Social Media Engagement for Churches – Is it Important?

The short answer – YES!!!

The longer answer is more complicated and dives into what makes people tick or respond to information. People interact more than any other creature in the world through verbal, physical, or non-verbal communication. As people moved further away from family and friends to accomplish their dreams, today’s technology have allowed them to still stay connected. Instead of sitting at the local café like past generations and catching up on everything in town, we each log into a computer to share pictures, blogs, life stories, etc. at a personable level through Social Media.

Why are people attracted to this?

Social Media shows the human side of people just as if you were sitting in that café many years ago. In other words, people want to know that they are just as average as the pastor in the church is — he has struggles, triumphs, and questions just like anyone else. When the human side shows through communication channels, people will respond. Does your church show the personable side in its ministry to others inside and outside your organization?

We noticed this through our own company postings on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and our blog on WordPress. More responses came from personal things like pictures of our first snowfall in the Upper Midwest, a picture of a box of chocolates that we received, and our team at the company Christmas party. Although many of our blogs discuss important aspects of church software and have pictures, the response rate is lower. Why? The blogs are viewed as information to consume; people learn from them and move on. People are more likely to respond to a personal story about Icon Systems and its employees or a friendly client interaction.

What things does your church do to show the personal side of the organization?

Church Software for Districts and its Churches.

The evaluation of district software for churches should take into account the various tasks performed at each level of the organization (e.g. Church, District, Regional, National, World Offices).

Capabilities of District Software:

1. The ability to move a church from one regional office to another.
2. Communication capabilities both within a single entity as well as between each entity throughout the organization.
3. Communication is based on roles within the organization – e.g. regional secretaries versus church secretaries.
4. Adding church plants or multisite campuses.

Using one software system throughout the organization helps simplify day-to-day operations

If the software is capable of handling data for individual churches as well as multi-site organizations, users do not have to learn more than one system and data entry is more consistent. The use of a single system throughout the district also allows each church to uniquely structure its own chart of accounts, contribution funds, etc. while allowing the district office to combine the data from each church into one consolidated report.

For example, a district office could collect the membership data from each individual church and consolidate it into one report to analyze the organization as a whole. An individual church would also be able to track several youth or memorial funds that would show as one youth or memorial fund total on the district office reports. The ability to customize separate structures for both levels is crucial.

Why is all this important?

First, the software needs to tackle head-on the various issues each entity is facing at their respective levels. Having one system reduces errors in reporting, ensures a high level of data integrity, increases speed in data gathering, and prevents the users from having to learn and manage five different systems.

We will use an orchestra to illustrate this concept: if each musician was playing a different musical composition would you expect a well-tuned concert? Certainly not – all the musicians have to be on the same page of the same song. The same is true when it comes to the technology used in churches and throughout the entire organization – shouldn’t the same software be used so your ministry can operate in-sync like an orchestra?

Second, providing data to the district office gives an early indication if certain churches will need help financially or within their ministry staff. It can help to determine which entities are flourishing with donations or declining. Is attendance increasing at one location but not the other? All of these and many more questions are answered objectively with the right software in place.

Third, with a one-system approach, confidentiality across the platform is essential so one church cannot view another church’s records. The system must also allow churches to opt out of sending data to the district office. Most district software packages fail in one or more of these areas: membership, financials, data gathering and confidentiality. But you can rest assured because there is an answer for district offices → IconCMO+ software!