There are a lot out there, so here's where to get started.
Modern day churches can be rather complex operations. At the most basic level churches manage volunteers, people’s information, and they run a public service every Sunday. On a larger scale churches could be running community programs, handling data of thousands of people, managing small groups during the week, and large events during the year (such as camps, or evangelistic events).
What does this have to do with Church Management Software? One might argue that as churches become more complex and are being treated more like organisations, we need to have processes and systems in place to best care for those that come through our doors, and to abide by governing laws put into place.
Church Management Software (CMS) is one way to reduce the complication of organising churches. Most softwares are primarily a database for storing people’s information, with additional features such as rostering, communication, event registration, and Sunday Service organisation. While CMS can sound daunting, once implemented correctly, they can be a great blessing to the day to day running of churches, streamlining areas such as data access and storage within church leadership, rostering, group management, and welcoming newcomers to name a few.
Below is a list to get you started if you’re investigating possibilities for your church.
If you know of any others that could be added to the list, let us know!