How to Get Started with Church Project Management

From sermon preparation to coordinating volunteers and training small group leaders (and more), there’s a lot that goes into leading a church.  One way to keep all these efforts running smoothly is by implementing a project management process for your church. Before we get into church project management, we need to deal with projects.  So, what is a project? According to the Project Management Institute, a project is “temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.”  In other words… With that in mind, project management involves coordinating all the tasks, team members, and resources needed to make the project a success. How does this apply to ministry? Most churches have more vision and activities planned than they have resources.  To have any hope of not working late nights and weekends (beyond Sunday, of course), you have to be organized and efficient with what you do have available.  Using a standard process to coordinate and organize the work helps everyone be more efficient and effective. Project management is a term we don’t use much in ministry.  It sounds very corporate-y, so it tends to get tossed aside. However, after using project management principles in both corporate and church environments, I can personally attest to its usefulness. Projects such as launching a ministry program, hosting a conference, or starting a new outreach are in addition to the day-to-day responsibilities and can stretch your team to their limit.  The key to not wearing everyone out while delivering an excellent result is in planning and project management. Before I go into detail about how to use project management principles, I want to introduce you to the benefits you can reap from a church project management process: Benefit #1: Less rework Planning involves doing work on paper before you do it in real life. When you plan, you can brainstorm and think through various scenarios well ahead of any deadlines. You can make your mistakes on paper (and identify better ways of scheduling tasks or handling various situations) instead of when a deadline is looming in front of you. Benefit #2: Increased excellence It’s hard to go the extra mile when you’re already exhausted.  Planning ahead and carefully managing the plan gives you margin.  You can use that margin to do the extra things that take your event over the top and deliver for your community. Benefit #3: Ability to deliver on-time and within budget When it’s down to the wire and it just has to get done, you’re more likely to feel justified in spending the extra money to finish.  However, if you carefully plan the timeline and budget, you’re much less likely to have last-minute emergencies. Benefit #4: Less risk Part of the planning process involves considering the risks involved in the event or new program.  You may need to purchase liability insurance for the event or make contingency plans in case of bad weather. Benefit #5: More creative freedom Using a structured planning process may not sound like it would allow for creativity.  However, when you plan ahead and allow for margin within your timeline, you can create room for brainstorming sessions and a few iterations of creative concepts.  You can’t let the creatives on your team tweak the graphics or décor forever, but you should give them enough time to come up with their best work. Benefit #6: Less stress and late nights You’ve seen (and experienced) it too.  The week before a big deadline is fraught with last-minute changes and many late nights at work.  Tempers may flare, communication is spotty at best, and you’re all just ready for it to be over. It doesn’t have to be that way.  Planning ahead and then working the plan prevents this last-minute craziness. Benefit #7: Increased buy-in from the team Your team needs to understand the “why” behind this new program or event.  Part of the planning process involves defining what success looks like and communicating that to the team.  That unifies the group and enables them to communicate more effectively and make better decisions. Then they can all head in the same direction with purpose and enthusiasm. Benefit #8: More volunteers A lack of planning leads to sending out a desperate plea for volunteers a few days before the event.  The volunteers who set aside their schedules to help likely receive very little communication or training.  In that scenario, your volunteers are frustrated and annoyed. They’re serving because they believe in the ministry of your church – so much that they’ll put up with the chaos this time.  However, don’t count on that continuing for long if you repeat this process often. Benefit #9: More effective communication Invest the time upfront to plan how and when you’ll communicate this event or new program.  You’ll want to consider service announcements, social media posts, billboards, website updates and registration, emails, signage around the church, etc.  When you coordinate this communication, it will be apparent to your congregation and the community what you’re doing, why, and how to get involved. That will increase participation and make the whole launch day run smoother. Benefit #10: Peace of mind Now, I know that God is our source of peace.  I’m not taking away from that at all. In addition to trusting Him for wisdom and direction, we need to use the skills He provides and give thought to our ways.  The simple act of documenting the tasks required to complete a project brings a measure of peace. You can see what needs to be done, who’s responsible for each item, and that you have a schedule in place to get everything done on time.  Yes, you’ll have issues to handle along the way, but the volume is much less when you plan ahead. That brings peace and helps you be a good steward of the resources (time, money, and talent) that God has provided. Hopefully, by now you’re at least intrigued by the benefits of

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Church Salary Resources to Help You Make Important Payroll Decisions

When it comes to deciding church staff salaries, money matters. Whether you’re in the middle of annual budgeting, preparing to hire a new employee, or reviewing current staff pay rates, there are church salary resources available to help you make those important payroll decisions. Here are five church salary resources that show what other churches are paying their staff.   ChurchSalary: A Resource of Church Law & Tax ChurchSalary offers the largest church-specific compensation database available online. This comprehensive tool allows you to compare specific positions with other comparable ministry and non-ministry jobs. Additionally, you can see the cost of living impact in your area, and review the primary influences that determine pay rates. You can purchase single reports or pay $99 for an annual subscription with unlimited reports. 2018 Southern Baptist Convention Compensation Study In 2018, state Baptist conventions, GuideStone Financial Resources, and LifeWay Christian Resources conducted a study on compensation trends. They focused on Southern Baptist churches across the nation. They collected data from ministers and church staff in 40 states, totaling 11,000 respondents. This salary study offers customized reporting so you can view data from churches of similar size and budget to your own. Another great feature of this study is its price: Free! Leadership Network Large Church Compensation Report The Leadership Network’s report focuses on large church ministries. Conducted by Warren Bird, Ph.D., this study offers insight into the biggest questions large church leaders have on compensation for their staff. Find out the most recent annual pay raises for specific positions, what percent of church budget goes to staffing costs, and how church growth impacts pay rates. For the comprehensive Large Church Compensation Tables, a more tailored look at compensation for your specific church, costs are $199 per table. MinistryPay Owned and operated by The Church Network, MinistryPay is a custom reporting tool used to gather data for compensation plans. To use this feature, you must first subscribe to TCN. As a subscriber, you’ll have access to pay data from over 100 job titles in a wide range of churches. You’ll also be able to view customizable reports. Costs include unlimited reports for 12 months and range from $140 for members of The Church Network to $180 for non-members. Participants in the compensation study will receive an $85 discount. XPastor’s Compensation Survey XPastor’s compensation survey compiles church salary data from hundreds of churches across the country. Though data is posted anonymously, churches are grouped based on location — Midwest, Northeast, South, and West. You can compare data to similar-sized churches in your regional area. For one-year access to this compensation survey, XPastor charges $49. Don’t go into your budget planning without a clear idea of how to compensate your church employees. After all, they are the ones you rely on to grow your church’s mission. Fair pay breeds loyalty and encourages retention no matter the workplace.

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5 Keys to Improving Volunteer Communication

Wondering why your volunteers aren’t quite doing what you need them to do?  Do they arrive late or unprepared?  Are you experiencing high turnover as volunteers quit? The issue may not be a lack of enthusiasm or commitment – it might be that they don’t really know what you need. Improving volunteer communication could be the key to unlocking your volunteers’ potential. Here are 5 simple ways to improving volunteer communication: #1 – Communicate early Don’t wait until the day before an event to ask someone to help.  Make the request at least two weeks before you need them to do anything – including attending a volunteer training session or meeting. #2 – Communicate often You don’t need to bombard volunteers with emails and text messages every day.  However, you do need to keep them informed and up-to-date.  A weekly email with special announcements, changes in your organization, or details on the next volunteer opportunity would be a great place to start. #3 – Consider your audience It’s easy to make assumptions, skim over details, and forget that we have a diverse audience.  Some of your volunteers have been around for years and “get” what you’re saying.  However, the newer folks may be mystified and wonder what you’re talking about.  Don’t use acronyms or “insider” language with volunteers.  Reread your communications while asking yourself, “If I was brand-new to our church, would I understand this message?”. #4 – Use various communication tools You have a plethora of tools at your disposal, many of which are free including email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, phone calls, and text messages.  These are all tools you can use for various types of volunteer communication. Try posting a request for volunteers on the church’s Facebook page and Twitter account.  Take pictures of volunteers serving and having fun, then post that on Instagram.  Build a community online and leverage that community to keep in touch with volunteers throughout the week. #5 – Use various communication methods There are three main types of learning styles.  Some learn best by hearing a lecture (auditory), others need to see the instructions (visual), while a third group needs to experience the lesson (tactile). What does this look like in practice?  First, invite your volunteers to a training session.  Handout the instructions (visual), review them out loud (auditory), and ask if the group has any questions, then have your team walk through the event space (tactile).  By hitting all three learning styles, you increase the chances of each volunteer understanding the instructions and being able to do a great job. Remember: Communication isn’t about you – it’s about your audience.  That means you need to listen to your audience.  Ask your volunteers if they feel like they’re receiving enough communication or information from you.  Find out which method and frequency of communication they prefer.  Try a few different methods and see what works best.  Effective communication makes volunteers feel appreciated, informed, and equipped to serve with excellence.  That alone makes it worth the time and effort to get it right.

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Project Management Software for Churches: How to Choose the Best One

Many church leaders see the potential value in using project management software for their teams. Popular tools include Asana, Basecamp, ClickUp, and others. However, there’s often a level of disappointment that happens once a church staff starts using the tool. Why isn’t this making communication easier? Why won’t the whole staff use the tool (and stop emailing me or dropping by my desk with a “quick” request)?  Here’s the deal: Those issues probably have nothing to do with the tool and everything to do with the process.  What do I mean by that? (Prepare yourself for some tough love here…) You can’t put a shiny new tool over a broken process and expect an incredible result. I don’t care how many features the tool has, how much you paid for it, or how “cutting edge” it’s supposed to be. If you don’t have a good process in place it still won’t work. So if that’s true, then what is all this process stuff about? Let’s say you’re looking for project management software to help your communications team put tasks into a central location, assign each, add notes about the tasks, send email reminders about upcoming tasks, etc. Before you sign up and start adding projects, consider this: How does your staff currently receive, manage, and complete communications projects? In other words, how does your team go from receiving a request to providing the final product? Notice I haven’t addressed any special software features here. If you don’t already have the answers to these questions, that’s where you should start before you evaluate any online tools. Here’s how to document your process: Step #1 – Create a rough draft Take a first cut at sketching out your church’s current process (whether you think it works well or not – just write down what IS). Step #2 – Review Meet with your team to see if they agree that what you’ve written down matches how they think things currently work. You may be surprised by where you have disagreements or different understandings. That’s another reason why documenting the process is helpful – it gets everyone on the same page. Step #3 – Improve Ask the team what they think should change about the current process and incorporate that into the documentation. Step #4 – Review with a wider audience Review the proposed process with other departments and/or individuals who’ll be impacted by the changes. Tweak the process until you get something you think will be more efficient. Step #5 – Evaluate Use the process for a few weeks without adding a planning tool. Work out a few issues, update the process documentation, then create a list of which steps you’d like a tool to help make more effective such as: Now it’s time to check out project management software options: Once you have a solid process and you know what you want out of an online project management tool, THEN it makes sense to start reviewing options. One easy way to start comparing options is to visit Capterra.com. You can select up to four tools to compare key features side-by-side. That will help you narrow down the options. Next, visit the website of each vendor to get a better idea of what each offers. Most of the software providers offer a free trial. I highly recommend you sign up for the free trial and have 2-3 people use the tool for that time period. See if you really like the tool, if it helps you manage your process more efficiently, etc. Once you land on a tool your team will actively use and finds helpful, then start rolling it out to more people. Make sure you explain WHY you’re asking them to use a new tool. Help each individual understand how this tool will make their job easier and how it will save them time and stress. Train each individual and answer their questions in the first few weeks. Don’t expect everyone to fall in love with the new software on day one. It may take a while for some to see the benefits. Be persistent, provide more training, and respond quickly to their questions. Yes, this approach will take more time up front. However, by documenting your process and identifying how you’d like to use a project management tool you greatly increase your chances of selecting the best one for your team. Complete the form below to receive a free Project Management Tools Overview guide (including information on the top software vendors):

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Top 5 Volunteer Scheduling Tools

In any church, volunteers handle a wide variety of tasks to keep services running smoothly. Keeping track of these volunteers for weekly church services, fundraisers, and other special events can feel like a full-time job. If you’re still living in the sticky note and spreadsheet era of volunteer management, it’s time to leverage volunteer scheduling tools to make life easier. These 5 Volunteer Scheduling tools will provide the ability to easily: Check out these volunteer scheduling tools:  SignUp.com A simple, user-friendly tool, SignUp.com allows volunteers to sign up for specific duties on specific days. It even has a filter feature, making it easy to see what shifts and positions are open for certain events. If you’re looking for a “no-frills’ way to keep track of volunteers, this is the tool for you.Price: SignUp.com is relatively inexpensive compared to other volunteer scheduling software. In the Basic, free version, SignUp offers several features. These include unlimited emails and participants, simple shift swap, email delivery tracking and reminding, social media sharing, and more. If you need something with more capabilities, the software also offers Starter ($9.99/month), Plus ($24.99/month), Max ($49.99/month), and Campus ($99/year) plans. These come with unique functions like waiver uploads, increased organizer options, and custom URLs. Check out its packages for more details on what each plan can offer you. Planning Center Planning Center was designed with worship services in mind. This is a comprehensive church management software that allows you to plan and schedule all ministry activities in one space. You can even create a member database, manage member giving, and attach service rehearsal documents. It also allows you to upload detailed plans for each service, from what songs will be played to who the bandmates will be that day. You can use the Services feature to handle volunteer scheduling or leverage it with other features of the Planning Center system.Price: Planning Center comes with a 30-day free trial but no free version. Its pricing, which ranges from $14/month to $199/month, is based upon the number of team members who will be accessing the system. See the plans here to learn more. Churchteams Churchteams is a full software suite. It helps you manage membership, groups, volunteers, event registration, contributions, email marketing, reporting, and other important data. One unique component of Churchteams is its Text-to-Church feature. This allows guests, members, volunteers, and church staff to directly interact with the database through texting. This software is leading the pack in workflow automation as well. It works to identify and map out workflows to help you automate your systems and procedures for consistent communication and follow ups with church members and guests.Price: Like Planning Center, pricing for Churchteams is based on the volume of team members using it. They offer a free 30-day trial but after that packages begin at $37/month and go up to $297/month. More details on their various plans can be found here.  VolunteerMark VolunteerMark has a streamlined approach to recruitment, donations, scheduling, tracking, and communicating. The cloud-based software helps volunteers track commitments through a personalized dashboard. There, they can manage their events, reschedule, and communicate with volunteer leaders. You can create one-time events with unlimited shifts or create schedules as fixed or flexible based on need. There are a lot of possibilities for volunteer management with this intuitive program.Price: In addition to a free trial for its more advanced packages, VolunteerMark also offers a free version. The free version allows you up to 50 users and three events per month. Pricing ranges from $34/month for its Basic package and goes up to $125/month for the Royale package. See the differences in features here. SignUpGenius SignUpGenius boasts an impressive 18 million users every month. With its user-friendly interface, it’s easy to see why. SignUpGenius makes it simple to create sign ups, message groups, report accurately, and donate with a payment feature. The latter even allows you to track payment history and export into Excel for bookkeeping purposes.Price: There is a Basic plan through SignUpGenius that is free for small groups. More comprehensive packages include the Silver ($8.99/month), Gold ($22.49), and Platinum ($44.99) options. As the most inexpensive volunteer sign-up software on our list, SignUpGenius is a popular choice for both personal and professional functions. Bonus Volunteer Scheduling Tool Option: Your Church Management Software Ask whether the church management software (ChMS) your church uses has a volunteer scheduling option built-in. Many do, so this is a quick and cheap (since you’re already paying for it), way to implement an online volunteer scheduling process. Additional Resources on Volunteer Management

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background check providers

5 Best Background Check Providers for Church Volunteers

As church leaders, you want to create a safe environment for those who attend your church. Thankfully, there are several background check providers who can help you with this important task. Conducting background checks on volunteers can protect your members, especially children, from potential predators. Story after story reminds us just how important this task is — and how carefully screening all staff should be a priority at every church. Background checks may only indicate that an individual hasn’t been caught. However, they are still a vital first step to properly vetting potential staff members and volunteers. Here are five background check providers to consider as you implement or improve the screening processes at your church: Shepherd’s Watch To purchase background check screenings through Shepherd’s Watch, you must first purchase one of the two life-time memberships offered. These memberships, $29.99 or $79.99, are a one-time fee and provide additional safety knowledge in a monthly newsletter, videos for volunteer training, and articles to share with your staff. Price: In addition, a membership offers special pricing on expert background checks, which range from $12 to $39. SafeChurch SafeChurch offers risk management resources for GuideOne Insurance customers. They offer inspection and assessment tools that give safety improvement recommendations, project plans for those improvements, and access to online training designed specifically for churches. It also offers access to background check services through Protect My Ministry, which serves churches of all sizes, and Reference Services Inc. (RSI), a nationally-accredited full-service background screening and drug testing firm. Price: Because of GuideOne’s partnership with Protect My Ministry and RSI, discounted prices are available for background checks. Click on the links to learn pricing options for the specific needs at your church. Protect My Ministry Protect My Ministry, as mentioned above, serves churches of all sizes. Currently, it’s serving more than 25,000 ministries throughout all 50 states. Its unique features include 50-state sex offender searches, free re-verification of criminal records, and no minimum requirements to use their services. Price: This background check provider offers two packages, the Basic and Plus. Both are comprehensive screenings for both staff and volunteers. Use their online consultation tool to find out which package is recommended for your church. LifeWay LifeWay allows access to several background check providers at heavily discounted rates. By going through backgroundchecks.com’s proprietary National Criminal Database, they are able to offer a host of products that allow additional searches through various tribal territory sex offender files and numerous state health and human services exclusion lists. Price: Though there are many options to choose from with LifeWay, pricing ranges from $10 to $20 per check. Learn more about their pricing options here.   Verified Volunteers Verified Volunteers offers an easy, user-friendly way to do background checks. Once you identify a potential volunteer, you send them the invitation through email or an embedded link. From there, the volunteer goes through the simple four-step process, which you can monitor the entire way. Price: Costs of a VV background check are dependent on the complexity of the screening. Costs could be as low as $10. Contact VV to learn a more accurate quote for your church’s needs. In addition to background checks, there are more ways to ensure you’re meeting the highest level of safety protocols. Talk with your church’s insurance provider. Ask if they have preferred background check providers. Ask them for recommendations on vetting staff and volunteers along with policies for childcare and interaction with minors. Contact your church management system vendor to ask if they work with specific background check providers.   Don’t rely only on a clear background check to approve a staff member or volunteer.  With staff members, you should have an extensive interview process and check references in addition to the background check. For volunteers, consider setting rules where a volunteer must attend the church for at least six months before he/she can serve around minors. You could also require them to serve in other areas (greeters, parking lot, etc.) before they serve around children. This allows staff and other volunteers time to interact with this individual and notice any potentially concerning behavior.   Put policies into place — and make sure they’re followed — where an adult cannot be alone with a child. Ever. Even if this means canceling childcare on a Sunday morning because a few volunteers didn’t show up. As a parent, I’d rather be told I’ll need to keep my child in service with me than have her in the nursery and something bad happen because an adult was unsupervised. No one wants to admit that abuse could happen at their church. It’s easy to read these horrifying stories and think they are so far away from your reality. But if we truly want to keep people safe, we have to recognize that abuse is possible, then take the steps necessary to prevent it. By implementing background checks and other safety procedures, you could save little ones (and their families) from the horrific long-term impacts of abuse.

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What Causes Ministry Burnout?

We tend to think ministry life will consist of serving God faithfully, seeing people come to Christ, and stewarding a growing church. Unfortunately, serving on staff at a church can often become stressful, overwhelming, and all-consuming. For many people, this leads to ministry burnout. If you’ve wondered how much longer you can last in ministry, you’re not the only one. A quick search on “ministry burnout” turns up over 3.5 million results. From Carey Nieuwhof to Ed Stetzer and others, more church leaders are openly discussing the issue of burnout (many with their own experiences). Most of the resources I’ve found focus on the burnout of pastors. As the senior pastor is the key leader in a given church, if he burns out there’s a significant impact on the entire staff and congregation. Pastors also have the burden of “the buck stops here,” which contributes to their potential for burnout. However, there’s also the danger for church staff and even volunteers to burnout. While there are unique challenges that only the senior pastor faces, there are several common issues that can lead to burnout for anyone working in ministry. Factors that contribute to ministry burnout: #1 – Working for God…not always with God #2 – Unrealistic expectations #3 – Isolation #4 – Lack of Vision Clarity How to Prevent Ministry Burnout Tip #1: Delegate Delegate to whom? Great question. Even if you don’t have any staff reporting to you, you still have delegation options. You may have individuals within your congregation who could help a few hours a week with administrative tasks. Delegate the easier stuff first – tasks that take up your time but don’t require much training to pass on to someone else. Another option could be a virtual assistant. You can contract out specific tasks and pay for the hours you need. Another option is to find online tools or resources that offer shortcuts to the information or processes you need to implement. The Church Operations Toolkit includes templates, how-to guides, and expert interviews that can save you time and money. Tip #2: Prioritize Review your calendar for the last few weeks. What does that tell you about what’s most important? After all, what we schedule tends to be what gets done and therefore shows what’s most important to us. Does your calendar align with what you say is most important to you? While it may feel like it, not everything is urgent and important. End each day by creating a to-do list for the next day. You close out that day’s work and set yourself up for a solid start the next. Recognize upfront that you’ll never really get to the end of your to-do list. This isn’t accepting defeat; it’s facing reality. Prioritize your list and work on the highest impact, most valuable tasks first. Tip #3: Leave Work and Disconnect How many evenings did you work late last month? Your relationship with your family plus your physical health will take a hit if you’re working late too often. There will be busy seasons, but those should be seasons, not every day. This is much easier to say than do, but it’s important to say “no” to work (even church work), so you can say “yes” to your family. I like how Eric Geiger puts it in his post, Four Reasons Burnout Is More Prevalent in Ministry Leadership: “In most roles, overwork feels sinful and neglectful. In ministry, overwork can wrongly feel holy. After all, you are “doing all these things for the Lord and for people.” Some leaders struggle to say no because doing so would feel like denying ministry to people. Leaders can justify all the hours in their minds, the neglect of their own souls, and the neglect of their families. Ministry can attract workaholics and give them a reason to justify their addiction.” Turn off your cell phone and stop checking email after a particular time each day. You need a few hours each evening to decompress, spend time with your family and friends, and recharge. Let your colleagues know what you’re doing and who they can call in case of an emergency. By the way, you probably need to define “emergency” as “the church is on fire” or “someone passed away.” Tip #4: Invest in Your Relationship with God We all need time with God for the sole purpose of listening, learning, and enjoying His presence. It’s easy to try and justify not having personal time with God if you’ve already spent several hours preparing for a message. While I’m sure you benefitted personally from that time, it can’t fully replace time invested in focusing on your relationship with God. Take one day a week to do absolutely nothing related to your job. Play with your kids, take your spouse out on a date, go for a jog, sleep in, etc. Rest and invest in activities that restore your mind, body, and soul. You’ll be more effective and productive later as a result. Tip #5: Reward What You Value What do you praise or reward with your team? Working long hours or productivity that comes from planning ahead, making long hours unnecessary? Work with your team to plan, hold each other accountable to deadlines, and streamline processes. Tip #6: Leave Breathing Room Do you have any time scheduled (as in a meeting on your calendar) with yourself to think, plan, or dream? If not, start carving out time for this activity. This is time for you to consider the projects and tasks ahead in the light of the vision/mission of your church and considering whether you’re working on the right things that will help you achieve that vision. It’s time to think about your staff and volunteers…to consider how you’re leading them and what to encourage or correct. This time looks like the opposite of productivity, but this is where the magic happens. It’s where you realize you’re running in the wrong lane and need to make a course

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How to Support a Growing Church

Jesus admonished us to listen carefully to His words and obey His teaching to withstand life’s storms. We typically think of storms as situations such as an illness, financial difficulties, strained relationships, etc. However, storms can come with something wonderful such as a rapidly growing church. “We’re struggling to build any momentum at all and you’re warning us about a ‘storm’ of church growth?” Yes, and here’s why: Let’s say you have a church of 500 people and within a couple of months, that number goes up to 600. Six months later, you’re at 800…then 930…then 1,000. That’s great…right?! Of course, that’s an amazing growth spurt for any church and should be celebrated. As you rejoice, you’ll need to determine how to effectively support a larger congregation. Areas to Review for a Growing Church: #1 – Child Care How many more children need care in the nursery and how many more volunteers does that require? Do you have enough cribs, changing tables, toys, and space available? #2 – Ministry Programs & Groups More people typically means a more diverse set of expectations and needs. If you didn’t have a divorce care program before, you may have several people with the need for that assistance now. Consider starting or adding small groups to serve new members. #3 – Data Management Do you have a church database (ChMS) to record contact information, small group assignments, volunteer roles, etc.? #4 – Facility Capacity Does your current parking area have the capacity for additional cars? Also, is your sanctuary large enough to handle more attendees or should you add a service? #5 – Accounting More people also means (hopefully) more tithes and (definitely) more expenses. Is your accounting team equipped to handle these changes? #6 – Volunteers You’ll likely need more volunteers to serve a larger congregation. Do you already have a clear process in place for new people to become members, discover their gifts, and start serving? As you can see, there are many changes that result from a growing church. Seeing more people commit their lives to Christ or simply start attending church consistently again is a wonderful thing. Prepare for this influx ahead of time by thinking through the above items (and that’s certainly not an exhaustive list). As the church grows, you want to be well-equipped to serve a larger congregation with excellence and get them engaged in ministry. It’s not about seeing more people in the seats each week, it’s about providing an environment where they can grow in their relationship with God and be equipped for ministry. That requires preparation on the part of church staff and key volunteers. It can be detailed, hard work but it most certainly is worth the effort to build a solid foundation for a growing church. In the Church Operations Toolkit, members follow a Church Operations Growth Path that includes a list of tasks to complete at each level of a church’s operational journey. Members can also access resources to help them complete these tasks. Join us in the Church Operations Toolkit and use these resources to make supporting a growing church easier to manage.

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5 Church Administration Time-Saving Tools

Time. It’s the most precious commodity yet the one we have the least of. That’s why saving time is a constant goal for church leaders with busy schedules. One way to save time is by streamlining church administration tasks.  When you work behind-the-scenes in the church office, you’ve got plenty of plates spinning. Coordinating events, fixing a website issue, plus a ton of other tasks are all in a day’s work. While I can’t trim your to-do list, I can recommend the following tools to make your job a bit easier. #1 – Project Management Software Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Monday, ClickUp, are a few of the excellent project management tools available. Most have a free or trial version you can use to see which one works best for you and your team. Complete the form below to receive a free Project Management Tools Overview guide (including information on the top software vendors): #2 – Expense Tracking App Keeping track of receipts for an expense report can be a pain. Instead of shuffling through your purse or wallet for that last receipt, use an app on your phone. Quickly snap a picture of a receipt immediately after making a purchase. Assign the appropriate expense code(s) and have a collection of electronic receipts ready for your next expense report. Staff members who forget receipts and finance team members responsible for collecting accurate data will all appreciate the convenience of an app. Two of the top contenders in this category are Divvy and Zoho Expense. #3 – Church Management System (ChMS) As a church grows, you need an easy way to maintain up-to-date records regarding church members and visitors. Contact information, family relationships, baptism dates, and more are a few examples of data you can use to minister to your congregation. A robust church management system enables your team to maintain accurate information, create follow-up workflows, keep tithe records, and more. There are many options available when it comes to ChMS tools. A few examples include Planning Center, Rock RMS, Fellowship One, Breeze, ACS, Elexio, ShelbyNext, Faith Teams, and TouchPoint. #4 – Facility Management Software From facility maintenance requests to tracking who reserved a room, facility management software can help your team stay on top of things. Smart Church Solutions has an excellent tool called eSPACE. Within this software, you can manage inventory, manage work orders, reserve facility rooms and resources, schedule preventative maintenance, and more. #5 – The Church Operations Toolkit At the risk of sounding self-promotional, the Church Operations Toolkit can save your church time and money. Within the Toolkit are templates, how-to guides, expert interviews, and resources to make church administration and operations tasks easier. Instead of spending hours searching online for a template, simply log into the Church Operations Toolkit and download one in minutes. There’s no magic formula to knocking out your to-do list (if only!). However, these are a few tools to make being productive a bit easier. Oh, and if you’re like me and consider coffee a productivity tool…Can I get an amen? 🙂

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Church Website Design Tips

Your church website is the first impression you’ll have on most people. Whether they’re new to the community and looking for a new church home or they’re curious about Christianity, people tend to search online before visiting a church in-person. This reality makes your church website design that much more important. I recently interviewed Tyler Harden of Firm Foundations Marketing to discuss his tips for church website design. Tip #1: Know your audience Consider your surrounding community and who your church is trying to reach. Tip #2: Be aware of the language you use Avoid insider language. Be concise. Tip #3: Answer “why?” Help a website visitor realize why they should attend your church, what’s in it for them, and how they would fit in. Tip #4: Provide a simple and clear action plan Make the navigation simple. Offer a practical next step or action for a website visitor to take. Tip #5: Know yourself and your strengths What are the most dynamic ministry areas within your church? What are you known for and do really well? Make those prominent on the website. Tip #6: Tell stories Share testimonials including quotes and videos. Tip #7: Connect with visitors Include a way for website visitors to connect with the church such as a “plan your visit” feature or a way to pre-register their children. For more tips from Tyler Harden on church website design, visit firmfoundationsmarketing.com. Interested in becoming a member of the Church Operations Toolkit and getting full access to church operations templates, interviews, and how-to guides? Fill out the form below to learn more:

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