Faced with a global pandemic, churches around the world are adapting. The response has been incredible as churches have met fear and crisis with innovation and connection. In the midst of the first lockdowns, churches ranging from solo pastors to multi-campus congregations with thousands of members picked up the phone and worked through their rosters from top to bottom. Leadership and volunteers reached out via phone, text, and video to make sure needs were being met. Some referred to these as “COVID Calls,” others, “Wellness Check-Ins.” Social distancing has created challenges in care, and the way forward is not always clear. Pastoral care is changing and is more complex than ever before.
People Want to Know the Church Cares for Them
Wesley Webb pastors a small church in rural Georgia where his pre-COVID Sunday attendance hovered around 45 people. Word is getting back to Webb that the check-in calls he is making to congregants have been extremely impactful. A church member followed up with Webb and said,
Knowing that my church actually cares for me during this time is exactly what I needed. You don’t know how much that phone call meant to me that day.”
People want to know their church cares for them outside of Sunday service, an occasional Facebook post, and generic mass text messages. Let’s be honest, congregants may expect the first call, but it’s the unexpected follow-up that reminds them they are cherished. Deep pastoral care starts when members feel that they’ve shifted from a name on a list to a valued member of a community. People feel cared for when you remember the details in their life.
Track and Organize Congregational Care
In an episode of The Church Memo Podcast, Phil Bowdle from West Ridge Church said,
We have 14,000 names on a Google doc that we are going through and calling one-by-one. It’s probably been the hardest thing we’ve done through this crisis but been the most important thing. We have been reminded time and time again how God is showing up during these phone calls.”
This infamous pastoral care spreadsheet has been around for three decades. Churches of all sizes have turned to the endless columns and rows in an attempt to track care history and see the latest updates. The spreadsheets quickly become overwhelming and difficult to manage. The headache of keeping up with a spreadsheet ultimately leads teams to stop making updates and allows congregants to fall through the cracks; what if there is a better way?
Care Made Simple
Churches need an easy tool dedicated to pastoral care. We built Notebird to help churches store conversation notes, delegate follow-ups, and track life milestones all in one place. Churches experience the value of Notebird early on but it only gets better as teams care for their people.
The simplicity of Notebird is what churches love. Here are the three features churches use every single day:
#1 – Conversation Notes – Get Organized
Church leaders and their teams add updates when they check in with congregants and hear about important life events. Notebird tracks care history, giving teams the insight to care more intentionally.
#2 – Tasks – Always Follow Up
Tasks in Notebird remind users to check in with people, so no one falls through the cracks. Easily customize and assign tasks to follow up, send flowers, or send grief booklets.
#3 – Activity Feed – Your Centralized Care Dashboard
Notebird’s activity page brings all updates and life milestones into one place. Churches are using the activity feed to run their care meetings so they don’t miss moments that matter.
A Better Way to Care
Churches genuinely want to serve their people well, but they have been stuck with systems ill-suited to their needs. The call to serve is a monumental undertaking and, until now, the tools that teams use are falling flat. Notebird is not just another stop-gap; it was designed specifically for pastoral care. Learn more about Notebird.
Check out these additional resources related to Church Communication:
8 Essentials for Church Communication
Being Consistent in Your Church Communication: 3 Problems and 3 Solutions
3 Best Communication Methods for Millennials
Organize Your Church Communication for the New Year