Long thought of as primarily a management application to track and administer the finances, people, and activities of the church, modern church management software (“ChMS”) may also be one of the most powerful tools a church has to execute and enhance its discipleship process. A Very Brief History of Church Management Software The earliest…
At Enable, we are seeing an ever-increasing number of “phishing” schemes and other types of cyberattacks directed towards churches. For a variety of reasons, cybercriminals have identified churches as an attractive and potentially lucrative target. In this article we describe and analyze a recent church-focused phishing attack and provide 10 concrete steps you can take…
In the past several years, I’ve served as a facilitator to over 45 churches to assist them in either selecting a new church management software package (“ChMS”) or helping them to optimize and get the most out of their existing system. The process I go through with them always involves assisting the church staff in…
How Can Church Management Software Mergers Pose a Threat to Your Church? In this article, we identify some of the recent major church management software (“ChMS”) company mergers and sales. We also share four key questions you can ask to analyze whether an individual sale or this pattern of acquisitions, sales, and mergers of ChMS…
Often times in the church setting you see staff getting frustrated with their ChMS. This usually occurs when they don’t fully understand how the ChMS operates. This frustration can cause you to look for the “new and improved” software that will solve all of your problems. In January we partnered with The Church Network Webinar…
A common complaint surrounding most churches’ relationships with their Church Management Software (ChMS) comes in some form of a lack of trust in the data contained in their system. One of the main reasons for keeping track of data for a church is to enable more intentional ministry. Needs can be known, tracked, and met,…
Data Analytics Series | Part 2 In Stephen Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he identifies Habit 2 as “begin with the end in mind.” This concept is directly applicable to the topic of analytics. Our world is awash in data. Data, in and of itself, can be more confusing than helpful if you…
Data Analytics Series | Part 1 If you’ve recently walked through an airport, flipped through a business magazine, viewed any commercials on tv, or paid attention to almost any news source, you have likely heard terms such as “Big Data,” “data analytics,” “business intelligence” and “artificial intelligence.” For many, these terms are more mysterious than…
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…
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…
