Thirty years ago we at RDS Advantage church management made a faith decision to change from developing commercial accounting systems to serve the ministry and management needs of churches. We based our commitment on the Great Commission (below).
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20
As a result of our focus on outreach, many applications have been built into the church management system to support the work of bringing the Good News to more people.
· Contact Management – comprehensive database about contacts for user-defined purposes
· Attendance and Follow-up
· Communication tools such as e-mail, VOIP voice messaging, texting, letters, cards, and more
Hear the experience of one family:
“In the last year my family and I visited over 20 congregations in a major metropolitan city in working with pastors. I filled out cards in all of them when they were offered. Only 50% offered any way of identifying yourself as a guest. The variety of follow through is amazing. One congregation still sends me invitations to singles ministry after calling them twice to let them know I am married. Only one congregation made a second contact after their initial attempt. No congregation made an attempt to talk to me after not finding me home. Only three made a personal visit to my house. Only one called. Except for three, no congregant greeted us or showed any personal interest, without my initiating it. Looking for a congregation to call home is not easy.”
Sometimes tasks that seem difficult can be simplified by breaking them down into smaller steps. Here are examples of how to implement an effective outreach program, and how to use a church management system as a tool to support this ministry.
Data processing:
Enter information about prospects into the database. Identify each as a visitor/guest or prospect. From this information, personalized letters, address labels, visitation cards, contact reports, name tags, postcards, envelopes, e-mail and other communications can be produced.
Cultivate:
As prospects begin to participate in church activities, assign them mentors to facilitate integration into full fellowship.
Train mentors to help visitors and prospects take part in church activities. Equip them to assist prospects in becoming part of the body of believers.
Nurture:
Record the activities in which a person is involved, including date of involvement, specifics of the involvement, and position or function, etc. Accurate and consistent attendance tracking is an important tool. Recording attendance isn’t what counts – the church’s response to absence is what is important.
Note: See a slide show example of an outreach program. In the RDS Advantage website, click on the “Download Free Presentation” button on the bottom left side of the home page and select “Outreach.”