Church Management Software

Church management software provides your ministry with tools to manage your church, people, contributions, events, and more while offering a “single source of truth” as everything is in one single location. You can provide your church staff with the tools they need to effectively manage all that falls into their roles, give your group leaders ways to connect and communicate with their group members in a more efficient way, and allow your members to be more engaged with your ministry through the church management software and mobile apps. From your pastor to your members, they all benefit from a church management software as they can stay more connected and in-the-know with your ministry.

So many churches today that don’t have a church management system go through the same struggles. For example, “our church secretary is the only one with that file on her computer and she’s out sick this week so the pastor will simply have to wait to have his question answered.” Or, you may be familiar with, “I’ve been adding all of this into an Excel file, but now the file is missing and I can’t find the information!” A church management system solves those problems and so much more. It means you have one single location with all of your data that is backed up in the cloud so your data isn’t lost. Each staff member, pastor, and volunteer can be given access to the parts of the church software they need so they can see data in their own time without depending on others.

Church management software brings all of your processes into one place. No more silos, no more having only one person who can access your data and being out of luck if that person is out of the office, and no more having to be physically in your office to access important information on your ministry. Internal information such as managing your members and contributors, adding small groups or church committees, viewing trends within your data, and setting up registration events are all handled in one place by your staff. Staff members can be given access to only what they need to see for their position, meaning increased security for your sensitive information. Plus, church members can access their information as well as church information, such as their groups, volunteer schedules, events, and more, through the church management software. You decide who sees what while providing one solution for everything that happens in your ministry.

Start by evaluating your ministry and ministry goals. What systems do you currently have in place to manage your ministry today, and how does that look 5 years from now as your ministry grows? If you’re focusing on small groups, does the church management software you’re evaluating offer a full group management feature including communications both by group leaders and group members. If you’re trying to bring your church up-to-date with more modern tools for your ministry to engage your congregants, consider evaluating mobile app solutions within the software. Make a wish list of all the things you wish a software for church management could do, and set out to find what can serve your ministry the best. Be sure to include more than features, however. Consider things such as company values, support and training options, and contract details, as those are often overlooked but heavily influence how well you’re able to introduce a new software to your staff and church members.

Most small churches have one, maybe two church administrators or secretaries to manage all of the church business and data. If that is you and you are using Excel, Word, and other forms of software to track and manage your church, you’re doing a lot of work that a church management software can do for you! Having church management software means bringing all of your data into one single place so you no longer have to remember what is where and how to access it. Your data is all connected, meaning your people, groups, communications, reports, and so much more can talk to each other and changes are made universally. Talk about a headache reliever!

When you’re in the buying process and talking to different church management software companies, be sure to know what they are truly offering. While you may tend to focus on software-specific features, also ask about the company history, support and training options, and contract details. You want to work with a company that focuses on ministry, not simply making money. You also will need ongoing support and training, so make sure you can reach them when you need to. And of course, contract details can be a huge deterrent, especially if they are locking you into a contract and requiring a payout before you can cancel if needed.

ACS Technologies has been partnering with churches and ministries for over 40 years, striving to build the Kingdom by being a trusted partner in the daily ministry life of every church. We focus on solutions and software that enable you to spend less time to increase efficiency and effectiveness to take your ministry to the next level. Our employees are church volunteers, pastors, and church staff members, and it shows in how we work together to answer some of your biggest needs in software. We understand your challenges first hand and want to solve them alongside you.