Three reasons groups are the best way to organize and manage your church

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 2/6/24 1:00 PM

A long time ago, there was a buzz in church leadership, administration, and discipleship circles about becoming a CHURCH OF GROUPS not just a church with groups.  As a church administrator and discipleship pastor I read, went to conferences, and asked questions to figure out what this conversation meant practically for our church and my responsibility to help manage it.

My take-away was that everything we did in church life should be organized as if it were a small group.  So, groups included not only what we generally thought of as small groups; but also children's classes,  volunteer teams, all events, discipleship classes, assimilation steps, registration forms, and anything else that involved more than one person. 

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Tags: Church Management Software, Groups

Epic!  The story of XPMinistry and how we serve other organizations

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 1/9/24 2:45 PM

Reid Hopkins has been a Churchteams raving fan for a long time.  Last year I mentioned highlighting ways people are using Churchteams through an occasional Epic! blog post. 

The part of Reid's story I want to highlight today is his launch of XP Ministry last year.  It does a great job illustrating how we are helping other, non-church organizations thrive.  Here's my interview with him.  

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Tags: Church Management Software

What makes Churchteams different from other Church Management Software?

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 12/5/23 2:00 PM

For almost 2 years now, my friend Steve Caton of Altezza Solutions has been coaching me on Sales and Marketing.  I need all the help I can get.  From my recent reading I've been thinking about a topic that actually comes up in conversations all the time ...

"what makes Churchteams different?"

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Tags: Church Management Software

The three stages of our growth as a church software company

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 10/31/23 2:00 PM

Part of our job as co-founders is to pray about, evaluate, and navigate our way forward as a company.  Our initial calling and the Lord's leadership each step along the way are helpful indicators of the plans He has for us. 

In the past month or so I've started thinking about the history of our company in three stages.  Each one building on the previous one.  Here is a short version of each of these. 

My hope is that you not only get to know us better, but also that it might be useful for you to think about how God is leading you.  As Proverbs 16:9 says, "In his heart a plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."   Here's how He has done that for us.

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Tags: Church Management Software

Answers to 6 important questions about our Member App coming next week

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 8/15/23 2:00 PM

We built and have promoted the use of texting in church for a very long time.  There are things we do with Text-to-Church that are amazing.

But, for many months now we've been working on a "not so" top secret project that is ready to launch next week,  our brand new - MEMBER APP.  It is designed to give your church members and regular attenders easy, contemporary access to everything they need. 

We plan to release it next Monday night, then Tuesday morning send you an email introducing the app with a list of specific features and an introductory video that will demonstrate the User Experience.  We will also release Knowledge Base articles for customizing what groups, events, and resources are included in the app.  In addition, we are going to offer a couple of  Zoom webinars with our team to overview and discuss it live.

Register for Member App Briefing (8/24 or 8/30)

In preparation for that, here are answers to 6 questions behind our vision for this latest, very exciting upgrade.

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Tags: Church Management Software, New Release

Why we chose Churchteams and how we're communicating it to staff

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 8/8/23 2:30 PM

A few weeks ago, Tracy, an 18-month-in Churchteams client, shared the illustration below with us.  It was her way to picture the consolidation process they've gone through to choose church software and to communicate their choice to their team.

Since selection and communication are both common processes for churches, I asked her if I could share the illustration in a blog post.  Then I asked her a few questions to better understand her story and the background to the illustration.  My questions are in bold below followed by her responses in italics.  See if her story sounds familiar.

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Tags: Church Management Software

Why Churches Lag Behind with Technology and How You Can Get Ahead

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 6/27/23 2:30 PM

During a recent podcast with EST, we delved into the reasons why churches tend to fall behind when it comes to utilizing technology. As always, spending time with Sam and Josh was a pleasure.

Although the conversation with EST had a life of its own, I like to come prepared. With the assistance of GPT, I compiled four reasons why churches often lag behind in technology adoption.  You might find this a helpful evaluation tool.  It is followed by a single idea to help you get ahead.

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Tags: Church Management Software

What is a phishing scam? And four ways to avoid getting caught.

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 6/6/23 2:30 PM
Someone is sending emails to church members using the pastor's name to solicit funds.  Recipients want to help, but something seems fishy so someone reaches out to the pastor. When he hears about it, he's paniced about being hacked.  He makes a call, and the panic spreads.
 
Like you, we HATE whenever we find out someone is trying to take advantage of relationships within the church.  Everyone feels violated.  There's always an urgency to fix this - and rightly so.
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Tags: Church Management Software

Two attitudes to bridge the generation gap on use of church technology

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 5/9/23 2:30 PM

The oldest millenials turned 40 the last few years.  For as long as I can remember, 35-45 has been the sweet spot for churches looking for new staff, especially a senior pastor. 

Our friends on the EST podcast focus specifically on helping this new generation of leaders serve established churches.  A couple of weeks ago I was on with Sam talking about bridging the technology gap with older members.  Here's that podcast.

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Tags: Church Management Software

Established church pastors podcast, and the #1 problem that keeps them up

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 3/28/23 2:45 PM

About a year ago I met Sam Rainer at a Discipleship Pastors retreat.  He is a pastor, author, and President / Sr. Consultant with Church Answers.  His books include "Obstacles in the Established Church" and "Church Revitalization Checklist."

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Tags: Church Management Software

How to use reports to target pastoral care and discipleship needs

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 2/15/23 3:00 PM

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."  Matthew 9:36

Data is important not only for tracking the crowds, but also for seeing their needs.  One of the most powerful ways to use ChMS reporting is to identify and flag significant pastoral care and discipleship needs.  

Two of the most common reports for pastoral care are the lapsed givers and missing persons reports.  Here is what these look like and how to build them.

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Tags: Church Management Software, Reports

4 ways we will support churches that are Blackbaud clients

Posted by Boyd Pelley on 1/17/23 2:30 PM

Churches used to see each other as competitors.  It may still be like that in some communities, but during my tenure as a pastor I saw this change dramatically.  Now many, maybe most, pastors see themselves as colaborers with each other to reach and serve their communities for Christ.

I don't know the executive leadership of all the church software companies by any means, but I've met and known some of them.  Many of us look at our relationships with each other in the same way, as colaborers not competitors.

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Tags: Church Management Software

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