Church Executive » TECHNOLOGY

Mobile app to connect and reach

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:07 +0000

Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute, IN, has developed a mobile application to engage its members and empower them to share Christ’s message of hope to others.

The mobile app, however, was created not only for those who attend MCC. “We’ve clearly communicated from our stage that if this app stays in our own pockets, then it’s a failure. It was designed to get the message out there,” says Scott Telle, associate pastor.

“Our hope is that people will use it as a tool to open up conversations about their church, and ultimately the message of Jesus Christ,” he says. “I know one man more than 70 years old who uses an iPhone daily and is downloading our app.”

With the MCC mobile app, smart phone users can:

Listen to and watch previous sermons
Share sermons by Twitter, Facebook or email
Read the Bible
Read MCC pastor blogs
Give from the phone or iPad
See current announcements
See a map to the church.

Dismissing concerns that the MCC mobile app might replace real community experience, Telle explains that the app allows people to engage with the church only so much because “it is not meant to build a secondary ‘virtual audience’ away from our campus.”

“It’s just another way for us to reach outside our current congregation,” Telle says. “We will continue leveraging technology as long as the culture uses it for communication.”

Apps have come to church

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:00:46 +0000

By Ronald E. Keener

Apps are seen as an “innovative way for churches and ministries to communicate their message to their community” says Matt Morris, project manager for LifeWay Christian Resource’s Digital Church. “With the ability to pull content from so many different locations, stream sermon audio and video, and pull it all under one roof, the ease of use and accessibility is simple,” Morris says.

LifeWay and their mobile app development group, ROAR, have provided 1,000 churches the app at a nominal fee in an offer that ended at the close of last year. Morris says that 50 percent of adults in America have a smart phone, and by the end of 2013 it is projected that the number will be closer to 80 percent.

“The number one app category accessed on smart phones is social media,” Morris says. “We believe that apps will be the future behind smart phone growth, and we believe that it will be key for churches to have a presence in the everyday life of their community and apps give us that opportunity today.”

Church Executive interviewed Morris on the direction that LifeWay is taking in this technology, not only for Southern Baptist churches but for any church that decides to get involved.

In doing your research what have you found that seems encouraging in this technology approach?

We found that, as organizations, churches are starting to steer away from traditional communication means. The benefits of using an app include lower costs to communicate a message, one place for everyone to gather virtually, and ease of use when an update/revision is needed, all while delivering the church’s message to the congregation in a simple way.

How do they make use of it with their staffs and parishioners and their own websites?

The status quo today among church ministry leaders, technology pastors, executive pastors and others consists of publishing content from their church or ministry across the web. They have a church website, websites for each ministry, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a place where they upload sermon audio, video and other content as well. This app brings all of that content into one place packaged in an app where people can find it easily and interact with that information on a device that is with them wherever they go.

So “Hometown First Baptist” signs up; what takes place then in the implementation, how is it used within the congregation?

ROAR sends them a username and password to an online management platform, referred to as a content management system, where the church and/or ministry leaders will decide what is in their app. These options are sermon notes, prayer wall, QR Code scanner, Facebook page, pictures, videos or a host of other options. The church then submits the app for ROAR to build. The congregation will then be able to be updated on everything from what their kids are learning in small group to when activities are happening to where local missions are happening.

Can churches “make it look like their own”?

Yes, the app is very customizable. All of the graphics and layout of the app are up to the church. There is a basic structure but the management system behind the app is very flexible for a myriad of different content.

Is there a way that the local church can maximize its use for its own members; how might they “market” it to increase usage?

The best way to “market” any technology is to use the technology. The app will become a daily part of a member’s life if the church leaders and ministries use the app to inform their members of what is going on in the church, encourage, equip, and inspire it’s members through the interaction of the app.

What are the maintenance factors and costs here? What can the congregation save in costs with the LifeWay product?

The normal set up fee or building fee for a church app is $750 per iPhone, iPad or Android app, plus a monthly hosting fee of $35/month per app from ROAR the mobile app development company. If a church signs up through Digital Church, we charge $600 per iPhone, iPad or Android app plus a discounted monthly hosting fee of $30 per month.

How is the LifeWay app/program more functional and useful than any other one being offered out there?

Many apps built for churches, ministries and nonprofits simply inform. They don’t allow for interaction in the app with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. We believe that the more people interact with an app the more they will use an app.

With 1,000-plus churches using this app, is there a “power” of them all working together?

Just like there are different churches for different communities, we believe the power of having so many apps is that people will connect with the message of a specific church or ministry. Our goal is to empower and connect individuals, congregations and churches. This is why we believe there needs to be so many different voices in the app world.

Visioning a bit, how do you see the future of apps and iPhones and iPads?

The future of apps will be centered on building community. The more you can empower the individual or filter information, the more success you will have in the future. There will also be a push on a global scale and not just a local community scale.

Apps have come to the church

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:00:26 +0000

By Ronald E. Keener

Church Executive interviewed Morris on the direction that LifeWay is taking in this technology, not only for Southern Baptist churches but for any church that decides to get involved.

In doing your research what have you found that seems encouraging in this technology approach?

How do they make use of it with their staffs and parishioners and their own websites?

So “Hometown First Baptist” signs up; what takes place then in the implementation, how is it used within the congregation?

Can churches “make it look like their own”?

Is there a way that the local church can maximize its use for its own members; how might they “market” it to increase usage?

What are the maintenance factors and costs here? What can the congregation save in costs with the LifeWay product?

How is the LifeWay app/program more functional and useful than any other one being offered out there?

With 1,000-plus churches using this app, is there a “power” of them all working together?

Visioning a bit, how do you see the future of apps and iPhones and iPads?

Using technology to enhance, not replace, the church experience

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:00:57 +0000

Tulsa church develops its own app for communication with members — and offers it without charge to other churches.

Confession, an iPhone app aimed at helping Catholics through confession and encouraging lapsed followers back to the faith, has ignited a maelstrom of controversy centered around whether the sacrament of penance can be replaced by a computer application.

Regardless of the theological conundrum swirling around this app, it helps highlight the degree to which technology is ushering in a new era of religion where churches are increasingly heightening relevancy by embracing the cultural shifts and trends associated with digital media.

Technology has played an integral part in the spread of religion throughout the ages. The printing press revolutionized the spread of the Bible; electricity, microphones, then radios and TVs, and of course the Internet – all of these technologies have been used in to spread the message.

All but taken for granted today, these advances at their conception were often revolutionary (and perhaps even met with some resistance). iPhone, iPads, Blackberries, laptops and the apps that populate these gadgets are tools that foster improved efficiency and interactivity as well as enhancing personal convenience. At its core, the use of technology in church isn’t about strategy and values.

Church not a solitary event
Church is more than a building or weekly event and has never been designed as a solitary activity. Most members of our congregation have smart phones linking them to family, business and social networks.

As a long-established and large church with a rich history, First Christian Church in Tulsa, OK, is bringing the benefits of mobility to our congregation of 950 people through a mobile app. The app, available at no cost to everyone, provides the latest real-time information about the church and its child care center, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses of staff, the church newsletter, calendar, service times, prayer requests, and weather cancellations.

It also provides weekly Bible verses from the common lectionary, a Bible program used by many preachers to systematically cover the entire Bible in three years.

The app is used to enhance direct communications with church members, not replace it, while fostering a greater connection between and among the church and its members. It also facilitates an opportunity to reach out to the greater community, keeping them informed of programs within the church.

These new mobile technologies present a way for us to stay in close touch with our congregation and cultivate a deeper connection while simultaneously streamlining our operations.

While the cost of building an app is directly proportional to the scale and the app platforms you are targeting, a 2009 Forrester report set the price of a no-frills app at a minimum of $20,000.

Same less expensively
While many large corporations have spent millions developing applications for proprietary handheld devices, smaller app developers are emerging that empower businesses and organizations of all sizes, including churches, to do the same at a lower cost.

It only took us four to six weeks to develop our app and get it approved for the iPhone at a cost under $2,000 (less costly than building a custom website). The app is based on MacroSolve’s ReFormXT platform, used by schools, including the University of Tulsa, country clubs, healthcare organizations, and businesses. The specific platform designed for church use is known as ChurchInsight.

Just as websites did years ago, mobile apps are popping up at congregations across the nation. A recent search through the iPhone App Store yielded several church applications. With the launch of the iPad, the use of mobile apps will not only solidify but skyrocket.

Rev. Jeremy Skaggs is associate pastor, Youth and Family Ministries at First Christian Church in Tulsa, OK. www.fcctulsa.org

Remain efficient across multiple locations

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:00:51 +0000

Church For All Nations is multisite and interstate in using technology to serve its members.

From its beginnings in the basement of a home on the west side of Colorado Springs, CO, Church For All Nations has always looked to grow and stay on the cutting edge. Today, with an average attendance of about 2,200 each weekend and spread across four locations (two in Colorado Springs; one in Littleton; and one in Liberal, KS), Church For All Nations is a burgeoning multisite congregation that continues to serve its members in a multitude of ways.

Though its growth has been a blessing, it has faced the same challenge shared by many growing multisite churches: the need to be efficient and streamlined without losing touch with individuals across multiple locations, while also branching out beyond the church community to reach new people for Christ. This is where technology has helped bring all four campuses closer together.

Problems to work though
Having four campuses spread out over three cities and two states offers a unique set of problems. For one, trying to track attendance of families at numerous services, Life Groups, and student ministry groups can be difficult. The need to organize all this information at one location also had to be examined and considered before the situation could be resolved.

“We started researching church software and saw that Church Community Builder (CCB) offered many solutions to issues we faced,” says the church’s Carrie Pendleton. “We were excited about the possibility of connecting with this system, with one of the overriding factors being the people oriented approach it provides.”

She adds, “Being able to communicate and connect with people more efficiently across all of our campuses from Colorado to Kansas was of utmost importance.”

As Church For All Nations has grown, the number of families that attend the church has also increased. With the growth in children came new challenges of keeping them safe while attending children’s ministry, youth ministry, or other young adult programs, as well as tracking who was attending which group. The children’s check-in process that CCB offered and its multisite abilities were met with enthusiasm.

Web-based was important
“Some of the key factors that were important to us were that our new system was web-based, it could accommodate multisite churches, and it could break-down check-in for different ministries such as children, youth, and Life Groups, across multiple church locations,” notes Pendleton.

“The use of barcode scanners has been great and keeps the process moving quickly,” she says. “Another great feature is group promotion. This allows us to mass move children to their new class, which is really beneficial each year when children move up a grade in school. We also use multi-site check-in. Through CCB, each campus runs check-in separately from other campuses yet remains within a single core database, which is very important. This has allowed us to track attendance at each of our locations and to have accurate numbers of who is attending each week and who we might need to check in on to make sure things are alright.”

Another area that is vital to church leaders is keeping up on new attendees and following up to make sure they don’t fall through the cracks.

“Our new system has some great reports for tracking families,” says Pendleton. “We can now easily see when parents or children have missed services so we can proactively connect with them to make sure all is well. We are also able to easily identify first-time visitors and quickly initiate a follow-up process to help them feel welcomed and cared for.”

Overall, Pendleton says their new technology has afforded the congregation the opportunity to interact with families on a regular basis and keep track of when its members attend services, as well as provided parents with a feeling of security. Additionally, they have all the necessary management tools and solutions necessary to effectively empower four church locations within a single system.

In recent years, multisite churches have become one of the fastest areas of church growth and continues to be one of the best ways for churches to expand and reach out within and beyond their communities. Church For All Nations has done a great job of leveraging technology to support a multi-site strategy for reaching more people with the Good News.

Lauren Hunter owns Lauren Hunter Public Relations, a communications firm in Roseland, CA, dedicated to the faith-based technology market.
[ www.ChurchTechToday.com ] [ www.lhpr.net ]

Incorporate guests for growth

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:00:50 +0000

By Lauren Hunter

For all healthy, growing churches, the process of proactively connecting with first-time visitors is absolutely essential. The term assimilation, while sterile and impersonal, actually describes an important aspect of connecting people to your church and to the core ministry where life change occurs. The visitors you see each and every Sunday allow a church to continue to grow and an infusion of new, passionate members is vital to the mission of any church.

For a new church, effective assimilation is the only way to grow a church from the ground up. Finding and incorporating the correct tools to identify a visitor and then consistently following up with them could mean the difference between a growing, vibrant church or experiencing decreasing members when disciples fall through the cracks.

Tracking is essential
Tracking, contacting and following-up on your visitors, new attendees and even regular attendees can be difficult and time-intensive. Yet, it beats having to hear the stories of those who came once but stopped coming back. Many churches have begun to use technology to help stay on top of this time-consuming task. While these programs range in capabilities, sophistication and price, most churches have found that having some type of solution for tracking attendees and new visitors is now a necessity.

One of these churches is Albany Grove Church in Albany, OR. In October of 2009, Albany Grove sprouted as a fresh church plant with a desire to have a follow-up process in place that would allow them to build their church from the ground up, and prevent people from falling through the cracks.

One of the first things Associate Pastor Darrell Mishler did was to customize Albany Grove’s church management system to support their attendance tracking process. They added three custom date fields: 1) one field for first time guests, 2) another field for second time guests and 3) a third for third time guests.

As a visitor to a church, you want to feel welcomed and cared for. You want to know that you matter and belong. It is for this reason Albany Grove asks each visitor to fill out a card. The information received on these cards is entered into the church management system (in this case Church Community Builder), and the first of the boxes is used by putting the date of their first visit; this initiates a “first-timer process.”

First-timers
“We devised a (manually operated) process so that when a ‘first-timer’ was entered they received a ‘welcome email,’ then the senior pastor was automatically notified and then sent a hand-written note with a ‘coffee card,’” notes Mishler. “Finally, the visitor was added to a ‘30-day call back’ group. Their responses clearly show us how encouraged people are because of the process. The church developed a similar process for second and third-time attenders.”

Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester, MN also has used its web-based church management system to make sure new visitors are contacted quickly after their first visit.

“We are constantly hearing reports from new visitors about how quickly we recognize that they have visited the church and how we stay in contact with them,” says TJ Schultz, technology minister for Autumn Ridge.

A rule of thumb
Connecting people and impacting lives is reason enough to invest the necessary time and energy in developing an effective follow-up process, regardless of whether or not you empower it with technology. If you factor in the economic benefits, the potential ROI on good technology is significant. A rule of thumb (based on research in 2010) is that each member person will give an average of $1,000 per year to the church. While it takes a while for a first time visitor to mature into a giving Christian, it can happen much faster when people feel cared for as a result of good follow-up.

“Using the processes that we created within our church management system for first, second and third-time visitors, our church plant went from 100 who were our founding group, to more than 300 in regular attendance,” Mishler says.

Effective follow-up has helped drive a growth rate of more than 200 percent for their ministry.

Lauren Hunter is a freelance writer, church technology consultant and hosts the blog ChurchTechToday. www.churchcommunitybuilder.com www.laurenhunter.net

How technology helps foster community

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:00:58 +0000

By Lauren Hunter

When four-year-old The Community Fellowship Church in Collinsville, VA, began looking to implement a church management system for its growing congregation, the leaders knew that it was important not only to find a system that worked for the internal needs of the church, but also for outreach to its community where the unemployment rate is more than 20 percent.

The community was heavy in textile and furniture industries, but lost 90 percent of what was once there.

One of the main features that Lead Pastor Michael Harrison promotes within his church is encouraging groups to connect with each other, as well as with other groups in the area.

“One of our biggest outreach projects we offer our community is our ‘back2school’ event,” notes Harrison. “We were able to create a process so that leaders can connect with other groups in the community to provide backpacks, school supplies and haircuts.

“We also wash the feet of every child and provide shoes through Samaritan’s Feet, giving us time to talk and get to know each and every child, find out what their circumstances are and how we can help. We use the process to check-in and register every child and keep track of all their information so that we can continue to help them throughout the year and see where they’re at,” Harrison says.

Another large project that’s on the verge of coming to fruition for the congregation is the Community Dream Center, a homeless shelter and discipleship/transition program for men. Harrison says there are 140 such centers worldwide, each unique to providing for the specific needs in the community.

“The goal with the Community Dream Center is to fill a hole in our community’s services. There are a number of programs for women and children, but nothing that touches and works with underserved men who need help,” notes Harrison.

All of this is being coordinated and facilitated through the ChMS system of Church Community Builder (CCB). “Through CCB’s help, we are reaching and connecting with other such groups in the community to let them know that we will be offering a homeless shelter, life rehab, and coming in the future, a mobile food bank. We are able to connect and partner with groups that will be working with us, such as the Virginia Department of Economic Services as well as other churches and outreach groups in the area.”

“Our main goal was to find a tool that would allow us to serve, track and help our community,” says Harrison. “Church Community Builder (CCB) seemed to meld traditional desktop-based ChMS features with Web 2.0 online features such as online access, social community, collaboration and discussion forms — everything that was needed to meet our goal of helping those in need and also track how the attendees in our congregation were growing.”

Social outreach is another area where CCB is helping Harrison and the church. “We are able to keep up on what is happening in the lives of our congregation so that our leaders can stay connected,” he says. “It also allows our attendees to partner with us by allowing them to update their personal information and tell us what they are good at so we may place their skill sets in the proper need areas of our church.”

Harrison says that building community is what God has asked his church to commit to and technology is helping them accomplish this dream.

“This is the best way to communicate and minister effectively,” he adds. “Our church is now building community in new and exciting ways. We have a level of communication and accountability that we’ve never had before,” Harrison says.

Churches can use technology to create efficiencies and make it possible for ministry leaders and volunteers to stay focused on people in need, not administration.

Lauren Hunter is a freelance writer, church technology consultant and founder of the blog ChurchTechToday, Technology for Today’s Church. www.churchcommunity.com

San Diego church uses new platform to increase giving

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:00:45 +0000

Mobile giving technology at The Rock Church enables givers to donate any amount from their phones.

By Marisa Vallbona

When The Rock Church in San Diego, CA, wanted to offer its members a more relevant giving experience, the leadership turned to Mogiv, a new mobile giving technology that enables givers to donate any amount from any device at any time. The church reasoned that if it made giving easier, its congregation would give more readily — and it’s working.

Mogiv enables organizations to empower their donors by providing multiple ways to give, including text to give, email to give, and online giving. Central to the Mogiv platform is the patent-pending GivUp functionality, which allows donors to “GivUp” a discretionary purchase and instantly redirect the resources to the organization of their choosing, thereby “Giving Up” those funds to a greater cause.

According to The Rock’s senior pastor, Miles McPherson, “This church has always leveraged technology in an effort to establish pervasive hope in San Diego and around the globe. By launching our campaign, we wanted to bring our daily spending habits into alignment with the needs we’re meeting in the community and around the world.”

Communication tools
The Rock Church, a church of 12,500 in five Sunday services, wanted to leverage a technology that could not only scale with their growth, but also provided compelling communication tools.

According to James Lawrence, co-founder of Mogiv and chief information officer for The Rock Church, “Ever since the first mobile text donation was made, nonprofits have been enamored with the idea of mobile giving, yet frustrated with the fact that it was limited to small amounts of $5 and $10, and basically anonymous. Caring for donors is one of the most important aspects of any nonprofit. If you don’t know who gave, it’s difficult to show them your appreciation. Mogiv enables The Rock to raise funds and take good care of our donors.”

Nonprofits like The Rock Church are using Mogiv to leverage mobile giving, e-giving and social media without monthly fees, set-up or support fees. In fact, it costs them 44 cents, the price of a postage stamp, to receive donations from givers. Merchant processing fees are paid by the nonprofit and typically total less than 3 percent, including the Mogiv fee. Givers pay zero fees to make the donation.

The church easily tracks the flow of giving by weekly reviewing the Mogiv reports dashboard. All transactions are in real-time and can be viewed as they happen by The Rock’s accounting team.

Invested in the community
“We’re pioneering a new and sustainable approach to mobile giving, and making an impact on people’s lives at the same time. Hundreds of items have been given up and those funds have been redirected towards The Rock’s ministry efforts. Recently a GivUp donation was made to the church by a donor who said they gave up spending $25 on a destructive habit and decided to give it to The Rock instead,” says Lawrence.

In fact, since the congregation started using Mogiv in October 2010, its fundraising has increased. During the first few weeks of their campaign, the church had more than 600 GivUp pledges and now plans to make the platform part of its annual stewardship strategy.

Marisa Vallbona is a public relations specialist in Southern California. www.Mogiv.com

Monday mornings are no longer tedious over data collection

admin — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:00:29 +0000

By Chris Byers

A new generation of software makes collecting and using data so much easier.

Churches know that their websites and online presence are necessary and helpful to share and receive information from members and staff. A church without a website today is almost unheard of, and many tools have been created to make website creation easy. Still frustrating though is making a church website a useful tool for collecting valuable data from site visitors and the congregation.

Appropriate data collection can greatly increase responsiveness from church and website visitors. Churches around the world attempt to collect basic contact information, commitments and attendance information on the weekends. For a number of reasons, people don’t get around to providing this information. Whether it is lack of a pen or just ambivalence, today’s technologies can help increase this data collection.

There are many churches seeking signups and data for event registrations for the latest mission trip or weekend gathering. Simpler data collection can continue to break down barriers to getting this data. Finally, collecting money for these events, or even for regular and one-time giving, can be halted because the right intentions still didn’t lead to bringing the checkbook to church.

Using the data
Even the church that is expert at collecting data through paper forms is required to figure out how to use the data. A typical Monday morning has churches around the nation using volunteers to type data into a computer-based system so that it can be used. Even then the data can’t always easily make the leap into the systems that track giving, newsletter subscriptions or attendance management.

Like the tools that make it easier to create websites, a new generation of software makes collecting and using data so much easier. Often referred to as SaaS, or software as a service, these tools are located completely online, thus making them extremely accessible, allowing you to initially use the products for free, and typically integrate with your website with great ease. Today’s online web apps also allow almost any user, even with little technical background, to implement the software.

Every year, Church at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, hosts many events including Bible studies, kid’s camps, Vacation Bible School, dinners, and much more. With so many events taking place in and around the church, an online application was needed to easily and quickly organize and collect information for each event. The existing process included using paper forms and having them mailed back in, along with a payment for each event. This process was time consuming, and getting the form in the hands of the right person was always a difficult task.

Looking for a solution
When the staff decided to do a website overhaul, Worship Pastor Chuck Jones knew it was the right time to begin looking for an online form solution.

Before the new website redesign took place, Jones did a Google search for online event registration forms and found a number of tools available to help. After reviewing all of the companies listed in the search, Jones selected Formstack, one of the form builders he thought to be the best value, considering the features and price.

Online form builders provide a great path for collecting data. Whether it is a one-time poll, survey, contact form, event registration, or even online giving, there is a form builder to simplify that process. Once the form is built, connecting it to your site can come in the form of a link or HTML and JavaScript embeds, creating the forms can keep the professional look and feel of the church website.

Good integration
Of the form-building options available today, the most effective integrate with complementary products. For instance, churches collect contact information for an eventual end goal. The best products will allow a visitor to enter their contact information online and then click submit. Once the data is received, behind the scenes the form can be built to automatically add the person to the email newsletter or to the church CRM.

Or, in another instance, a regular attendee might prefer to give online. Setting up debit/credit card giving can be very time-consuming and costly. Rather than going through that headache, find a form-builder that integrates with one of the basic payment providers like PayPal or even a more robust Authorize.Net or FirstData.

Church at Charlotte in the past 30 years has grown from a small rural church to a 2,200-member church. Once the new website went live, event registrations, feedback forms, and surveys all took place by using the online form builder. Not only does the application save the staff many hours, the use of features, such as conditional logic and smart routing, has also made it easier for the right person to receive the form once it has been submitted, reducing the task of finding out where the form needs to be.

Chris Byers is CEO of Formstack LLC, Indianapolis, IN. www.Formstack.com

Facebook and church management systems can coexist

admin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:00:04 +0000

Churches use social media platforms to enhance communication among congregrants.

By Lauren Hunter

For Jim Gum, executive pastor at Heartland Community Church in Olathe, KS, just connecting with people and getting phone numbers was a challenge when he first joined the church. “We didn’t have an updated directory, and our office administrator had gone home for the night. I couldn’t get the phone number for a member I wanted to help in my ministry,” Gum says.

Today, Heartland has a thriving Facebook presence and relies on its “MyHeartland” branded church management system to keep valuable data at everyone’s fingertips and allow people within the church to connect with one another and the pastoral staff.

“Trying to find tools – whether through social media or church management systems – that support the way you ‘do church’ is related to how you improve the way your church stewards and disciples people,” Gum says. “Spending time and money on quality organizational tools actually translates into greater ministry impact.”

Where does it fit?
Almost everyone is having the conversation about how social media fits into the church communication and management landscape. How can a church’s management software, Facebook page, Twitter feed, Google group, and other points of contact all contribute and work cohesively to effectively communicate and draw people into the church fold?

While it seems that Internet applications, websites, and management tools are making the process more complicated, some solutions clarify and streamline. While many Christian remakes of Facebook-like applications are born each day, some church management systems are already filling the need of social media management within their existing software.

“We don’t feel there is a need to recreate a ‘church’ version of Facebook; Facebook already exists and works well,” says Steve Caton, vice president for Church Community Builder. “What churches need is a place to drive the conversation deeper, where they feel a sense of security. Most people are not going to engage in a deep spiritual conversation on Facebook or any other online community unless it is private and secure.”

The firm’s web-based church management system (ChMS) provides social media tools within its software platform to help people have in-depth and more private conversations than its Facebook counterpart.

“It’s a both/and, not either/or. The two – a church’s ChMS and Facebook page – can coexist to share brief updates, open event invitations, pictures and videos you don’t mind going public. But the intimate stuff – detailed prayer requests, questions about discipleship and real needs – should be discussed in a safe place,” he notes.

Think through the process
Church communicators certainly have their work cut out for them. It’s becoming increasingly important to think through the process to ensure your church body is cared for with discretion.

Cynthia Ware, executive director, Center for Church Communication, says: “Handshakes between Facebook and ChMS make sense because churches need access to data such as, attendance and giving records, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays and the like, but they also hope for cyberspaces where safe conversations can go deeper, create instant prayer requests and develop and foster relationships that provide a sense of value to members.”

For churches that use a private online community, one of the best ways to blend a congregations’ use of Facebook and their church-only network is to post hyperlinks on Facebook that lead deeper discussions over to the church’s private church management system group. For instance, if your women’s ministry group posts a question about struggles or Christian growth, they can simply insert the link on Facebook, and when members click the link, they login the church’s management system and continue the discussion there. It’s a simple solution to start the conversation in a public forum and drive people to a private group where they can share and connect more in depth.

Lauren Hunter is a church technology public relations consultant in Roseville, CA.
[ www.laurenhunter.net; www.churchtechtoday.com ]