(chms) icon systems

H E L P I N G L E A D E R S B E C O M E B E T T E R S T E W A R D S .

Church Management Software (ChMs)Presented by:

Icon Systems

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C H U R C H M A N A G E M E N T S O F T W A R E2 churchexecutive.com

Table of ContentsEXPANDING YOUR CHURCH? 3 WAYS TO USE THE DATA IN YOUR ChMS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE 3Let’s be honest: church growth isn’t about the numbers.It’s not about how many people attend each week, or how many people are baptized, or the size of your budget.The driving force behind why you want to expand your church has deep spiritual roots that aren’t quantifiable. But, numbers play a key role in expanding the church — and are a great tool for enabling church growth.

By Bill Gifford

DOS AND DON’TS FOR ENGAGING CHURCH VOLUNTEERS 4Don’t waste anyone’s time. Volunteering often takes away from other responsibilities, so use volunteers’ time wisely. With everyone’s packed schedules, a donation of time is just as valuable (if not more) than a donation of money. So, communicate clearly when and where volunteers need to be and exactly what they will be doing. Texting is a great tool for communicating last-minute updates, weather cancellations, and reminders.Do use your ChMS to get organized. Create categories and groups so your volunteers are in organized lists. Then, when you need help, you know exactly who to ask.

By Bill Gifford

5 WAYS TO ENGAGE CHURCH VISITORS 5#1: Make a good first impression#2: Give them a warm welcome#3: Ask for their information#4: Stay in touch#5: Build lasting relationship

By Bill Gifford

C H U R C H M A N A G E M E N T S O F T W A R E • CHURCH EXECUTIVE 3churchexecutive.com

Church Management Software (ChMS)

Expanding your church?Here are 3 ways to use the data in your ChMS to your advantage.

Let’s be honest: church growth isn’t about the numbers.

It’s not about how many people attend each week, or how many people are baptized, or the size of your budget.

The driving force behind why you want to expand your church has deep spiritual roots that aren’t quantifiable. But, numbers play a key role in expanding the church — and are a great tool for enabling church growth.

To get where you’re going, you have to know where you are now — and where you’d like to go. You need to create a map for planning your church expansion. This is where your church management software (ChMS) comes in.

#1: Determine whether or not your church is growing.Pull your general attendance numbers for the last two to three years.

To make it simpler, you can lump it into monthly totals or averages. Are the numbers increasing or decreasing? By how much? Calculate the percentage.

Graph it so you can actually see the comparison from year to year. You’ll want to create these same graphs on a regular basis so you can track your progress over time.

#2: What kind of growth is it? Know your demographics.If your church is indeed growing, figure out where the growth is

coming from. In general, there are three different types of church growth: biological, transfer, and conversion.

Biological growth happens when existing church members have babies or adopt children. But just because a lot of babies were born this year, doesn’t mean your church is growing!

Your membership also declines when members of the church pass away, so pull the appropriate reports from your church management software. If the birth rate is higher than the death rate, then your church is experiencing biological growth.

Transfer growth happens when people leave another church for various reasons and join your church. Transfer growth can happen quickly. For example, I was recently talking to the treasurer of a church where membership doubled almost overnight when a neighboring church split.

Make sure you have a solid administrative team in place, as well as ChMS that can expand with you so you can handle a sudden influx of people.

Conversion growth is when people who are “unchurched” join your church. Typically, this is the type of growth churches focus on when they’re setting goals.

Once you understand your demographics, you can target your highest areas of growth and offerings. Here are a few different ways to accommodate the growth:• Add worship times to your schedule• Expand your current space, or move to a larger facility• Plant a church or add a second location• Offer live video streaming

#3: How do you determine which option is best? Map your members!

Export the addresses in your database and map them so you can see where everyone lives. If the population is heavily saturated in one area, then adding worship times could be the solution.

If your worship service schedule is already at capacity, then you could look at expanding your existing facilities, or having a second location where the service is streamed live.

If the population is more spread out, maybe it makes sense to have a second location or church plant with its own worship services.

Bill Gifford is the president of Icon Systems in Moorhead, MN. For more than 20 years, Icon Systems has been developing software that will meet the needs of any religious organization — from church plants to denominational offices. www.iconcmo.com

Keep an eye on this space!

Future installments in this series will help you mobilize ChMS data to identify and engage less-than-active volunteers and lapsed visitors — and foster reconnection with those key individuals.

By Bill Gifford

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C H U R C H M A N A G E M E N T S O F T W A R E4 churchexecutive.com

Church Management Software (ChMS)

Dos and don’ts for engaging church volunteers

Don’t waste anyone’s time. Volunteering often takes away from other responsibilities, so use volunteers’ time wisely. With everyone’s packed schedules, a donation of time is just as valuable (if not more) than a donation of money. So, communicate clearly when and where volunteers need to be and exactly what they will be doing. Texting is a great tool for communicating last-minute updates, weather cancellations, and reminders.

Do use your ChMS to get organized. Create categories and groups so your volunteers are in organized lists. Then, when you need help, you know exactly who to ask.

Don’t burn out your volunteers. Have your volunteer coordinator touch base regularly to make sure your volunteers aren’t over-committing themselves. Things change over time. Maybe a new mom doesn’t have the extra time and energy to volunteer at VBS this summer. Or, maybe a longtime church member just retired from his job and is looking for new volunteer opportunities.

Do recognize which tasks can be done by volunteers and which ought to be done by paid staff. If you have a lot of volunteers, you probably need a full-time volunteer coordinator on staff to organize everything.

Don’t assume people will come to you! Be sure to ask for help in specific, actionable ways. For example, ask, “Can you please hand out bulletins on June 17?” rather than sending an email blast to the entire congregation asking, “Can anyone usher sometime?”

Contact people individually — especially for volunteer roles that represent a bigger time commitment, such as treasurer or Sunday school teacher.

Do find out who isn’t yet signed up to be a volunteer. Get a list of active church members who are not assigned to one of the volunteer groups you created in your ChMS. Get to know them; ask what their skills are and what they’re interested in doing for the church.

Don’t guilt people into volunteering. That’s a situation where everybody loses.

Do tell stories that are inspiring. Show volunteers how their efforts will make a meaningful and significant contribution.

Don’t assume everyone prefers to communicate the same way you do. Some people prefer emails; some prefer text messages. Others aren’t comfortable with technology and prefer phone calls and traditional mail. If you reach out to them via their preferred method, volunteers will be more likely to get your message and respond.

Do leverage your time with group communications. Having your volunteers organized into groups will make it easy to communicate to everyone via text message, email, phone lists or traditional mail.

Don’t forget to thank your volunteers! Let them know they are appreciated and how important they are to the church. As I mentioned before, share stories to let them know how they made a difference. For maximum impact, send a personalized note or make a phone call.

Do ask for feedback. Communication needs to go both ways. People like to be able to give feedback on things; it makes them feel more involved and valued. You can even ask them to share their inspiring stories with others.

Bill Gifford is the president of Icon Systems in Moorhead, MN. For more than 20 years, Icon Systems has been developing software that will meet the needs of any religious organization — from church plants to denominational offices.

By Bill Gifford

C H U R C H M A N A G E M E N T S O F T W A R E • CHURCH EXECUTIVE 5churchexecutive.com

Church Management Software (ChMS)

5 ways to engage church visitorsBy Bill Gifford

• What is their preferred method of communication? (text message, email, phone call)

Greeters or welcome booth attendants can jot notes on the back of the cards about their conversations with guests.

#4: Stay in touchAfter the worship service, have someone enter

data from the information cards into your ChMS. Then, use your ChMS to schedule follow-ups with visitors.

Aim to contact them the same day — or at least within 24 hours — with a quick, personalized text or email. Thank them for visiting your church, and invite them to come back next weekend.

Follow up again a few days later with a personalized postcard or email. The information from the cards you collected will allow you to invite them to various groups and activities they might be interested in. On that note, don’t overwhelm them with too many choices! Pick the three or four most relevant opportunities to share.

#5: Build lasting relationshipsAs with any new relationship, nurture your visitors by getting

to know them, checking in regularly, and having meaningful conversations. Share your church’s message, but also actively listen. As much as possible, make this a personalized, unique process. Keeping church visitors engaged is easier than trying to foster reconnection once they’ve lapsed.

And remember — though you’re trying to proactively engage visitors, let them progress at their own pace, while being supportive. If they do lapse, continue to send regular emails or postcards inviting them back and letting them know about events they might be interested in.

Bill Gifford is the president of Icon Systems in Moorhead, MN. For more than 20 years, Icon Systems has been developing software that will meet the needs of any religious organization — from church plants to denominational offices. [ www.iconcmo.com ]

#1: Make a good first impressionOft, guests visit your website before even stepping foot in your church.

Create a “New here?” tab that lists specifics: what to expect, where to park, worship times, and so on.

Have an event calendar clearly visible on your church website. Keep the calendar up to date with group schedules, kids’ activities, and holiday worship services.

#2: Give them a warm welcomeCreate a warm, inviting environment for visitors to experience as

soon as they walk in the door. Ensure there is clear signage pointing to the welcome booth, restrooms and other key areas.

Have designated greeters near the doors, and ask church members to introduce themselves to people. This is especially important for larger churches where visitors are more likely to slip under the radar. A smile and kind words can have a huge impact on someone’s day, regardless of whether they’re new to the church or a longtime member.

#3: Ask for their informationHave greeters give information cards to guests and ask them to fill

them out. Stock a few information cards in the pews, as well. During the worship service, make an announcement welcoming anyone new to the church. (Please don’t ask people to stand or raise their hand, as it could make them uncomfortable.) Ask them to fill out the information cards and drop them off at the welcome booth after the service.

In addition to basic demographic and contact information, ask about their interests and what they’re hoping to get from building a relationship with the church. Consider these questions:• Are they single, married or widowed?• Do they have children? If yes, what are their names and ages?• Do they work, or go to school, or are they retired?• What kinds of activities do they enjoy outside the church?• Are they a guest of a church member?• Are they a returning guest?• Are they actively involved at another church?