planning center

As a worship leader, your first priority is to lead your team. If I’ve learned anything about leading teams over the past 23 years in ministry, it’s that the culture of the team determines the effectiveness of the team. Create a culture of camaraderie and connectedness, and your team will be much more effective.

Fairly soon in the life of any congregation, it becomes obvious that spreadsheets aren’t sufficient for keeping track of who completed the new member class, whether anyone followed up with last week’s visitors, or who’s signed up to serve this week. That’s where a church management system (ChMS) comes into play. There’s a wide variety of systems to choose from; each with its own specialties and functions. In this review of Planning Center, my goal is to introduce you to it’s features and offer a few suggestions as you decide whether this could be the best ChMS fit for your church.

We know as ministry leaders that you often don't get the chance to visit other churches on Sunday mornings. One of the perks I have is that I don't work for a church and can take time each month to visit churches in my area. Recently, our family visited a new church plant that meets at my daughter's middle school. I immediately noticed the lack of clutter on the stage area. I also noticed that there worship leaders were leading from iPads with no sheet music.