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Retain Church Members With Church Management Software

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You may not realize it, but your church management software (ChMS) helps you better retain church members (and reclaim them). How you manage ministry matters, whether you’re engaging people to continue worshiping at your church or encouraging disengaged members to return.

Why? Because church management solutions keep information and processes organized. Churchgoers notice when things aren’t running smoothly!

Whether you’re considering switching to a better church management software, or you want to use your current platform more fully, here are a few ways your ChMS helps engage active and sporadic members, as well as volunteers and new visitors.

#1 – Utilize Time-Saving Integrations

Time is one of your most valuable assets when retaining and reclaiming church members. People are what matter most. When you can spend more time focused on them, you’ll see the needle move in the right direction—especially when it comes to generosity and participation.

Integrations are key to saving time, and with church management software like FellowshipOne, your ministry can take advantage of full integration with best in class giving, background checks, and church accounting software. Skip the frustration and hassle of working with siloed data. With integrations, data lands where it should within your systems. You won't have to waste time tracking it down for reporting or updating data across multiple systems. Skip the manual data entries and building spreadsheets. Instead, focus that extra time on what matters most—your church members and their needs. 

#2 – Successfully Plan Events

Studies show that attendance is highest when there are special events planned by the church. Christmas plays, VBS, homecoming, back-to-school outreach events, and potluck dinners grab people’s attention. ChMS is ideal for keeping these events organized because the features are tailored to the specific needs of church planning.

Even if you’re organizing a large-scale event or managing multiple campuses with their own unique activities, you can count on church management solutions to simplify the process. It makes all the difference when you can seamlessly track attendance, provide secure child check-ins, accept donations, gather event registration information, and more in one centralized place. 

#3 – Focus on Attendance Patterns

You have a wealth of information at your fingertips. After events, small group sign-ups, and services, review the data you gathered from registrations and other forms. Analyze data trends to get a better understanding of what works (and what doesn’t) for your church. 

Take proactive steps and decide what's most important to measure at your next event. For instance, if you want to encourage members that haven't attended in the last two months to register for a fundraiser, create an email campaign for that segment of people specifically. Then, look at how many disengaged members registered, actually attended, and so on.

With that information, you’ll get an even better understanding of what’s working, and can create a strategic plan moving forward to re-engage church members that have drifted away. After you adopt this practice over time and gather more data, you’ll gain a clear overview of little details such as the days, times, and types of events people find most engaging.

 #4 – Minimize Uncertainties

Whether you’re planning a retreat or expecting a large turnout at a service, there are going to be uncertainties. A church management solution gives you the necessary tools to minimize these and anticipate issues before they even occur. When processes are streamlined, certain areas will run smoothly. Email reminders and volunteer sign-ups will leave you more time to pay attention to other areas of your church.

If you're not on-site at an event or during a service, you still have access to your ChMS via tablet, smartphone, or computer. You can get into the system to resolve an issue, check information, or gather data in real-time.

#5 – Provide Crystal Clear Communication

Your church management software helps spread information about upcoming events, services, and activities. It builds meaningful and lasting relationships with church leaders, admins, volunteers, active members, visitors, and everyone in between. When communication is clear, your church will be equipped to keep everyone informed and engaged. Any type of engagement sparks generosity and increases participation.

When church leaders and staff keep lines of communication open, members will be confident that they can check calendars for upcoming events and sign up for small groups throughout the week without any confusion or issues due to communication breakdowns.

A Final Note on Church Management Software

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you’re familiar with the systems you already have in place for managing small groups, events, finances, and generosity. But, if you have a substandard solution that’s lacking specific features and functionality, it may be time to switch. Reevaluate your system from time to time to ensure it’s working for you (and not against you).

If it’s time to switch to a better solution, or you're just curious about what a new ChMS offers, schedule a free FellowshipOne demo to see if it's a better fit for your church. Once you see for yourself the time you’ll save and how the features will facilitate retaining and reclaiming church members, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running and re-engage will all of your church members.

Scott Goodger
Scott Goodgerhttps://ministrybrands.com
Scott is a former FellowshipOne customer, Worship Leader, and IT Director. He joined FellowshipOne in 2011 and has worked with hundreds of churches around the country, implementing FellowshipOne and consulting with them on business processes and best practices. He is now the General Manager for FellowshipOne, serves weekly in his home church, and loves spending time with his family in the Dallas, TX area.

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