And How Church Management Software Can Help
There is a lot of debate about the pros and cons of church growth, as multi-site churches don’t always go to plan. Splinters and fractures that appear between the different sites can develop into much more damaging rifts, but what if quality church management software was the missing piece to your church network puzzle?
The issues that arise from church growth are predictable, and most church leaders have the same complaints. This means that you don’t have to go through the problems yourself, as you can learn from the experiences of other churches that have walked the path before you.
Whether you are a multi-site church hoping to ease the pain points or are just considering taking the plunge, read on for our simple solutions to the most common problems.
1. Communication Channels
As a church leader, you are probably well versed on the topic of open communication. Open, honest, and direct conversation is essential between everyone, from your team leaders and volunteers to congregants and parents. Clear church communication channels separate a ministry organization from a church community.
When you have more than one location, the importance of communication goes up another notch. Good communication between your campuses is the single most important factor when maintaining a meaningful connection. Otherwise, you become like a chain of churches rather than a unified entity.
Slack Groups
Getting organized and having all your chats in one central place works wonders for group communication. Our top pick is Slack because it allows you to create different groups and have a central channel for everyone, enabling people to have meaningful interactions in smaller groups and get involved in general ministry chit-chat.
This way, some groups can be interlinked between the different campuses while others can stay reserved for a more relevant audience. Your church workers can interact differently in each group, whether it’s ‘New Volunteers’ or ‘Small Group Team Leaders’.
2. Small Group Silos
Poor communication between different ministries can cause department silos. It can cause each sub-section of your church to develop its own values, goals, and sense of identity, which leads to mishaps, mistakes, and miscommunications.
When there is little cross-ministry collaboration and specialized groups stick tightly together, you might be at risk of silos. For more information about the silo mentality, check out this article.
Zoom
In addition to group chats that blur the site-site ministry divide, host regular meetings to stay in the loop. If there is a great distance between your campuses, Zoom will become your new best friend. Instead of weak collaboration over emails and messages, communication can happen as if it were face-to-face.
Have a representative from each site get involved in projects together, to increase a team feeling while ensuring every voice gets heard.
3. Consistency of Curriculum
Teach your youngest minds from the same school of thought by implementing a unified curriculum across all your sites. A strong curriculum is more than just a textbook, so to have a lasting impact on your kids, create a curriculum strategy to plan the trajectory of their learning, keeping them on track.
There are countless kids’ ministry curriculum options out there, which makes knowing which one to select a challenge. Our favorite is Think Orange, as they build bridges between families and kids’ ministry to build faith that lasts. The curriculum is expertly designed for the different stages of child development and provides a comprehensive guide for each age group.
Playlister
Sharing resources between different causes is time-consuming and costly (and in many cases, it is simply not feasible). Using church presentation software eliminates this issue entirely. Playlister is a simple 3-step setup church management software that effortlessly imports your children’s ministry to a TV ready for streaming when and where you need it.
Input the schedule of your kids’ ministry across your multi-site church network and know exactly what will be shared. Knowing your kids’ ministry is unified over the different locations with church management software will take one weight off your mind.
4. Similar Small Groups
Standardizing your curriculum is straightforward, but small groups are a different story. As the purpose of small groups for kids is to build relationships with other kids and develop Godly habits, using a video won't quite have the personal impact it needs. A human element is necessary, but that is more challenging to make consistent.
Small groups in church rely on the group members and need a church leader present to direct the course of the class. No two small group sessions will be exactly the same, as they have more room for student input. In fact, student input is the point of small groups.
Lead Small
Lead Small is an app developed by Think Orange that helps keep small group leaders on track. It sends the small group guides directly to their phones, so they have all the information they need in their back pocket.
It creates simple rosters to organize the groups of kids, helping volunteers remember details about each child like hobbies, allergies, and parent information. Feel at ease in the knowledge that each of your small group leaders has a detailed guide handy.
Staying organized and connected will lay robust foundations for your multi-site church so your ministry can continue to thrive. Embrace the church management software – it will make staying connected a whole lot easier.