3 Easy Lessons Churches Can Learn from Business Operations

Run your church more efficiently when you consider lessons that churches can learn from businesses.

In past years, many of us have separated how businesses run from how churches run. The church isn’t about making a profit and getting more revenue, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of things we can learn about operations, efficiency, and even the techniques of onboarding. 

More recently, there has been a lot of conversation around how people’s business lives can merge with their calling and serving God. And this is helping the idea that we can bring things from business into the church. 

One of the primary differences between businesses and churches is the way they operate. Often, businesses have a tight hold on their operations and systems, whereas churches are constantly trying to cope with running large operations without systems in place to support them.

There are some very easy lessons that churches can learn from business operations, all it takes is a little shift in perspective, and your church will run efficiently. 

3 Easy Lessons Churches Can Learn From Business Operations

1. Ask: What would a business do?

Churches have the characteristics of a business with hundreds of employees. A 200-person church has the infrastructure of a 200-person business. 

Whoa, does this parallel shift your perspective a little? 

It’s true. Just like businesses, churches hold meetings, have several committees, and communicate to hundreds of people via their mailing lists. Churches have budgets, scheduling, calendar management, and communications, just like businesses do. And just like businesses do with their clients and customers, churches are interested in onboarding people from being a neighbor in the community to be serving members of the church. 

The difference is, however, that businesses invest in the systems and operational tools that make all of these demands easier and more succinct. Churches must understand that there are tools that can help them run more efficiently and that investing in these tools will be hugely beneficial to the overall running of the church. 

If a business were to forgo efficient systems and operational tools, its running would become strained and the owners or employees would feel the same way. Therefore, it is worth exploring options that would help your church run a tighter ship and lighten the load of your employees and volunteers.

Work smarter: 7 Ways MediaShout Worship Software Makes Church Tech Easier

2. Remember your calling and embrace technology

Each person plays an important role in a business and in many cases, for someone to fulfill their job description, it takes others doing their work well. In the same vein, most people who go into ministry sign up to be with people. Very few imagine their careers in ministry involving hours upon hours at a keyboard trying to work the mechanics of running a church.  Essentially, for people in ministry to fulfill their job descriptions, other stuff needs to be under control.

This is why it’s important to embrace what technology can provide for your church. There are various tools that have been developed to help people run the church. These tools help get the mundane things out of the way so that you can focus on people. 

You’ll probably find that by your church ignoring their need for systems and operations to be under control, many of your employees or volunteers are not following what they are called to do, for the sake of running the church. By no means am I saying that there aren’t people out there who are called to help run the church. But, it’s worth taking an in-depth look into how your church is operating and where you can employ technology so that your people are released to serve where they are called.

Another great tech tool for leaders: 8 Practical Ways to Use Your ChMS After Events for Outreach Follow-Up

3. Identify how your needs are unique

Every business has unique needs, just like every church has unique needs. Generally, businesses assess their needs and invest in tools that will be the most beneficial to them. A bank probably won’t invest in design software and hack it so that it kind of helps them run an account. Am I right?

And so, churches should not invest in programs that are not specifically designed to meet their unique needs.  It is crucial for churches to hear that there are tools out there that have been developed to meet the needs of churches. These tools take the friction away from trying to use systems that are designed for businesses but don’t quite meet what you need. Find something well-suited to what your church needs to do.

What is even better, is that these tools are designed to help the whole church, not just the pastors. Imagine software that helps you with:

• Pushing the curriculum and study plans out to people
• Community-building 
• Scripture studies
• Mechanics of communications
• Child check-in
• Scheduling
• Calendar management

And a lot more. 

SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

It can be tricky to shift your perspective and consider what churches can learn from businesses. It takes careful consideration, keeping in focus what the church is commissioned to do on Earth. But the benefits of learning from business operations and systems can be remarkable.

Explore church-specific tools that will help your church thrive in How to Take Your Church Online in Under 24 Hours.