Management (ChMS)

As a church leader, you don’t have the time to sit down and type information about your people into a spreadsheet and monitor your interactions with them. But church management software can mind that gap. So what, exactly, is a ChMS – and how can it help you better shepherd those God has entrusted to you?

Cool Solutions Group has announced new church management software integration partners for eSpace, its HVAC management software, that just might remedy your ever increasing church energy bill. The number one cost influencer to your utility bills can be attributed to the cost of heating and cooling your facility.  The second most factor that contributes to most inefficiencies is controls and behaviors when controlling facilities.

Many churches understand the importance of intentional community, yet very few implement the necessary processes to truly understand whether it is actually happening. But technology can help. Rather than simply being a place for people to connect, your small groups can actually be a catalyst for growth and genuine disciple-making. And if you’re not convinced, here are ten ways you can use your church management software to launch new small groups this fall.

Mobile technology has revolutionized how we do everything these days, even ministry. Administrative tasks and the management of personnel that were once arduous and labor-intensive are now quick, easy and accessible from anywhere at any time.

For the last several years Big Data has been a buzz word tossed around in the for-profit world as the “Next Big Thing.” However, analysis and insights that were once reserved for big business are now accessible to nonprofits and churches. Churches can and should leverage data in their church management system to create deeper engagement with church members and to enhance discipleship and make better, more informed decisions for the future of their ministry.

Visitors come and visitors go, but successful churches create systems that make it easy for them to stay. Visitors come to church for different reasons; they may like the worship, want to hear the pastor, or think your kids' ministry is great. But visitors stick around for one reason - relationships. Churches must create a culture and put systems in place that build relationships that transform visitors into engaged members.

Since the dawn of web-based church management systems (ChMS), there hasn't been much change in this area of technology until recently. Although the shift to the "cloud" back in the late 90s' turned the church technology market on end (for the better), and shifted many churches to rely on the web instead of leaning on the power of their desktop software, after fifteen or so years, we now have another contender for change: open source church management systems.

Six years ago I've switched from PC to Mac and then back again last year. The first jump came after a friend gave me a second generation MacBook Air. More recently, due to my disappointment with Apple's latest update to their MacBook Pro line, I switched back to PC to get a fast seventh generation Intel Core processor and a touchscreen laptop. Apple offers neither as of early 2017.