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?"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
"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.
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.
In my last blog post I looked at highlights from 2022 for Churchteams and what they indicate about next year for us. Now, it's your turn. As you prepare for 2023 have you thought about setting goals to improve your use of church software?
I started thinking about this a couple of weeks ago during a customer care call in which the Executive Pastor shared with me his major goal for using Churchteams in the new year. I thought it was a great idea worth sharing.
This is the time of the year most of us like to look back and review what the Lord has done in our lives and work. I know this exercise helps me put things in perspective and realize again that everything we do comes from Him. I'd like to invite you to join me in a time of gratitude and praise for what He has done in 2022 at Churchteams.
Here's a top ten highlight list of new features pretty much in order of their release. Keep reading for my 30,000 foot view of where we're headed and how this year prepared us for 2023 and beyond.
