What is the cost to the church when a new family registers their child for VBS, and their information is siloed in an app other than the church management system used by most other ministries?
It is not unusual for churches to use a handful or more of different software applications to track and communicate with the same people. Children’s ministry may have a certain check-in system they prefer. The youth ministry might love a particular texting software that the kids are all using. The newsletter is sent from yet another email tool. If you can relate, don’t stress. The biggest concern with multiple software silos is ensuring you have accurate data to do ministry. We can help with that!
Why is one Church Management System better than several?
Since people are the point of the church, inaccurate data is the highest cost of a scattered software stack. When every ministry works out of one system, staff can see a shared story for each person and family, so they can work together to care for, equip, invite, and lead them. When ministries operate in silos instead, guests and members notice, and they tend to get more cautious about getting involved and investing their time and money.
One system also means simplicity for your congregation. It means less staff time lost learning and maintaining software instead of doing ministry, and, in turn, real financial savings.
How much does it cost a church to use too many software tools?
Every software tool that your team adds to your church’s software stack comes with a price. Usually, these are monthly costs that range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. It is not uncommon for a church with roughly 200-300 in weekly attendance to spend $300-$400 per month on software subscriptions. 400 to 1,000 in attendance might spend $900 per month. Churches larger than that can find themselves spending $2,700 or even more! The worst part is the tremendous functional overlap. Of course, these are just educated estimates, not from a specific software company. But you get the idea.
What if some of my ministry teams still use separate systems or apps?
This is the reality for a lot of churches, and it doesn’t mean you have to throw your hands in the air and let the data fall apart. Here’s how Churchteams helps you keep your core, trusted records accurate, even when a ministry uses an additional tool for a specific task.
- Our data team can import information from other applications on a routine basis to keep data properly synced. If ministry-specific registrations, check-ins, and fundraising are living in a separate app, our team can bring that data into Churteams. You don’t have to let it stay siloed.
- Suggested Merge Reports catch duplicate records and allow you to make the appropriate fix. Running these reports regularly flags people who may be system duplicates but have differing data in one field or another. Catching and correcting these discrepancies is easy in Churchteams. These corrections and our duplicate-prevention tools ensure you always have the correct information.
- People can update their own records easily in the app. With the Churchteams app, members can keep their own contact and family information up to date. Your staff doesn’t have to spend time chasing down new addresses or email contacts. And if someone doesn’t want the app, it’s still easy to update records using the keyword ME to connect to their profile.
These tools won’t replace the benefit of having a single unified system. They go a long way, however, toward closing the gap while you work toward that goal. And when you are ready, our team is here to help you find solutions for the functionality you need right inside Churchteams!
If you’d like help finding solutions in Churchteams to replace one-off tools, schedule a Quick Demo with us. Our team would be glad to show you how Churchteams helps churches be more efficient with their software, and in the process, more intentional about making disciples.
