Church-Smart Software
Programs that help plan worship, track attendance, trace giving, and more
by Tim Eason

You may notice an ever-increasing presence of computers as you walk through church buildings today. Every where you turn you see them. They have invaded the library, the church office, the pastor’s study—even the sanctuary.

Computers are becoming an indispensable tool for the modern church. However, computers are only as effective as the software that is used in them. In an effort to maximize computer use in the church, some software developers are creating programs tailored specifically for churches. Come with me on a virtual tour of a church that has discovered how to successfully implement computers throughout its facility and look specifically at the software that it uses.

For Membership Records and Attendance
Our first stop is the church office, where many tasks vital to running a church are performed. A church secretary is busy updating member records from the previous week’s services. Some of the software programs that can be used for this purpose:

Church Windows. With this program from Computer Helper, a record can be kept of each church member. The file can include contact information as well as the interests, skills, experience, and group involvement of each member. If the children’s department is searching for teachers, the minister of children’s education can search the church database for people who have an interest as well as skills in teaching children.

Beth Hann says Church Windows is an incredible tool for doing office work at Church of the Savior United Methodist Church in Westerville, Ohio. “It makes my day-to-day tasks so easy,” she says. “Printing labels and directories, registering attendance and visitors, and tracking groups and skills are available with a few clicks. I can quickly provide the pastors with the information they need.”

Servant Keeper. With this software, church members can be assigned to a group category, such as choir or Bible teachers. A picture can also be included with each member’s file, making it easier for church leaders to identify people when they see them at church.

PowerChurch Software. This information manager includes reports that will display data in a pie chart or bar graph to identify trends and analyze information. It also works in conjunction with a word processor to generate letters and mass mailings.

Steve Orr at Epiphany Episcopal Church in Lutherville, Maryland, enjoys working with PowerChurch. “I have been impressed with how smoothly the process of installing it is,” he says. “Overall, I find it is straightforward and consistent.”

Logos church-management software is available in two versions. Logos One is designed for churches in which the program will be operated by one person. Logos Two allows multiple users on a network to operate the software. Attendance tracking is a helpful feature of Logos. Both potential dropouts and prospective new members are identified by the program.

All four of the software packages have features that are useful for church record-keeping. They include financial aids to keep track of pledges, contributions, and payroll. We’ll take a closer look at those features as we visit the church accountant.

For Payroll and Accounting
The financial records of a church differ from those of other nonprofit organizations in many ways. So using ordinary business software to handle the monetary aspects of a church can become cumbersome. Here again, church-specific software comes to the rescue. For example, Servant Keeper keeps track of an individual’s pledges and contributions. The data can be exported to Quicken or Quickbooks.

The financial tracking capabilities of Church Windows zero in on pledges and contributions. In addition, this program allows a church to set up a chart of accounts that can be used to record income and expenses. Church Windows also takes care of church payroll details, such as deductions, allowances, taxes, and tax forms. PowerChurch offers many of these same features.

Logos Accounting is an expandable program with several modules:

• The General Ledger module is easy to set up and maintain. Several types of financial reports may be generated, including account histories and expense/income reports.
• The Accounts Payable module helps the church administrator pay bills. It keeps track of invoices and updates general ledger accounts. It is capable of printing checks.
• The Payroll module, which also includes check-printing features, calculates earnings, deductions, and taxes for church employees. All of these modules can work in conjunction with the Logos One and Logos Two programs.

For Scheduling Church Events
One responsibility of the church administrator is to schedule rooms in the church facility. Scheduler by Logos makes this task easier. With this software, a room may be assigned according to time, date, and event. Other information, such as staff involvement and custodial needs, can also be entered.

When someone wants to schedule a room, Scheduler offers a simple request form to fill out. If the room is available, the program asks for all of the information needed to reserve the area. It also allows space for additional needs such as nursery or kitchen use and setup instructions. This program is extremely useful for administering a church’s space.

EventU from ServiceU.com also helps churches manage events and facilities. All you need to use it is an Internet connection, an Internet e-mail address, and a Web browser. EventU automates the process of scheduling church events by using e-mail to route requests for approval. The system also provides the real-time status of all requests so you can quickly identify any problems. If you need a paper version of your calendar, you can print out a report of all the events that match your criteria.

For Designing the Church Bulletin
Before leaving the main church office area, let’s see how software can help with the production of bulletins and brochures. The person who is busy putting together the bulletin for next week’s service is making good use of Christian clip art from Ellis. This CD-ROM contains more than 1,000 Christian images divided into 30 categories.

The Church Clipart Mega Pack from Ellis, a 2-CD collection, includes over 2,000 images divided into seven ministry categories. Another 2-CD compilation of Christian graphics is available from Broderbund. It includes a printed catalog, which makes it easy to spot the right clip art for the job. These tools can give a professional look to a church bulletin, newsletter, or any other printed material.

For Planning Music and Worship
The music minister is planning Sunday’s worship services with the help of Parse from Split Infinity. Parse allows a person to search for music by topic, key, or tempo.

Songs in the database include chord charts, which are transposable. Various songs also have a MIDI file attached to them, which will play automatically when a song is selected. New songs may be entered in this database and as signed specific at tributes for searching. Additional songs are available for purchase.

Michael David of First Baptist in San Antonio, Texas, finds the software very useful. “I use Parse to quickly and accurately trans pose music for use in praise and worship,” he says. “I recommend it for its ease of use, logical categorical filing system, and ability to automatically print music so it fits on one page.”

Another program music ministers find helpful is Worship Pro from Servant Keeper. This software keeps track of a church’s library of songs. The songs can be put into an order of worship, then printed in a song book for worship team members. Speaking of worship teams, Worship Pro doubles as a team-management program, keeping track of the contact information and abilities of individual members.

For Preparing Videoprojection
After the music minister is done with the order of worship, the media minister plans the incorporation of video projection. Presentation Manager by Creative Lifestyles is helpful for this. The software program uses a computer system with two graphics cards, one to be used as a preview monitor and the other to be connected to a video projector. Songs, graphics, videos, and text are organized and selected on the preview monitor. The graphics are then displayed full-screen through the projection system.

Greg Stinogel, minister of music at Milford Assembly of God Church in Milford, Michigan, appreciates the flexibility of Presentation Manager. “I needed a program that would allow me to move off my programmed list of songs for the service. This program was written for that purpose,” Stinogel says.

SongShow Plus, which has similar features, also includes dual-graphics capabilities. That allows it to interface with the database program SongSelect, offered by Christian Copyright Licensing, Inc. This function saves time by directly accessing song lyrics without manually having to enter them into the program. The search engine in SongShow is similar to the features that the music minister uses to find specific songs. The application can also access PowerPoint and video files. It includes a built-in song usage report.

Both of these programs have the ability to briefly display messages or numbers in the corner of the screen. That feature can serve as a kind of paging system. For example, when a child is dropped off at the church nursery, the parents are given a number. If the parents are needed during the service, that number will appear on the screen to alert them to report to the nursery. Like wise, if a doctor or nurse is needed to attend to a medical emergency, that number will flash on the screen.

For Library Records
As we enter the church library (quietly), we see other computers ready for action. According to the librarian, CROSS Library can be used to catalog every item in the library, including books, videos, documents, tapes, and CDs. In addition to including relevant information about each item, the software will track borrowers as well as checkout and check-in dates. This program is capable of printing catalog cards, labels for books or tapes, and overdue reports. It will also allow a librarian or accountant to calculate the total value of the library.

For Sermon Preparation
The pastor is working on his Sunday sermon. On the computer screen in front of him is the Pulpit Helps Collection. The program offers 2,001 stories and illustrations categorized by topic on a CD-ROM. Some of the topics included are sports, business, work, aging, and humor. A second volume of 2,002 illustrations is also available.

For Scripture references, the pastor accesses Quick Verse, which comes in three editions. The standard version includes eight Bible translations, two commentaries, three dictionaries, and other helpful resources for sermon preparation. The expanded and deluxe editions offer additional references, which can be instantly accessed using the powerful Quick Verse search engine. This vast library of information can be an invaluable tool for helping a pastor prepare a message.

This concludes our tour. As you can see, various types of church software can be a great help for doing the business of church ministry. A church that takes ad vantage of these tools will begin to see a difference in the effectiveness of each area of church ministry. As the demand for church-related software continues to grow, there are sure to be additional programs developed to meet these needs.