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Always Be Improving: Lessons Learned from a Children’s Ministry Hallway
“I’ll try not to lose you in the brick hallway,” I said to a new family, smiling as I walked them toward the church nursery to drop off their children for the first time. I said this to all the new families I showed around on their first day as part of my responsibilities as…
Are You Missing This Key Piece to Your Technology Puzzle?
We talk to churches every day who have invested money, time, and effort into implementing new technology as a tool for ministry, but are disappointed in the results. Through the constant bombardment of news and information regarding ever-changing technologies, they try to pick and choose solutions wisely. They employ these technologies to avoid headaches, but…
This Just In: Technology is Not THE Answer
At their core level, church management software systems, (as well as computers, streaming media, ministry models, buildings, small group and discipleship programs, etc.) are simply tools. As we come to the close of our blog series on church management software, we remind ourselves of how powerful these tools can be, but at the same time, we…
Ministry Spotlight: SchoolWorks
Carlos: A Life is Changed Carlos was in kindergarten. By all appearances, he was a quiet little boy with his whole future ahead of him. But given his actual situation, the statistics predicted that he was very likely to fall through the cracks and miss out on the educational and economic opportunities that our country…
Wi-Fi: Solving the Real Problem
Remember the days when it would take a 10-pound laptop and a 50-foot network cable to access the Internet in any room other than where the cable modem was? Those days are long-gone, and we have Wi-Fi (and some other new technology) to thank for that! Wi-Fi is everywhere now and is in fact a…
Microsoft Licensing for Non-Profits: A Guide
Microsoft Windows Licensing can be very expensive and tricky to navigate for organizations, but it is a vital piece of the technology infrastructure. The good news: there are discounted options for non-profit organizations and churches. The bad news: the structure of these discounts is fairly complicated. In this post we will break down servers, licenses,…
ChMS Champion: The Most Powerful Move You Can Make
The most significant step a church can take to ensure that it enjoys the maximum value and utility from its Church Management Software investment is to provide resources for a designated “ChMS Champion.” Nothing will increase the likelihood of success with ChMS software more than this one move, but some key concepts must be observed…
Why You Need A Password Manager
How many times have you seen the “incorrect password” message when trying to log into one of your frequented (or not frequented) sites? Surely by now you’ve heard how dangerous it is to use the same password for every account you have. It’s time to ditch the Word/Excel document or sticky note with your password…
ChMS Integrations
In our last post, we discussed the necessity for making your ChMS the “Single Source of Truth” for the people and activity data in your church. Once churches implement the necessary information processes and gain the staff commitment to the single source of truth concept, they have gone a long way in ensuring that the…
Ministry Spotlight: Ben Ellis
September was a month of powerful and emotional remembrance. On a national level, we honored those who lost their lives in the tragedy of 9/11. In the community of Brentwood, Tennessee, Enable’s home, we also remembered the life and legacy of our friend, Ben Ellis. Ben left us in September 2016 but lives powerfully still…
Single Source of Truth: Your ChMS
In our experience consulting with churches who are looking for new church management software, there is one “main thing” that triggers most churches’ search in the first place. People don’t trust their data. The reason they don’t trust their data is that many times, the information doesn’t add up. In some cases, they don’t have…
Why We Recommend Ruckus Wireless
The need for and expectations of wireless networks is ever-growing, and it can be overwhelming when deciding what wireless network equipment to install in your organization. There are countless products available from many different vendors, all offering similar features and advertising that they are the best solution for all of your wireless needs. Often times, your decision will come down to what solutions you know others…
ChMS Optimization: If We Cannot Change Our Software, What Can We Do?
“We don’t like our church management system at all. It is confusing, we cannot get the specific reporting that we need, and it simply won’t do a lot of the ministry functions that we require.” Since 2001, when Enable Ministry Partners began working with churches, we have heard complaints just like this one hundreds of…
Are You Making These 3 Mistakes with your Church Management Software?
While talking with our clients over the years, they have described three main mistakes they have made with their Church Management Software. For some, these mistakes have led to a great deal of frustration, multiple software changes, and the waste of a lot of time and money. These issues may be very familiar to…
Where to Start: Your Church’s Unique Strategy
The very first step in making the best software decision for your church has absolutely nothing to do with software. At their core level, church management software systems are simply information tools. As tools, they are helpful only to the degree that they help a church accomplish the ministry objectives that reflect the church’s specific…
Which Church Management Software is Best? Finally, an Answer (Sort of…)
“Of all the available options, which church management software is best?” This is a question that we receive at Enable seemingly every day. It is a question posed regularly in online church technology and executive pastor groups as well. Typically, it is asked by church leaders who have come to a point where they believe…
Is Multi-Factor Authentication a Must-Have for your Organization?
Multi-factor authentication (“MFA”) has emerged as an important tool to provide an additional level of verification beyond user passwords to protect information systems and user data. The goal of MFA is to verify identity and to make sure that the person logging into an account really is the person they are claiming to be. …
Ministry Spotlight: ChangePoint Alaska
When caring people are willing to enter unselfishly into dark, ugly situations to help those who cannot help themselves, lives are changed, horrible circumstances are reversed, and “impossible” situations are transformed. The people of ChangePoint Alaska witness these types of life changing turnarounds on a regular basis. ChangePoint Alaska describes themselves as a community…
10 Keys to Church Management Software Success
Although church management software often seems to promise that it is the answer to all problems related to ministry operations, many churches are less than satisfied with how it operates in their environment. What is your experience? Are you getting the most out of your church management software? Is it helping to accomplish the unique ministry…
Ministry Spotlight: Second Baptist Church – Houston Strong
When Hurricane Harvey made landfall over the Texas Gulf Coast in late August of 2017, people feared the worst, and those fears were undoubtedly confirmed. Harvey was a record-setting category four hurricane – the first of its kind to make landfall in Texas since 1961. One of the hardest hit areas was the city of…
When Does a Church Need to Think About Data Compliance?
Usually, when technology people talk about data compliance, they are referring to policies related to HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI, and other legal and regulatory requirements. These laws list certain requirements for organizations to ensure the security of data with encryption, backup procedures, business continuity plans and data retention plans. One may think that because a church…
Ministry Spotlight: Irving Bible Church
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…
Ministry Spotlight: Brentwood Baptist Church
Brentwood Baptist Church, located in the the greater Nashville area, is one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the country. With over 9,000 members, and having grown from just one campus a few years ago to five currently, Brentwood Baptist faces many of the same challenges smaller churches and churches of a similar…
