Irving Bible Church is a large church in the Dallas area, dedicated to spiritual growth and community service through its various ministry initiatives, both inside and outside the walls of the church. When Enable Ministry Partners first connected with IBC in 2008, IBC was dealing with some significant technology issues that were hampering its ministry and operational objectives. IBC had an aging network structure and employed an ad hoc, reactive break-fix strategy to maintain its technology infrastructure and equipment. Due to its ministry plans and goals, however, IBC needed and wanted better. Since IBC was the frequent host of worship services, conferences, concerts, and other events, IBC leadership wanted to provide the best possible technology and data experience to everyone who came through the doors.
To meet these goals IBC required a partner who could not only manage technology, but one who understood how to leverage technology strategically to build stronger ministries. Irving Bible turned to Enable because our team of engineers and consultants has been working with churches since 2000 to support, enable, and extend ministry via the strategic use and implementation of technology.
One key concern for the IBC community early on was the pain and difficulty associated with the timely, efficient and effective check-in of children into Sunday school classes through centralized check-in stations. As IBC grew, check-in lines got longer, and created a crowded, chaotic feel in the hallways. Families attending IBC regularly had come to expect this, but it created a jarring experience for new attendees. This was not the first impression IBC wanted to make, and it had a negative impact on the subsequent worship experience. Enable worked with the Irving Bible team to upgrade the check-in experience to realize some “quick wins.” Updating the network and check-in hardware greatly improved the speed and reliability. Spurred on by these initial improvements, all children’s check-in was wholly redesigned to continue improving the experience for families. Enable was able to provide guidance and assurance throughout the project, from consultation to design to implementation to completion. Families now experience a calmer, more orderly and more welcoming atmosphere as they walk through the doors.
In addition to serving the congregants of Irving Bible, Enable has worked hard to connect personally with the staff and serve them with excellence. At the beginning of our partnership, IBC’s phone and voicemail system failed irreparably, cutting off a key method of communication for staff, volunteers, and ministry participants. (While Enable had been preparing IBC’s leadership for this possibility, IBC’s hope was that the old system would last a while longer.) Knowing that important work of the church was crippled, Enable immediately contacted our industry partners and made them aware of the critical situation. Working in partnership with IBC and its industry partners, within three days the Enable team had fully installed a brand new VOIP phone system, complete with new phones for each staff member, and provided the necessary training on how to use them! Not only did the new system offer more features and flexibility to the staff, it saved the church money as well. Enable Ministry is proud to serve and support Irving Bible Church and to be able to assist IBC in helping to change lives as IBC pursues its specific ministry calling.
