Per their nature, crises are unforeseen, unpredictable, and unavoidable burdens. They strike at the hearts of individuals and communities, creating shockwaves that affect our lives in complex and interconnected ways. Whether it’s a fire or flood, pandemic or sudden loss, hardships are inevitable.
When difficult times arrive, church leaders like you are expected to give guidance, provide comfort, and share knowledge and resources to chart a path forward for the community.
But you don’t have to navigate those trials alone.
Pushpay’s new Crisis Resource Hub was built to share tools and resources that can make leadership in the face of a crisis a much less confusing and lonely endeavor, providing everything you need while managing troubling times.
Of course, as with many challenges in life, the best time to prepare for a crisis is before one shows up — and in this digital era, that means having a plan in place that leverages the latest technology to help bring your people through the storm.
Communication
The priority during a crisis must be communication. Especially if your community is split by a natural disaster, pandemic, or other circumstance that hinders in-person meetings, you’ll need digital tools in place that can share notifications, updates, and requests across multiple channels.
The key is reaching people where they’re at. Some of your congregants check text messages and push notifications, while others might prefer to engage through email or social media. Make sure your church tech facilitates every type of communication channel possible to ensure your message is heard.
Giving
It can feel awkward to request financial support while your community is suffering. But as you well know, the generosity of your people only swells when they see a need — and when they have a simple method for giving.
Online giving solutions are currently used by more than nine in ten churches, according to Pushpay’s 2023 State of Church Tech report. That said, some platforms are especially suited for crisis situations. Through features that ensure your donors are directing their gifts toward specific relief programs, and delivering fully customizable thank you notes acknowledging their generosity, your donors will be empowered and comforted, knowing their aid went to the right place.
Simply facilitating giving isn’t enough, however, especially in times of crisis. The ability to access and distribute funds quickly will be critical; a giving platform that manages and processes all donations directly, as Pushpay does, can dramatically reduce the time before your church receives those funds.
Serving
As generous as your community is with their treasure during times of trouble, they tend to be equally gracious with their time and talent. There’s sure to be a surge of volunteers willing to help however they can.
You’ll need systems in place to manage that influx of service. Adopt a digital platform that can easily communicate needs, schedule volunteers, and manage teams. Without these tools and practices established for your church, you risk frustrating those who feel called to serve and may not maximize their efforts.
And remember, your leaders won’t always be sitting at their computers, especially during a crisis. Pushpay’s LEAD app allows leaders manage teams and volunteer schedules from their mobile devices while they’re on the go.
Reporting
A crisis may be winding down, but your leadership team’s work isn’t over. You’ll need to look through all the data and information gathered to assess your financials, engagement rates, volunteer hours, and more. Besides helping you refine your approach to future crises, you can share this data to highlight the inspirational impact of your community’s time, talent, and treasure during the recovery process.
Fortunately, by unifying all your digital solutions under a single streamlined ChMS, generating the necessary reports and insights is a simple process. The heavy-duty lifting usually required to create giving reports and to analyze data will be handled for you — if you’ve adopted the tools beforehand.
The trick, once more, is to prepare beforehand. None of us can know when we’ll wake to a crisis that must be addressed with organization, action, and wisdom, and churches are always looked to for direction and leadership during difficult times. By adopting the latest church technology solutions — with features tailored for aiding communication, giving, serving, and reporting — you and your community will be prepared for whatever life throws your way.
And remember, you don’t have to go it alone. Pushpay is proud to stand alongside over fourteen thousand churches, not just as their technology provider, but as a partner ready to aid and assist in any way we can.
