St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center has been serving the Cedar Falls community since before 1897, providing students at the University of Northern Iowa with a space to connect with other believers while deepening their faith.
Paul Lee has been involved with the Student Center for nearly 20 years, currently serving as its director. Because they are a Student Center, their software needs range from the ability to track attendance, to managing their bookkeeping, to needing multiple ways for students and donors to give electronically or purchase items such as t-shirts.
Paul was eager to find a software solution that could consolidate as many tools as possible. After researching multiple programs, he decided Realm would be the best church management software to help St. Stephen’s thrive and grow.
They recently launched Refresh Websites, a free tool in Realm, in April, allowing students to engage with the Student Center, learn about upcoming events, and, if they feel led, set up a one-time or recurring donation to St. Stephen’s.
“For our ministry, not only is it having students in the pews, but it’s also giving them the ability to buy a t-shirt. With Realm, we can use their online giving forms for students to purchase those types of things, and with the Shepherd App, I can easily pull up profile information on the fly.” -Paul Lee
In addition to Realm’s many communication and management tools, St. Stephen’s also utilizes Realm Accounting for its bookkeeping needs, as it seamlessly integrates with Realm’s online giving tool. From their website, to accounting, to online giving, to communication, St. Stephen’s leverages each piece of Realm for their ministry operations.
“My biggest sell on Realm is that it truly is ONE true platform. We attend a conference each year with 25,000+ people who are part of ministries like St. Stephen the Witness Student Center. One question we get asked collectively is: What’s a database that’s working for your ministry? We always recommend Realm because it genuinely is one system of record.” -Paul Lee
St. Stephen’s is eager in the months to come to utilize the communication tools in Realm further to segment messaging so that it is intentional to each audience.
To learn more about Realm, click here.
To learn more about eGiving, click here.
To learn more about Refresh Websites, click here.
To learn more about St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center, click here.
Jenna Wallace
Jenna joined the ACST team in February 2020 as a Ministry Consultant for small to mid-size churches with a focus on empowering these ministries with the tools they need to accomplish their goals. She believes regardless of the size of the ministry, each church can utilize technology to fulfill the calling God has given them. Prior to joining ACST, she spent several years as a Sales Consultant across multiple industries, all focusing on relationship building, which she feels has allowed her to provide trusted advice to those in need. Jenna is passionate about helping others which fuels her eagerness to serve.
