Articles on Operations
Your Facility and Communications Departments are important parts of the ministry of your church. Without them, you might be meeting in a tent using a megaphone! They are also ministries that take a lot of money to keep current. A long-term plan and some policies and procedures are vital for the smooth operation of your church.
Beyond Sunday: Engaging Your Community Monday through Saturday
Gone are the days of thinking attendance leads to engagement. In a digital-first era, churches are re-thinking how to approach community engagement and may not have the right people, technology, and processes [...]
5 Keys to Success with Your Church Management Software
Sometimes the relationship with your Church Management software becomes tired, brittle or even broken. No software is perfect, but is your ChMS working as well as it should? Your software does not [...]
The Collective Might Platform
How do you maximize the strength of your church? All of our churches have wonderful strengths, but they are not always fully utilized or appreciated. Gloo connects the faith ecosystem and enables [...]
Ministry Should Dictate Real Estate
Churches can feel stuck with their property. Real estate should not be the driving factor in your ministry. Ministry comes first and your property should fulfill your church vision. There are local [...]
Password Management and LastPass
I’ve been asked a lot of questions about password managers, especially due to the LastPass hack that started in 2022 and was fully disclosed in 2023. Before getting too far into this, let me [...]
Five Budget Busting Spaces You Think You Need but Really Don’t
Wasting money on spaces that really don’t matter is one of the most dangerous pitfalls that a church can fall into. The truth is, anyone can justify why they need room for [...]
Best Questions to Ask Your Architect for Your Next Building
When was the last time that you built or renovated your facility? For some it was last year, others 10 years and others … never. Let’s talk with a seasoned and award [...]
Websites that Provide Resources & Create Leads
Your church website is important to your ministry—of course, we all know that! It is one of the key ways to get information out to members and visitors. In this sense, it [...]
What Does ‘Data’ Mean to Your Church?
What is data anyway? You don’t have to look far to find data. Megabytes in your cell phone plan. Visits and results in your electronic health record. Expenses and deposits in your bank account. [...]
Budgeting Your Next Building Project
Most projects start with a vision, idea, or dream and then quickly run into reality—specifically, the reality of, How are we going to pay for all of this? Join us as we sit [...]
Defending Your Church from Cybersecurity Threats
Data security breaches are constantly in the news, but the threat of phishing scams and ransomware attacks aren’t limited to large companies. In fact, ministries are increasingly under attack by savvy cyber [...]
How Marketing Strategies Play a Role in Creating Disciples: Using the Member Lifecycle
Articulating your Church’s Member Lifecycle or member engagement strategy will help you know your people, define the next steps for growing their faith and result in growing your church. Let technology help [...]
Church Spaces for Introverts, Extroverts, and Nickelback Fans
From Introverts who actively dodge your overzealous door greeters to extroverts who are the overzealous door greeters, the needs of our communities are as diverse as the people who attend. Add to [...]
A Sound System for the Next Decade
Our church was in the middle of planning for a sound system renovation for our worship center. Then came the live XPastor broadcast on Auditoriums Post-Covid: Big Ideas to Think Through When Designing Your [...]
Free E-book on Church Facility Budgeting
Our friends at Church Smart Solutions have released a new E-book on Church Facility Budgeting. It covers where to begin your church facility budgeting journey; overspending and underspending; practical steps so that you can [...]
10 Questions Before You Buy Facility Management Software
In today’s world of advanced web applications, cloud computing, and web-based solutions, it can be confusing what facility management software is right for your organization. Identifying your organization's needs is the first step to [...]
Freedom in Hiring vs. Software Platform Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court gave churches and ministries the legal right to only hire those who agree with their religious and doctrinal views, but many IT solution providers require churches and ministries to certify [...]
How to Budget For Your Next Project
Most projects start with a vision, idea, or dream and then quickly run into reality—specifically, the reality of, "How are we going to pay for all of this?" Join us as we sit [...]
Three Strategies that Protect from Ransomware
Ransomware is a serious threat that costs a lot of unbudgeted dollars to fix. Effective protection is available! Here’s what I recommend. Ransomware is not like most malware threats that slip into systems under the [...]
The Nuts and Bolts of Commercial Development on Your Site
For years you’ve imagined that irresistible coffee hot-spot on the corner of your property that lures the community to your campus and increases the bottom line. But, you’re not sure how to [...]
What Are Capital Reserves and Why They Matter
Less than 40% of churches Smart Church Solutions have surveyed in our national benchmarking have a defensible plan for capital reserve planning. Capital renewals are inevitable expenses. Every component of your building [...]
The 4 Buckets of Church Facility Budgeting
If your church has a facility, then you have been entrusted with the care and stewarding of your ministry tool. That means that you will have to set budgets, hire personnel, plan [...]
The Seven Deadly Sins of Church Building Design—and how to Fix Them
What are the seven most common church designs mistakes? You know, the ones that create the biggest headache for church leaders. Dave Milam will explain a mistake, then watch Bob Bergmann fix [...]
How to Never Say, “Our Policy Won’t Allow It”
There is a bane in having a good church policy for your facilities. Here is what happens. A church leader plans an event on your church campus and turns in a facility request. The [...]