers reported that \u2018warm and friendly encounters\u2019 were highly important to them. We were specifically interested in the behaviors and circumstances that foster this kind of environment in a parish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The follow-up survey conducted this year asked 1,075 American Christians to rate the \u201cwarm and friendly\u201d level of a number of different actions.\u00a0 On a 5-point scale ranging from \u201cSomewhat Warm and Friendly\u201d to \u201cVery Warm and Friendly,\u201d the Catholic sample gave highest scores to the following actions: 1.) someone at the door greeting you with a smile, 2.) seeing a friend in attendance, 3.) someone offering you a seat at Mass, 4.) someone inviting you to attend again, 5.) hearing all visitors welcomed by a church leader, and 6.) someone personally inviting you to Mass.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing to note when looking at these findings is that most are made by fellow church attendees, showing that the Catholic call to evangelization is quite simple,\u201d Poplava said. \u201cThese are practical ways you can evangelize while going about your normal weekly Mass routine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In summary, Poplava offers the following suggestions for parishes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"nv-cv-m wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rethink \u201cWelcome\u201d<\/strong>: a smile and an invitation are a great starting point for many people, but invitation, conversation, and community experiences are more impactful. Be intentional about the way you reach out to those around you at Mass.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Build Bridges of Trust:<\/strong> Before a person can fall in love with Christ through the Catholic Church, trust must be established. Creating an intentional plan to reach out to newcomers and follow up with them later will allow them to feel at home at your parish.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Communicate Impact:<\/strong> Set clear expectations and goals for parishioners to follow so that growth can be celebrated as a community! Examples of goals would be to encourage parishioners to find one more person to invite to an upcoming event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on the survey and a complete press kit, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/presskit-advent\/\">this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To read the blog explaining the study, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/church-growth\/what-do-catholics-seek-in-a-parish-follow-up-acst-research\/\">this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Poplava is available for comment.&nbsp; To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at <a href=\"mailto:carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com\">carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong><strong>About ACST Catholic<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/\">ACST Catholic<\/a> is dedicated to empowering Catholic parishes and dioceses with innovative technology solutions tailored to their unique needs. With a commitment to excellence and service, ACST Catholic partners with organizations to enhance efficiency, engagement, and effectiveness in fulfilling their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in 1978, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/\">ACS Technologies<\/a> is the leading, most comprehensive provider of church ministry tools, support, and expertise solutions to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. With the mission to enable everyone in the Church with a personalized ministry environment to make God-honoring decisions in actionable ways. ACS Technologies desires to build the Kingdom by being a trusted ministry partner in the daily life of every church. ACS Technologies stands apart by providing a whole church approach, meeting the needs of the denomination\/diocese, pastor\/priest, staff\/volunteers, and congregants\/parishioners with unique value to each role with each ministry goal. ACS Technologies is a privately held independent Christian family-led company based out of Florence, SC, with remote team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Measurement of \u201cWarm and Friendly Encounters\u201d in new survey can help parishes evangelize more effectively during Advent and beyond Florence, SC, November 6, 2024 \u2014 With overall trends showing lower numbers of Mass attendees, Catholic parishes seek to better understand how to improve their outreach strategies, particularly leading up to Christmas, one of two times&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/new-survey-from-acs-technologies-reveals-key-ways-for-parishes-to-make-people-feel-welcome\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Survey from ACS Technologies Reveals Key Ways for Parishes to Make People Feel Welcome<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Survey from ACS Technologies Reveals Key Ways for Parishes to Make People Feel Welcome - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Measurement of \u201cWarm and Friendly 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Catholic Announces MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em><em>A New Solution for Diocesan Stewardship and Development<\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, September 26, 2024 <\/strong>\u2014 ACST Catholic announces the launch of MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals, a powerful new process and reporting in MinistryPlatform designed to elevate diocesan stewardship efforts. This new functionality offers dioceses a fully integrated solution for annual appeals and capital campaigns, bringing together all aspects of donor engagement and donation management under one unified platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Every diocesan stewardship leader has a mission to inspire the faithful to live as disciples of Christ. With MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals, we&#8217;re empowering them to conduct their appeals and campaigns directly through MinistryPlatform,&#8221; said Terry Poplava, ACST Catholic General Manager. &#8220;This end-to-end solution strengthens and streamlines stewardship efforts, making it easier for diocesan leaders to personalize messages to engage the recipient in the mission outcomes of their appeal.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals offers leaders and staff access to real-time reporting at all levels, providing the insights needed to make informed decisions. The system&#8217;s multi-channel communication capabilities allow diocesan leaders to engage parishioners and donors wherever they are, while custom journeys create meaningful connections with selected audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;ve designed the Diocesan Appeals features in MinistryPlatform with the unique needs of Catholic dioceses in mind,&#8221; said John Biskner, Senior Product Strategist for the Catholic market. \u201cBy incorporating advanced forecasting tools, diocesan leaders can confidently plan and predict outcomes, ensuring the success of their stewardship initiatives.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When paired with MinistryPlatform&#8217;s Pledge Tools and MP eGiving, parishioners are able to pledge and give effortlessly, supporting the appeal with just a few clicks. This integration provides diocesan leaders with a comprehensive, automated system for inspiring and nurturing generosity and managing their appeal efforts with grace and efficiency.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals represents the intersection of faith and technology, providing dioceses with the tools they need to ignite their mission and fuel their giving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For interviews with <a href=\"mailto:terryp@acst.com\">Terry Poplava<\/a> or <a href=\"mailto:john.biskner@acst.com\">John Biskner<\/a>, contact Polly King, Marketing Strategist, at <a href=\"mailto:polly@acst.com\">polly@acst.com<\/a> or (260) 414-5611.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals, MP eGiving, and MinistryPlatform, visit acstcatholic.com or call (800) 736-7425.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong><strong>About ACST Catholic<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>ACST Catholic, a business of ACS Technologies, is devoted to serving and equipping Catholic parishes and dioceses with the tools to engage, inspire, and accompany their communities and form missionary disciples. By harnessing technology as a tool for connection and growth, we amplify ministry impact and foster more meaningful experiences that can lead to intentional discipleship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>ACS Technologies, founded in 1978, is the leading provider of comprehensive church ministry tools, support, and expertise to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. As the parent company of ACST Catholic, ACS Technologies is committed to creating personalized ministry environments that enable churches to make God-honoring decisions. Based in Florence, SC, ACS Technologies remains a privately held, independent Christian family-led company with team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A New Solution for Diocesan Stewardship and Development Florence, SC, September 26, 2024 \u2014 ACST Catholic announces the launch of MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals, a powerful new process and reporting in MinistryPlatform designed to elevate diocesan stewardship efforts. This new functionality offers dioceses a fully integrated solution for annual appeals and capital campaigns, bringing together&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-announces-ministryplatform-for-diocesan-appeals\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">ACST Catholic Announces MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ACST Catholic Announces MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A New Solution for Diocesan Stewardship and Development Florence, SC, September 26, 2024 \u2014 ACST Catholic announces the launch of MinistryPlatform for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-announces-ministryplatform-for-diocesan-appeals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ACST Catholic Announces MinistryPlatform for Diocesan Appeals - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A New Solution for Diocesan Stewardship and Development Florence, SC, September 26, 2024 \u2014 ACST Catholic announces the launch of MinistryPlatform for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-announces-ministryplatform-for-diocesan-appeals\/\" \/>\n<meta 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Catholic Introduces Revolutionary Service to Assess Parish Ministry and Parishioner Discipleship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em><em>The groundbreaking Discipleship Indicator provides insight into parishioners&#8217; journey of discipleship<\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, May 7, 2024 <\/strong>\u2014 ACST Catholic, a leading provider of technology solutions for Catholic parishes and dioceses, has launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/discipleship-indicator\/\">The Discipleship Indicator<\/a>, a powerful new service that enables Catholic parishes to build or strengthen ministries to help form intentional disciples. This innovative resource has been developed to serve parishes in forming and activating disciples for evangelization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developed by a team of industry experts, this service combines a unique survey instrument with expert facilitation to help parish leaders measure ministry effectiveness and understand where parishioners are on their journey as disciples. At the same time, it will enable respondents to self-evaluate their walk with Christ and consider where they would like to go next with the help of the parish. Unlike other church survey tools, The Discipleship Indicator features only 20 questions, allowing users a brief and simplified experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;At ACST Catholic, we understand the importance of helping parishes create meaningful experiences and opportunities for an encounter with Christ,&#8221; said Terry Poplava, General Manager of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/\">ACST Catholic<\/a>. &#8220;But unless parishes understand the current state of the spiritual health of their community, it can be a challenge to know what ministries to change or prioritize. The Discipleship Indicator is a powerful service to understand more than participation by asking parishioners for prayerful reflection on their personal faith, along with how well the parish is equipping them for discipleship.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Discipleship Indicator reveals key indicators of an individual\u2019s level of discipleship in brief, easy-to-answer questions covering topics such as personal faith, challenges, parish experiences, and aspirations for spiritual growth. The responses provide critical insights for parish leadership:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"nv-cv-d nv-cv-m wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is our parish changing lives?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is our parish enabling a personal relationship with Christ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are we helping equip our parishioners to deepen their faith?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are we seeing growth in missionary discipleship?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As church attendance decreases, fewer Catholics celebrate the sacraments, and parish size shrinks, it has become even more important to understand where people are on their spiritual journey and address specific parish needs through customized outreach. Insights from parishioner reflection can equip leadership to re-engage with parishioners by addressing specific needs in areas like prayer, stewardship, service, catechesis, Mass, and the sacraments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe data collected from The Discipleship Indicator allows parishes to evaluate the state of their ministries to fulfill the call to make missionary disciples and encourage each member to actively embrace their role in advancing the mission of the Church,\u201d Poplava said. \u201cACST Catholic offers customized support each step of the way to churches using The Discipleship Indicator to ensure a robust picture of insights and observations.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information and a complete press kit, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/presskit-di\/\">this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Poplava is available for comment. To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at <a href=\"mailto:carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com\">carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong><strong>About ACST Catholic<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/\">ACST Catholic<\/a> is dedicated to empowering Catholic parishes and dioceses with innovative technology solutions tailored to their unique needs. With a commitment to excellence and service, ACST Catholic partners with organizations to enhance efficiency, engagement, and effectiveness in fulfilling their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in 1978, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/\">ACS Technologies<\/a> is the leading, most comprehensive provider of church ministry tools, support, and expertise solutions to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. With the mission to enable everyone in the Church with a personalized ministry environment to make God-honoring decisions in actionable ways. ACS Technologies desires to build the Kingdom by being a trusted ministry partner in the daily life of every church. ACS Technologies stands apart by providing a whole church approach, meeting the needs of the denomination\/diocese, pastor\/priest, staff\/volunteers, and congregants\/parishioners with unique value to each role with each ministry goal. ACS Technologies is a privately held independent Christian family-led company based out of Florence, SC, with remote team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The groundbreaking Discipleship Indicator provides insight into parishioners&#8217; journey of discipleship Florence, SC, May 7, 2024 \u2014 ACST Catholic, a leading provider of technology solutions for Catholic parishes and dioceses, has launched The Discipleship Indicator, a powerful new service that enables Catholic parishes to build or strengthen ministries to help form intentional disciples. This innovative&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/acst-catholic-introduces-revolutionary-service-to-assess-parish-ministry-and-parishioner-discipleship\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">ACST Catholic Introduces Revolutionary Service to Assess Parish Ministry and Parishioner Discipleship<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ACST Catholic Introduces Revolutionary Service to Assess Parish Ministry and Parishioner Discipleship - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The groundbreaking 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Smith"},"url":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/author\/leeshutt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":747,"date":"2023-09-29T19:03:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T19:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/?p=747"},"modified":"2024-04-10T19:21:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:21:09","slug":"new-study-identifies-the-lifestyle-and-behavioral-attributes-of-self-identified-catholics-revealing-opportunities-for-stronger-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/new-study-identifies-the-lifestyle-and-behavioral-attributes-of-self-identified-catholics-revealing-opportunities-for-stronger-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Identifies the Lifestyle and Behavioral Attributes of self-identified Catholics Revealing Opportunities for Stronger Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em>Findings can equip Church leaders to better serve parishioners and invite others<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, September 29, 2023<\/strong>\u2014Church leaders are well aware of the drop in Mass attendance and participation in the sacraments, and it continues to be a concern they are attempting to address. ACS Technologies today released a study that may help Catholic church leaders identify, engage, and effectively communicate with Catholics in their communities by knowing the characteristics of those who are active in their faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>National Study of US Catholics: Knowing Who to Invite and Engage<\/em> identifies the lifestyle and behavioral attributes of those who identify as active Catholics and provides a multi-dimensional view of those representative households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using ACS Technologies proprietary data modeling software MissionInsite, a community analysis tool, the study describes the lifestyle segments that are more likely or less likely to be active in the faith. This can give Church leaders a clear picture of the interest and priorities of typical Catholics in their parishes, and insight on the best ways to communicate with them. In addition, this study used data from ACST American Beliefs to highlight what Catholics are looking for in a parish as well as their primary concerns in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources of input for the study include Epsilon, Synergos, the US Census, research from the American Beliefs Study, and Experian Mosaics. Mosaics are based on Experian credit agency demographic and behavioral profiles, a segmentation system that describes over 126 million households across over 800 individual lifestyle and interest attributes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adam Minihan, director of communications for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma said, \u201cThe National Study of US Catholics assisted the communications department in developing a strategic plan for reaching those who are already in the pews, those who have left the pews, and those who have never been in the pews.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of those Catholics in the study, three Mosaic types represent over 13% of active Catholics in the US. These groups are considered more likely to be Mass-attending parishioners..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"nv-cv-d nv-cv-m wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanding Horizons (approximately 1.7 million households) are middle-aged with mid-scale incomes. They tend to be Hispanic and live primarily in US border cities. They have high devotion to family and prioritize their religious faith. <em>They can best&nbsp; be reached through Instagram, Snapchat, or radio\/video casts.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fast Track Couples (1.4 million households) are a mix of singles and couples living in urban neighborhoods. They make frequent changes in homes and possessions. They have few absolute principles and don\u2019t think about morals or ethics. They are not typically involved in the community, and have few long-lasting relationships. <em>They prefer to be communicated with through Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and text messages.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aging in Place types (1.37 million households) live in suburban areas near large and mid-sized cities, and have deep roots in the community. They are devoted to their faith, and attend Mass weekly. <em>They prefer direct mail or newspaper for communication.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut perhaps most interesting in this study,\u201d stated Terry Poplava, director of strategic expertise at ACS Technologies, \u201care the lifestyle segments that identify as active Catholics but are not well-represented in the Catholic community. We can look at their communication preferences and find creative ways to break through, increase their awareness of our ministries and begin to build trust. This is an important first step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study identified three Experion groupings of Catholics that are least likely to be engaged in the faith. They are present more often in the overall US population in comparison to the percentage of active Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"nv-cv-d nv-cv-m wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sport Utility Families (168,000 households) are upscale Gen X families with high-school aged children living in suburban developments. They are fairly conservative. Family is important, and the household may be multi\u2013generational. They are involved in school, community, and church groups,<em> They connect best through television, direct mail, or email.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Picture Perfect Families (145,000 households) are established and raising children in wealthy neighborhoods. They are civic-minded, and place importance on community and morality. They want church to make sense and fit their worldview. <em>They prefer communication through email or direct mail.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Red, White, and Bluegrass (214,000 households) are lower-middle-income families living in rural eastern and southern US. They have a strong sense of history and tradition. They have moved from farming to construction, transportation, and healthcare jobs. God and church are very important, and they prioritize faith and a Christian lifestyle. <em>They prefer radio or Pinterest as forms of communication.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnderstanding these attributes is more than just a fascinating exercise,\u201d stated Poplava.. \u201cIt can be a game-changer for dioceses and parishes in knowing exactly how families want to hear from them, so they can reach out and re-engage. It also points to opportunities to use social media, broadcast, and even traditional print media to reach people outside the parish registry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on the growing need for new ministry innovation and better-informed programming to reach more fallen-away and disengaged Catholics, both in the pews and those missing from the pews, ACS Technologies offers consulting services to assist Catholic leaders at all levels with understanding and applying data to their ministry planning. \u201cUsing this type of data, parish and diocesan ministry efforts can take on much more focus,\u201d said Poplava. \u201cAs we become more sophisticated in the way we communicate with our communities, we can be more intentional about how we present the Gospel in ways that speak to them personally, and build trust. This is the goal of ACST Consulting. We want to put our years of experience at the service of the Church to most effectively live the call to \u2018go, baptize, and teach.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the full report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/presskit-invitecatholic\/\">[click here] <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To request an interview with Terry Poplava, contact Polly King at polly@acst.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in 1978, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/\">ACS Technologies<\/a> is the leading, most comprehensive provider of church ministry tools, support, and expertise solutions to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. With the mission to enable everyone in the Church with a personalized ministry environment to make God-honoring decisions in actionable ways. ACS Technologies desires to build the Kingdom by being a trusted ministry partner in the daily life of every church. ACS Technologies stands apart by providing a whole church approach, meeting the needs of the denomination\/diocese, pastor\/priest, staff\/volunteers, and congregants\/parishioners with unique value to each role with each ministry goal. ACS Technologies is a privately held independent Christian family-led company based out of Florence, SC, with remote team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key popular solutions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/realm\/\">Realm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/ministryplatform\/\">MinistryPlatform<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/missioninsite\/\">MissionInsite<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acs\/\">ACS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/parish-data\/\">PDS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmethod.com\/growth\/\">Growth Method<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmethod.com\/go\/\">Go Method<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/higher-ground\/\">Higher Ground Managed IT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Findings can equip Church leaders to better serve parishioners and invite others Florence, SC, September 29, 2023\u2014Church leaders are well aware of the drop in Mass attendance and participation in the sacraments, and it continues to be a concern they are attempting to address. ACS Technologies today released a study that may help Catholic church&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/new-study-identifies-the-lifestyle-and-behavioral-attributes-of-self-identified-catholics-revealing-opportunities-for-stronger-connection\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Study Identifies the Lifestyle and Behavioral Attributes of self-identified Catholics Revealing Opportunities for Stronger Connection<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Study Identifies the Lifestyle and Behavioral Attributes of self-identified Catholics Revealing Opportunities for Stronger Connection - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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Insight from American Beliefs Study Empowers Catholic Leadership To Minister More Effectively Post-Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em>ACS Technologies issues compelling series of reports based on religious beliefs of Americans today<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, SC, April 10, 2023<\/strong>\u2014As the post-pandemic world moves more and more to a less centralized view of religion and religious affiliation, churches and ministries today are struggling to connect and engage with their own communities.&nbsp; A leader in church management software, market expertise, and data analysis for the last 45 years, ACS Technologies examined the theological beliefs of Americans with their ground-breaking <em>American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices<\/em>, originally conducted in 2013 and then repeated in 2017 and 2021.&nbsp; Valuable insights that reveal changing behaviors and social and moral attitudes and trends within communities of faith have been distilled into a series of nine unique reports; six are currently available, with the balance releasing monthly. More information on the reports is available at<a href=\"http:\/\/americanbeliefs.com\/\"> americanbeliefs.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs the landscape of the Church in America continues to shift, parishes and ministries must be at the forefront of new ministry ideas, parishioner needs, and underlying personal issues that affect every person in the pews,\u201d notes Terry Poplava, lifelong Catholic and director of strategic expertise at ACS Technologies. \u201cYou simply can\u2019t love and meet the needs of a community you don\u2019t know, and that\u2019s the primary reason we embarked on this research.&nbsp; This new data reveals modern man\u2019s current struggles, hopes, and longings and enables Catholic leaders at all levels to operate around informed strategies and practices geared toward new generations of current Catholics, fallen away Catholics, and those who have never heard the Gospel, with new views on life, family, morality, and purpose.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most recent study surveyed a sample of nearly 15,000 Americans from diverse demographics, cultures, and professions.&nbsp; The most surprising trends have been observed among respondents\u2019 practices and preferences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"nv-cv-d nv-cv-m wp-block-list\">\n<li>Overall, the study found that 33.3 percent of self-identified Christians are Practicing, and 66.7 percent are Nominal. Older generations are far likelier to meet practicing Christian criteria (39 percent of Boomers, 32 percent of Gen Xers, and 28 percent of Millennials).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Americans are more likely now to distance themselves from corporate worship by saying that \u2018believing in Jesus does not require participating in a church\u2019 (63 percent now vs. 50 percent in 2017) and that \u2018people in the church don\u2019t behave as Jesus would have,\u2019 (61 percent now vs. 32 percent in 2017).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Protestant Christians were significantly more likely to describe themselves as practicing Christians (37%) compared to Catholics (28%).&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The top reasons for staying away were \u2018Religious people are too judgmental,\u2019 \u2018Religion is too focused on money,\u2019 that they \u2018Don\u2019t trust organized religion\u2019 or they didn\u2019t \u2018trust religious leaders.\u2019&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Protestants place a slightly higher value on traditional worship compared to Catholics. However, there is an apparent strong connection between \u201ctraditional worship\u201d and the fourth item on the list \u201ccelebrating the sacraments,\u201d especially among Catholics and practicing Christians in the Boomer and Silent generations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on the growing need for new ministry innovation and better-informed programming to reach more fallen-away and disengaged Catholics, both in the pews and those missing from the pews, ACS Technologies now focuses on offering consulting to assist Catholic leaders at all levels with understanding and applying data to their ministry planning. \u201cParish and diocesan ministry efforts have to be focused,\u201d continues Poplava. \u201cThere is no margin for error with so many souls at stake. The human heart\u2019s need for God has not changed, but we must be intentional about how we present the Gospel in ways that speak to the heart of modern man. This is the goal of ACST Consulting. We want to put the muscle of our years of experience at the service of the Church to most effectively live the call to \u2018go, baptize, and teach.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All available reports in the <em>American Beliefs Study<\/em> series can be accessed for free <a href=\"https:\/\/americanbeliefs.com\/abs-reports\">here<\/a>.&nbsp; Forthcoming reports will focus on the rise of \u2018Nones\u2019 (those not claiming any religion) and their impact on the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information and a complete press kit, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/presskit-ABScatholic\">https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/presskit-ABScatholic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To request an interview with Terry Poplava, contact Carrie Kline at <a href=\"mailto:carriek@revolutionizingmissions.com\">carriek@revolutionizingmissions.com<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in 1978, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/\">ACS Technologies<\/a> is the leading, most comprehensive provider of church ministry tools, support, and expertise solutions to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. With the mission to enable everyone in the Church with a personalized ministry environment to make God-honoring decisions in actionable ways. ACS Technologies desires to build the Kingdom by being a trusted ministry partner in the daily life of every church. ACS Technologies stands apart by providing a whole church approach, meeting the needs of the denomination\/diocese, pastor\/priest, staff\/volunteers, and congregants\/parishioners with unique value to each role with each ministry goal. ACS Technologies is a privately held independent Christian family-led company based out of Florence, SC, with remote team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key popular solutions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/realm\/\">Realm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/ministryplatform\/\">MinistryPlatform<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/missioninsite\/\">MissionInsite<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acs\/\">ACS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/parish-data\/\">PDS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmethod.com\/growth\/\">Growth Method<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmethod.com\/go\/\">Go Method<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/higher-ground\/\">Higher Ground Managed IT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ACS Technologies issues compelling series of reports based on religious beliefs of Americans today Florence, SC, April 10, 2023\u2014As the post-pandemic world moves more and more to a less centralized view of religion and religious affiliation, churches and ministries today are struggling to connect and engage with their own communities.&nbsp; A leader in church management&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/new-insight-from-american-beliefs-study-empowers-catholic-leadership-to-minister-more-effectively-post-pandemic\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Insight from American Beliefs Study Empowers Catholic Leadership To Minister More Effectively Post-Pandemic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Insight from American Beliefs Study Empowers Catholic Leadership To Minister More Effectively Post-Pandemic - ACST Catholic by ACS Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ACS 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Study Examines COVID-19\u2019s Impact on U.S. Catholic Parish Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demonstration-set-for-international-catholic-stewardship-conference-sept-12-14\"><em>Research reveals compelling new insights on the state of Catholic donors and donations from 2018 to 2022<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florence, S.C., February 9, 2023 \u2014 <\/strong>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Villanova-Study-of-COVID-19-on-US-Catholic-Parish-Giving-2.1.2023.pdf\">new study<\/a> from a partnership between ACS Technologies and Villanova University\u2019s Center for Church Management in the Villanova School of Business examined the ongoing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on church giving. The inaugural report released today sampled nearly 1,000 U.S. Catholic parishes in 43 states. The researchers found that, after an initial drop, total donations increased over pre-pandemic levels; however, when adjusted for inflation, parishes have 11% less to spend today than they did pre-pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe results of this study can help church leadership understand how giving has changed for U.S. Catholics in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d said Terry Poplava, director of strategic expertise at ACS Technologies. \u201cLeaders at churches impacted may be wondering how to move forward, increase the number of donors and strengthen their overall financial health \u2013 our expertise and years of data can be leveraged to develop personalized solutions for each and every church\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As shutdowns began and churches closed in March 2020, many wondered how these events would shape Catholics\u2019 participation in the obligations of discipleship. The observed impact on collections was most significant beginning in April 2020, coinciding with a decrease in Mass attendance. Since then, 48% of parishes experienced an increase in giving, while 47% experienced a decline. Parishes in the south and west fared better, with increased giving over pre-pandemic levels, while parishes in the northeast and midwest fared worse as giving declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers also looked at donations on an individual scale. The number of donors decreased by 26% initially and is still below pre-pandemic numbers by 16%. Now, fewer donors are contributing more to fund parish life &#8211; per-person giving increased 24% in the first 12 months of the pandemic and has remained at about the same level ever since. While this is good news from a generosity perspective, it is ominous news from a sustainability perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur partnership with Villanova to manage, organize and analyze five years\u2019 worth of data from multiple sources brought to light meaningful, macro trends in giving,\u201d said Steve Cumbia, vice president of data at ACS Technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe rebound from the COVID-19 drop in 2020 and the subsequent increase in giving over pre-pandemic levels is good news and should be celebrated. This is a sign of hope for the future,\u201d said Matt Manion, faculty director for the Center for Church Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACS Technologies and Villanova are working together with the like-minded goal of helping church leaders strengthen their ministry, incorporating Villanova\u2019s data analysis to utilize over 40 years of unique and extensive data expertise in church practices and behavior from ACS Technologies. Soon to come are studies on the African American church, Southern Baptist, Methodist, and others. With years of experience and a passion for the church, backed by research and applied data, ACS Technologies is expanding its resources and services that help address the big problems experienced across the Church today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Want to benchmark your parish giving against the data?&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/assessments.acstechnologies.com\/?campaign=a5d843f\">Take this assessment<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information and a complete press kit, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/presskit-covidcatholicgiving\/\">www.acst.com\/presskit-covidcatholicgiving\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Poplava is available for comment. To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at <a href=\"mailto:carriek@revolutionizingmissions.com\">carriek@revolutionizingmissions.com<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong>About ACS Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in 1978, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/\">ACS Technologies<\/a> is the leading, most comprehensive provider of church ministry tools, support and expertise solutions to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. With the mission to enable everyone in the Church with a personalized ministry environment to make God-honoring decisions in actionable ways. ACS Technologies desires to build the Kingdom by being a trusted ministry partner in the daily life of every church. ACS Technologies stands apart by providing a whole church approach, meeting the needs of the denomination\/diocese, pastor\/priest, staff\/volunteers, and congregants\/parishioners with unique value to each role with each ministry goal. ACS Technologies is a privately held independent Christian family-led company based out of Florence, SC, with remote team members across the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key popular solutions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/realm\/\">Realm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/ministryplatform\/\">MinistryPlatform<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/missioninsite\/\">MissionInsite<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acs\/\">ACS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/parish-data\/\">PDS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmethod.com\/growth\/\">Growth Method<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmethod.com\/go\/\">Go Method<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/higher-ground\/\">Higher Ground Managed IT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-acs-technologies\"><strong><strong>About Villanova University&#8217;s Center for Church Management in the Villanova School of Business<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Villanova School of Business\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/villanovachurchmanagement.com\/\">Center for Church Managemen<\/a>t enables current and future church leaders to steward the human, financial, and other resources of the church by teaching business best practices in a Christian context of mission and ministry. CCM offers the world\u2019s first and only Master of Science in Church Management, as well as performing research and conducting non-credit programs in church management throughout the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Research reveals compelling new insights on the state of Catholic donors and donations from 2018 to 2022 Florence, S.C., February 9, 2023 \u2014 A new study from a partnership between ACS Technologies and Villanova University\u2019s Center for Church Management in the Villanova School of Business examined the ongoing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on church&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acstechnologies.com\/acst-catholic\/news\/new-study-examines-covid-19s-impact-on-u-s-catholic-parish-giving\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Study Examines COVID-19\u2019s Impact on U.S. Catholic Parish Giving<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - 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