The longer I’m in ministry leadership, the more I appreciate the value of great Church Management Software (CMS) as a tool for developing strong infrastructure.
Our internal timeline for monthly reporting is the completion of the previous month’s KPMs (Key Performance Measures) by the 2nd Wednesday of the month and completion of the Leadership Team Monthly Report by the 2nd Friday of the month.
Right after the last day of the month, my virtual executive assistant (thanks to BELAY!) spends a bunch of time pulling data from Church Community Builder (CCB), our pick for Church Management Software. We’ve had more than a few tries at finding the best CMS application, and I’m convinced we’ve found it in CCB!
What is meant by “strong infrastructure?” I think my leadership fundamental Developing Infrastructure is Critical! does a pretty good job of answering this question. Check it out if you haven’t done so already!
As a church leader, I like to split infrastructure into two areas … “people” processes and “other” processes. CMS is critical to the people side of things. It helps church leadership connect people and keep a record of their overall involvement in the church. In other words, the church’s CMS is the primary vehicle for tracking and ultimately “measuring” the spiritual growth of the congregation, one person at a time, regardless of the size of the church. (Check out this post on disciple-making and the importance of data!)
The first thing I do when meeting someone new, especially if they’ve expressed interest in leading something, is log in to Church Community Builder to review their profile and level of involvement in the church. Are they serving anywhere? Have they attended our Welcome Class? Are they in a small group? Are they otherwise committed to the church?
Regardless of the answers to the questions above, I can always learn more about the person and determine their logical “next step.”
Yes. I’m convinced! Church Management Software and “People Infrastructure” are synonymous!