TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERING MINISTRYBaby Boomers at Church. July 2017 | 3. A Word from the editor. Ray...
Transcript of TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERING MINISTRYBaby Boomers at Church. July 2017 | 3. A Word from the editor. Ray...
TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERING MINISTRY
www.ministrytech.com July 2017
Mobile work force: Where is your “staff”?Pulling Together Software and People in the Same Direction | Mobile Freedom vs. Accountability | Paying the Cost of Going Mobile
2 | MinistryTech.com
CONTENTS
7.17
If no one sees you working then why are you being paid?
8
24
12
To get to a clear destination with a scattered communication team, we need at least three things.
How to Make Software & People Pull Together in the Same Direction
Mobile Freedom vs. Mobile
Accountability
A pilgrim’s progress of givingThe ancient tale retold: church donations and technology
By 2010 there were more cellphones in use than there were people in the U.S.
29
4
Who Should Pay The Cost of Going Mobile?
TECH CHECK 7.17 ............................................................................11
START-UP | The Story Behind Piktochart, Part 2 ........................15
5 Expert Tips to Manage a Remote Team ....................................18
WFX Conference & Expo: An Experience That Will Change Your Church ......................................................21
Do You Have a Disaster Recovery Plan? .......................................27
Boomers or Bust– Using Tech
to Minister to Baby Boomers at
Church
July 2017 | 3
A Word from the editorRay Hollenbach
Ray Hollenbach is the Editor of Ministry Tech magazine. He has previously served as the editor of Outreach’s Better Preaching Update, and as the editor of the Pastor channel at Churchleaders.com. You can reach him at [email protected].
A mobile workforce is good
news for churches and
church staffs, because the
church is called to “go.” As never
before, the connected and tech-
nological church can fulfill the
Lord’s Great Commission in ways
unimagined by previous genera-
tions. It’s a great reminder that
at the intersection of technol-
ogy and ministry we can always
discover obedient, committed
disciples ready to obey the Lord’s
commands—in increasingly in-
ventive ways.
The mobile workforce is one
technological change that fits the
church perfectly, because the work
of the church is about reaching the
world. It’s a good development when
the work of the church can be done
flexibly and allow both staff and vol-
unteers to go beyond the walls of the
church building, because the mission
of the church is in “out there.” As one
church leader said: “The meat is in
the street.” Imagine a highly connect-
ed group of people, trading informa-
tion, encouraging one another, and
directing resources directly to the
point of need—and you’re imaging a
mobilized church!
In this issue our church com-
munication specialist Yvon Prehn
addresses the need for clear com-
munication within the church,
and practical suggestions on how
to divide the responsibilities for
such communication between full
time staff and ministry volunteers.
Jonathan Smith reminds us that
whether we are dealing with staff or
volunteers there’s always a neces-
sary balance between freedom, flex-
ibility, and responsibility. Sometimes,
increased freedom calls for increased
accountability because the work
of the church is accomplished by a
community of people.
Russ McGuire provides Part Two
of the story of Piktochart and the
Christian entrepreneurs behind the
company. It’s a moving reminder
that behind every technology, and
behind every data set, lay people and
relationships, which is the very soul
of Christian ministry.
We’re thrilled that you are a part
of this ever-growing community,
and that you’re willing to invest time
learning about new ways to live at
the intersection between technology
and ministry. God bless!
Mobile, And Yet Connected
Managing EditorRay Hollenbach
Art DirectorBeth VanDyke
bethvandyke.com
Contributing EditorsYvon Prehn
Nick Nicholaou Russ McGuire
Jonathan Smith Steven Sundermeier
Kevin Purcell
Steve Hewitt
Copy EditorLaura Severn
Publisher
Outreach Inc. 5550 Tech Center Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (800) 991-6011
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© Copyright 2017 Outreach, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
| MinistryTech.com4 | MinistryTech.com4
LEAD STORY
How to Make Software and People Pull Together in the Same Direction
Where is your mobile communication team heading? [ by Yvon Prehn ]
July 2017 | 5
With the tools of technology
available to us today, the
communication team at our
churches is comprised of those
who work at the church office
full-time, part-time staff who
work at the office and home, plus
volunteers who work from the
immediate area or anywhere on
earth if they are traveling!
That’s the good part about a
mobile, distributed communication
team today. The challenge is, unlike
Alice in the quote from Through the
Looking Glass, it does matter where
we want to go. We want to get to
where our church communications
are involving people in the
activities of our church so they
can come to know Jesus as Savior
and grow in their faith. To get to a
clear destination with a scattered
communication team, we need:
X �A�clear�understanding�of�roles�
and�goals�
X Coordinated�software
X �A�common�vision�and�purpose
Here’s some advice for each area
based on interactions with many
churches over the years, and what
I’ve seen work well.
A clear understanding of roles and goalsMany churches are hesitant to
use volunteers outside the church
office staff because of the spoken or
unspoken fear, “What if I can’t get
them to do what I want them to do?
What if volunteers create materials
that are not appropriate or up to the
quality we want for the church?”
These are valid concerns. I’ve
found that almost all these concerns
can be answered if you divide your
church communication team into
Two Production Levels. This way
the church can keep tight control
over essential, core communications,
but delegate to team members those
communication tasks that need to be
done but that the staff seldom has
time to do. The two production levels
of effective church communications
are the Public Relations (PR) level
and the Ministry Communication
level. Let’s look at both:
PR Communication Production Leveln WHAT IS PRODUCED? These are
the showcase pieces, the ones that
represent the face of your church
overall to your community and
the world. They include the logo,
stationary, business cards, primary
bulletin, newsletter, major outreach
pieces, and the primary website and
social media creation.
n WHO DOES IT? Usually a staff
person. The larger the church the
more that church needs to hire
someone to create and oversee
communications. This level of
communications is the face and voice
of the church: it’s important that
the person who does these pieces is
at the church as much as possible—
attending staff meetings to get to
know the heart, vision and people
of the church. For these reasons, it’s
difficult for this person to be mobile.
n WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS?
Usually somewhat strict, as these
pieces reflect the overall vision and
reputation of the church. This is
the level where the standards are
set for what is expected in all other
communications. A style manual for
the church is very helpful where
you list accepted ways of referring to
pastors, staff, committees, etc., where
you clarify logo usage and any style
and grammar expectations.
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll (1871)
6 | MinistryTech.com
Ministry Communication Production Leveln WHAT IS PRODUCED?
Everything else, from very
simple notices, lessons, flyers and
announcements to more complex
communication projects. These
are the multitude of pieces needed
by individual ministries of the
church. Volunteers can work on
these anywhere, at any time, and
be effective and useful. Mobile
interactions can work extremely
well at this level, when the person at
the top level has a clear vision and
has set up style guides as suggested
previously.
n WHO DOES IT? THIS IS
IMPORTANT: Here a staff person
(or perhaps a key volunteer)
should oversee, train, encourage
and help, but that person can’t do
everything needed for a complete
communication ministry in the
church, nor should they. Ideally,
every ministry in the church should
have at least one person who can
help do the communications needed
for that ministry, who is often a key
part of that ministry. At this level,
the overall ministry communications
staff member becomes a coach and
encourager.
n WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS?
You do not need the same high
standards of design or perfection
for a one-time postcard to remind
the guys of the men’s breakfast,
or the flyer to remind parents of a
special event for a Sunday School. If
you’re too hard on volunteers, they’ll
quit. The ministry communication
staff person needs to decide what is
essential and important in standards
and what is simply picky personal
preference. Also, don’t try to make
every volunteer create ministry
specific communications in the
same style as everything else in the
church.
Coordinated softwareTo help the PR and Ministry
Communications levels work
together well, you need to have
coordinated software and a way
to exchange files seamlessly.
Fortunately, this is very easy to
do with both Microsoft products
(Word, Publisher, PowerPoint)
by using Office 365 and Adobe
Products (InDesign, Photoshop,
Illustrator, Acrobat) by using the
Adobe Creative Cloud. Here are two
links to resources that will help you
evaluate, understand and purchase
the nonprofit licenses to get these
products:
n Consistent Computer Bargains—
I highly recommend these people as
I’ve known them and how they help
The most important thing of all is that everyone on your team should understand they’ve been entrusted with the words of eternal life, that the eternal destiny of human souls can be determined by their communications.
July 2017 | 7
churches since they were founded.
Call them and they can explain the
products, programs and whatever
else you need. They can help with
both MS Office 365 and Adobe
Creative Cloud.
n TechSoup—TechSoup provides an
excellent secular explanation on how
MS Office 365 works for churches.
There are many useful programs
today that have features to enable
distributed teams to work together
well on projects. (One of them is
Canva, where you can create shared
templates, folders and stylistic
guidelines.)
A common vision and purposeYour team can be well-organized
and have a flawless digital,
distributed workflow (all of which
is very important), but the most
important thing of all is that
everyone on your team should
understand they’ve been entrusted
with the words of eternal life,
that the eternal destiny of human
souls can be determined by their
communications.
Take time to create a clear,
Bible-based and spiritually
challenging vision statement for
your communication team. Remind
people of the eternal importance of
what you are doing. Once everyone
has the same vision, is praying
together and working hard to
accomplish the goals of the church
and the Great Commission, they
can work from nearly anywhere,
and you’ll have an effective church
communication team. MT
Yvon Prehn is the founder and director of Effective Church Communications, www.effectivechurchcom.com, a ministry that helps churches create communications that will help them fully fulfill the Great Commission. She has been writing and teaching about church communications for over 20 years. Her latest book is The Five Steps of Effective Church Communication and Marketing.
Mobile Freedom VS.
Mobile AccountabilityThe Hidden Dangers of Tech Flexibility
by Jonathan Smith
MOBILE TECHNOLOGY is making it
possible for ministries to save money while
being more productive. A mobile workforce
allows employees to work from where they are
most comfortable while saving money on office space,
furniture, maintenance, HVAC and corporate infrastructure.
The employee has access to all the same tools they would
have in a traditional office without any of the traditional
office costs. Almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?
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July 2017 | 9
From a cost perspective this
makes a lot of sense. Equip an em-
ployee with a tablet or laptop and
you’re practically done. However,
from a productivity standpoint it
gets a little more complicated, and
when we talk about accountability—
well, now we’re getting deep!
Recently in the news we’ve seen
both sides of the work-from-home
challenge. Dell Corporation allows
many of their employees the option
to work from home. Their internal
studies suggest that employees are
more productive when they can
work from home and avoid what can
sometimes be a long commute. Dell
said they find employees login ear-
lier and stay logged in longer on the
days they telecommute as opposed to
the days when they have to actually
commute in the real world.
IBM however recently cancelled
its program to allow many employees
to work at home, citing the traditional
office team environment as being
better for productivity. They say
being together in a traditional office
environment is worth all the time
and costs associated with it, as it im-
proves productivity. IBM went so far
as to say if you work from home and
you’re unwilling to give that up, then
you may not get to keep your job.
For churches and ministries a
mobile workforce has many benefits.
Construction dollars can be spent on
ministry space that is more flexible
for ministry needs, because let’s face
it: an office is an office. The staff is
also able to nimbly serve those they
are called to serve, as they can access
all the data they need for ministry
from anywhere.
Mobile technology also helps get
the staff out where the people are.
Sometimes folks may want to meet
with someone at your church but
the stigma of actually going into a
church drives them away. With
mobile technology the staff can work
from anywhere; setting up shop at
a coffee house so you can meet with
folks no longer means any loss of
productivity because you aren’t in
the office.
For multisite churches this is
huge: many large churches are
building co-working studios. Instead
of tying staff to a specific office at a
specific campus, church staffers can
move freely between co-working
studios. In addition, co-working
space can also be shared as a great
community asset.
The biggest challenge with a
mobile workforce is accountability.
While there are many advantages to
working remotely, it’s also a privi-
lege that can be easily abused. The
traditional 8am–5pm work hours (for
illustration only, because we all know
that ministry is not 8–5) and the
need to have your physical presence
seen and noted by those writing your
paychecks is no longer viable. This is
often why many organizations shy
away from a mobile work force. If no
one sees you working then why are
you being paid?
There’s no doubt that it requires
a dedicated and motivated person to
work remotely. In the remote world,
though, it is easier to take advan-
tage of the situation and shortch-
ange your employer. Just because
you were at a coffee shop for three
hours, does that mean you did three
hours worth of work. Perhaps you
were there for three hours and only
did two hours worth of work. Think
about that. I hope no one wants to
shortchange God, whether you work
for a ministry or not. If your expec-
tation is 40 hours then you should
work 40 hours, whether those
40 are in a coffee shop, airport or
traditional office.
Employers also have to be ready
to help remote workers with ac-
countability. If the expectations are
not clear then the employee may
falter. Employers need to have the
necessary technology in place to
empower their remote workers.
Providing hardware is only part of it;
software and services are the other
part. Don’t send a remote employee
into the field with five-year-old
technologies and very little support.
Hopefully some of the money saved
by not maintaining a traditional
office environment can be used to
provide hardware, software and
services for employees.
While accountability can be done
remotely through emails and phone
The biggest challenge with a mobile workforce is accountability. While there are many advantages to working remotely, it’s also a privilege that can be easily abused. It is easier to take advantage of the situation and shortchange your employer.
10 | MinistryTech.com
calls, it is also a good idea to for
employers to make sure their remote
employees get some face time with
those they supervise. While remote
employees may not be seen very
often, it is important to make sure
they don’t feel like they are out of
sight and out of mind. People are still
a ministry’s greatest asset, whether
remote or traditional.
As challenges are faced with
remote employees, they must be
dealt with. Once word leaks out that
you can work remotely and spend
most of your day playing video
games, then you may find a rush of
people who want to work remotely.
What’s expected out of a remote
employee should be the same, if not
a bit more, than what’s expected out
of a traditional employee.
In many cases churches have been
early adopters of mobile workers. In
many cases smaller ministries with
only one or two employees have been
working remotely for decades, back
before there were cell phones and
pastors named their boats “Visitation.”
Today, thanks to technology, working
remotely has gotten easier and is just
as effective as working in a tradition-
al office. For both the employer and
the mobile employee, responsibility
and accountability are key. MT
Jonathan Smith is the Director of Technology at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana. You can reach Jonathan at [email protected] and also follow him on Twitter @JonathanESmith.
July 2017 | 11
tech check
7.17
Editor’s Note: Who can possibly keep up with all the tech options available these days? TECH CHECK highlights tech news and new gadgets that save you time, energy, money—and keep you from re-inventing the wheel. Have a hot tech tip or news item? Email [email protected].
The Definitive Guide to PodcastingThe folks at RazorSocial.com have curated everything you need to know about establishing and producing a podcast for your church community. Keep the connections flow-ing within your church through podcasting, which is mobile, and always available to the people in your congregation. Take a few minutes to watch their video, or scan their selec-tions and you’ll be up to speed on what it takes to leverage this red-out means of connecting with your community, and reach new friends as well.
Multiple-platform ChMS is Within Your Reach!Your ministry is about more than managing data—it’s about connecting with your people, and helping them connect with each other, so they can grow in their faith.
Fortunately there are integrated software and app solutions that foster healthy communities. Even the smallest or newest churches can benefit from these solutions, whether they are off-the-shelf or customized for your unique situation. The folks at Church Community Builder Software are a good place to start, as they inte-grate giving, small groups, check-in, attendance, and connectivity.
What? Live stream Our Services?Yes, you! These days Facebook provides an easy distribution platform for as-it-happens video.
Any church with an Internet connec-tion can provide real-time audio and video of its services, or even small group meetings. Just be-
cause people in your congrega-tion are traveling doesn’t mean they have to miss your meeting. There are plenty of hardware choices for live streaming camer-as, and they are quite affordable. Check out this YouTube offering from MEVO, which demonstrates how easy it is to live stream (even from your kitchen!).
Your DIY Guide to Acoustic Panels:Acoustic panels are an over-looked aspect to great sound in your facility. After all, it seems so low-tech, but it’s rare to find a church building with naturally good acoustics. By the time you add in pianos, organs, electric guitars and over-enthusiastic vocalists, you could have a tech problem of epic proportions.
The folks at Sound on Sound provide an online primer that starts with the differences be-tween absorption and diffusion, and leads you all the way through to assembling and installing your own customized acoustic solu-tions. As a bonus, this kind of project could be a great church fellowship team project.
12 | MinistryTech.com
Churches reimburse some
staff members for their cell
phone and Internet costs. In
the early days of those technolo-
gies, doing so made sense. Has the
way we communicate changed so
much that it’s time to reconsider?
What are the issues?
I got my first cell phone in 1987,
and was one of only 1 million in the
U.S. who had one. But it was worth
the cost (often $750+ monthly for
one line!) to be available to our clients
as I travelled across the USA. Five
years later that number had grown
to 11 million, and in 2000 passed 100
million! By 2010 there were more
cellphones (and smartphones) in use
than there were people in the U.S. By
2015 half of all households no longer
had a landline connecting their home
to the telephone system network (we
removed our landlines in 2007).
Why does that matter? In the
earlier years of cellular phones they
were very costly to buy and use, and
were perceived as additional phone
lines. As great tools enabling a bur-
geoning mobile workforce, churches
wanted their staff to have cellphones
to facilitate better communications
between themselves, their teams,
Who Should Pay the Cost of Going Mobile?
Should Churches Continue to
Reimburse Cell Phone Fees?
[ by Nick Nicholaou ]
July 2017 | 13
and their congregations. Because
they were an added phone to the
home phone, many church team
members couldn’t afford to have one.
The same is true for Internet
connections at team members’
homes. In the 1990s and early
2000s they were considered op-
tional. Reimbursing staff for the
expense of being connected made
sense for many team roles.
So churches developed a number
of ways to underwrite the cost for
these services for their staff via re-
imbursements, allowances and more.
The IRS finally helped by simplifying
the tax treatment of cellphones pro-
vided to employees in 2011 following
the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
There may be circumstances where
those are appropriate, but for most
the answer going forward should be
no. Those communications services
are no longer considered additional
methods in the U.S., but are now
integral to our communication fabric.
At a gathering of megachurch
church business administrators and
managers (CBAs) I recently attended,
one of the CBAs asked, “When staff
leave the church, they don’t want to
turn in their cellphone or terminate
their service! If they will pay for it
themselves after they leave our staff,
why do we pay for their service and
phones while they are on staff?” It’s a
good question!
Today nearly all working adults
in the U.S. have a cell phone (or more
accurately, a smartphone), and most
households have broadband Internet
service. So why should the church
reimburse the cost of these services?
It no longer needs to.
Simply deciding to no longer
reimburse for these services could be
problematic. I suggest the following:
�n Set a policy that reimbursements
for cell phones and Internet service
will no longer be made to church
staff. This policy would apply to all
new hires.
�n To ‘grandfather’ those who have
been receiving assistance for these
services, add the amount they have
Membership
Accounting
Contributions
Events Calendar
Check In
Completely Integrated
www.PowerChurch.com • 800.486.1800
We provide software tools, freeing you up to fulfill your mission.
Install on your PC or network, or access online.
Choose which fits your needs.
We provide you with the tools to increase administrative efficiency and streamline accounting tasks, freeing you up to perform the work that matters.
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14 | MinistryTech.com
been receiving to their base pay; a
sort of one-time adjustment to their
pay. This allows you to eliminate as-
sistance going forward without hurt-
ing any team members that depend
on it. It also simplifies the payroll
process—a win-win!
Transitioning in this way will
remove the discussion for any
new team members, and continue
meeting the needs of existing team
members.
People no longer need assistance
with their cellular or Internet serv-
ice. It’s part of the standard way we
communicate today in America. It’s
OK to end the practice of evaluating
who to assist, how much to assist, and
then accounting for those decisions
in budgets and in the payroll process.
Handled in this way, no one will get
hurt in the process, and no one will
suffer because of the policy. MT
Nick Nicholaou is president of MBS, an IT consulting firm specializing in church and ministry computer networks, VoIP, and private cloud hosted services. You can reach Nick at [email protected], and may want to check out his firm’s website, www.mbsinc.com, and his blog at ministry-it.blogspot.com.
Today�nearly�all�working�
adults�in�the�U.S.�have�
a�cell�phone�(or�more�
accurately,�a�smartphone),�
and�most�households�
have�broadband�Internet�
service.�So�why�should�
the�church�reimburse�the�
cost�of�these�services?��
It�no�longer�needs�to.
July 2017 | 15
Last month, I introduced you to
Andrea Zaggia and Ai Ching
Goh, husband and wife and
co-founders of Piktochart. In
sharing their story, we learned
how God had used technology,
and even their web-based
business, to bring them to Himself
and to saving faith. This month
I am pleased to share how God is
using them and their business to
bless others.
A Transformed LifeAs you may recall, Ai Ching was
raised in Malaysia. Her family is
Buddhist. Growing up, she didn’t
even like Christians. She told me, “I
was wrong my whole life!” Andrea
was from Italy where his family
identified as Catholics, but the
church wasn’t an important part
of their life. They met over Skype,
then in person. Andrea moved to
Malaysia to be with Ai Ching. They
started a business together and were
married. But they were lost.
Ai Ching said, “It’s so hard
to work with your spouse. In
retrospect, it seems impossible
without Christ in the center.” She
said that they would often get into
heated debates over trivial aspects
of the business. They each had a
“rights” mentality, insisting on what
they thought they deserved.
In Ephesians 4, Paul commends
us “to put off your old self, which
belongs to your former manner of
life and is corrupt through deceitful
desires, and to be renewed in the
spirit of your minds, and to put
on the new self, created after the
likeness of God in true righteousness
and holiness” (Eph 4:22-24). He goes
on to describe it this way: “Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and
clamor and slander be put away
from you, along with all malice. Be
kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:31,32).
Andrea and Ai Ching admit
that they aren’t all the way there,
but after joining the church, they
are being transformed as Paul
describes. Now, they always pray
together. No longer is it a zero-sum
game with one winning and the
other losing. They strive to make
every decision in one spirit.
Challenged by ScriptureWhen they joined the church,
they also joined a care group in the
church that met weekly. The group
was studying the book of Daniel.
In the first chapter, we see Daniel’s
faithfulness demonstrated in verse
8: “But Daniel resolved that he
would not defile himself with the
king’s food, or with the wine that
he drank.” We don’t know exactly
why Daniel thought the food and
wine would defile him, but his faith
required separation from the culture
around him.
Likewise, Ai Ching was
challenged to consider whether she
was defiling herself by continuing
to engage in the cultural practices
with which she had been raised. In
her hometown of Penang, there are
many idols. It is a common practice
to literally eat food offered to idols.
Russ [email protected]
A trusted advisor with proven strategic insights, Russ has been blessed by
God in many ways including serving as a corporate executive, co-founding
technology startups and writing a technology/business book. More importantly, he’s a husband and
father who cares about people, and a committed Christian who seeks to honor
God in all that he does. His newest venture is as Entrepreneur in Residence at
Oklahoma Christian University.
The Story Behind Piktochart (Part 2)
STARTUP
A�worldwide�story�of�Faith,�Love�and�Tech
by Russ McGuire
16 | MinistryTech.com
Twice in a very short time, Ai Ching
ate food that had been offered to
idols. Each time, she came down
with a very high fever that lasted
exactly one day. She understood
that she, like Daniel, was to separate
herself from the cultural norms that
had been defiling her.
Not long after, the care group
looked at Daniel 3 and the story of
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
being bold and standing for their
faith. Ai Ching realized that she
also needed to be bold. She had
been lying to her parents about
what she did every Sunday. She
realized that she needed to tell
them the truth and she shared with
them her testimony. Her parents
were not happy, but Andrea and
Ai Ching were strengthened and
encouraged as they continued to
grow in their walk with the Lord.
Business and Technology ConnectionsBeing in a country where less than
10 percent are Christians made
it hard for Andrea and Ai Ching
to learn how to build a business
with Christian values. They turned
to Google to try to find Christian
mentors. One of the top results
was Praxis, which I have featured
before. Later, they attended SXSW in
Austin and there met Evan Loomis,
co-founder of TreeHouse, who had
been through the Praxis program.
They applied and were accepted
into Praxis, where they built great
relationships with mentors and
peers that continue to serve them
as they grow in God’s grace.
To summarize some of their key
takeaways, each of the Piktochart
co-founders shared a verse that
guides them. Andrea recited Romans
12:2, “Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that by
testing you may discern what is
the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect.” By the
world’s standards, entrepreneurs
are expected to follow a pattern:
raise money fast; fail or succeed
fast; fire struggling workers fast.
At Piktochart, by God’s grace, they
haven’t conformed to this pattern.
As I mentioned last month, they had
the opportunity to take money from
investors, but didn’t feel at peace
with the offers. If they had accepted
those offers, they now would have
investors that would be opposed
Create attractive infographics online using Piktochart’s wide selection of easy-to-use templates.
July 2017 | 17
to many of their current decisions,
including tithing from the business
to support Kingdom work. God
has provided. They haven’t needed
outside financing and the business is
still growing five years in.
Ai Ching quoted Jesus from
Matthew 6:33, “But seek first
the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you.” As a
businessperson, we have so many
responsibilities to juggle, including
serving customers and employees,
ensuring product quality, dealing
with never-ending new versions
of browser and web standards and
technology trends, and adapting to
changing market conditions. She
says, “It is so important not to be
focused on these ‘waves’ but on
Christ, our Head, who is ready to
pull us out when we start to sink.” As
Jesus said in John 14, “Let not your
hearts be troubled. Believe in God;
believe also in me.”
As technology entrepreneurs,
Andrea and Ai Ching have learned
lessons that can benefit us all. We
are trying to do great things for God,
but we so often get caught up in
the craziness of the latest javascript
framework (jQuery, Angular, Vue),
the new trendy web design model
(one page, responsive, material
design), or the next big thing (virtual
reality, augmented reality). We lose
sight of the fact that God is doing a
great work in us and through us. It’s
not about conforming to the patterns
of this world, but about seeking Him,
and being transformed by Him to
His glory.” MT
In this article series, we’ve defined a Christian entrepreneur as a person driven to glorify God in all he or she does, and ruled by the Word of God, who starts a new venture and is willing to risk a loss in order to achieve the success of the venture. Each month I’ve been introducing you to specific Christian startups and entrepreneurs, some of which may be helpful to your church, ministry, business or family, but my main intent is to encourage and inspire you to be entrepreneurial in your ministry and career. Are there Christian startups I should know about? Contact me at [email protected].
18 | MinistryTech.com
5T
echnology now enables work-
ers to do their jobs from pretty
much anywhere. All they
need is their favorite device and
an Internet connection. Even if
your team doesn’t work remotely
all of the time, the option to work
remotely allows employees greater
flexibility. For churches, the abil-
ity to work remotely also gives
part-time volunteers with day jobs
more opportunities to help.
Research has shown there are
many reasons to provide your team
with the ability to work remotely.
Here are some of the benefits:
�n Training new employees and vol-
unteers is a big drain on the church’s
resources. Working remotely has been
shown to reduce turnover.
�n Avoiding�unnecessary�meetings�
and�office�distractions creates more
uninterrupted time for getting work
done and increases productivity.
�n Greater schedule flexibility means
employees and volunteers will have
more availability.
�n Less office space to manage and
fewer utilities used reduces costs
significantly for the church.
�n Whether it’s by car, bus or train, the
morning commute in rush hour traffic
is usually something to dread. Skipping
the commute not only reduces stress,
but also gives employees more time to
get work done. And it’s environmen-
tally friendly!
�n People who work from home
reportedly exercise more, eat healthier
and have a better work-life balance. A
healthier team means fewer sick days.
Managing a team remotely is
different than managing an in-house
team and has its own set of challeng-
es. Here are five tips for managing a
remote team.
1Start with a great team of people. Hire
people you trust: this is imperative.
If you can’t trust your employees
and volunteers to do their jobs when
you’re not looking, then they’re not
a good fit. Your team should consist
of people who are motivated to get
stuff done. You don’t want to have to
micromanage or constantly cheer-
lead anyone.
2Use tools to plan and organize. Church
management software helps you
manage your membership and
financial data. A web-based church
management software will enable
your team to work from anywhere
while keeping everyone on the same
page. This also has the added ben-
efit of reducing redundancy. Mobile
access is a must-have. The pastor
should easily be able to look up a
phone number or address on the
go. The treasurer should be able to
review reports quickly on a tablet
before and during a council meeting.
�n Trello is a great tool for organiz-
ing to-do lists. You can access it from
a computer, and they have a mobile
app so you can monitor progress
from your phone.
�n Google Docs is another great
collaboration tool. You can upload
word-processing documents and
spreadsheets, put together a slide
show, create forms for gathering
information, and Google Drawings
is a fun tool for creating mind maps
and planning workflows.
�n Google Calendar is another tool
that keeps the whole team on the
same page by giving everyone access
to a shared calendar. A quick glance
will tell you when someone’s on
vacation or in a meeting. The shared
calendar can be added to your
phone and even schedules reminder
TO MANAGE A REMOTE TEAMExpert Tips
How to do it r ight! [ by Bill Gifford ]
July 2017 | 19
notifications so you don’t forget
appointments.
3Communicate, communicate,
communicate. Besides
finding the right tools to facilitate
your team’s communication, you’ll
need to plan together with your team
about communication expectations.
When can you expect to reliably get
ahold of someone and get feedback?
When can members expect to be able
to get work done with a minimum
of distractions? These are things to
discuss ahead of time.
Be extremely proactive when
you’re communicating via email,
chat or phone. When you’re not
face-to-face, people can’t pick up on
body language, facial expressions
and other nonverbal communica-
tion. This leads to an increased
chance of misunderstandings. It’s
better to err on the side of over-
communicating to make sure every-
thing is understood clearly.
There are video chat tools avail-
able like Skype and Zoom that allow
you to host virtual meetings in
place of face-to-face meetings. They
definitely feel more personal than a
phone call or conference call.
Slack is our favorite communica-
tion tool at the office. You can down-
load it on your computer, tablet or
phone, or you can log in through your
browser on any device. It allows you
to chat individually with any single
team member, or everyone at the
same time. You can set up channels
for specific topics, projects or events.
The built-in emoji keyboard and gif
integrations are not only fun, but also
Collaborate
Rubix
connected.and stay
Get my free trial
The next generation in church management software.
20 | MinistryTech.com
help fill in the gap left by the lack of
nonverbal communication.
4Set goals and ob-jectives. Everyone should
be working toward common goals
and objectives. Have long-term goals,
but also break them down into action-
able steps. This is where tools like
Trello come in to help manage projects,
set deadlines and make sure everyone
is headed in the same direction.
It’s easier to track progress for
goals if you regularly schedule times
to connect. Hold weekly check-ins
so everyone can share what they ac-
complished that week, what they’re
working on for the upcoming week
and what they need help with. Hold
monthly one-on-one check-ins with
each employee as well. If you have
a large team, you can break it down
into smaller teams to make this easier.
5Support engage-ment and team
building. This is important
for any team, regardless of whether
they work remotely or not. Keep em-
ployees engaged by communicating
well and encouraging the use of tools
like the ones mentioned above.
You can also host team-building
events a few times a year where the
team can get to know each other and
talk about things other than work.
It can help team members to under-
stand one another better, empathize
more and have a greater sense of
community.
Is your team working remotely? New communica-
tion tools have opened a world of
new opportunities for colleagues to
work together while apart. With the
right tools, some forethought and
careful communication, working re-
motely can not only be beneficial to
your team, but also to the church. MT
Bill Gifford is president of Icon Systems in Moorhead, Minnesota. For more than 20 years, Icon Systems has been developing software that will meet the needs of any re-ligious organization—from church plants to denominational offices. (www.iconcmo.com)
REACH EVERY NEW NEIGHBOR WITH AN INVITATION TO CHURCH! STEP 1
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July 2017 | 21
We are challenged with an
already over-scheduled
life. For many people
working in church tech roles,
carving out the necessary time
to develop one’s skillset is a
problem to be reckoned with.
Amidst the hustle and bustle
of our very busy lifestyles, we
all have to weigh carefully the
pros and cons of setting aside the
time it takes to invest in our own
skillset and spiritual development.
Churches often look for ways for
the entire church team to get away
together, adding an additional layer
of complexity. The WFX Conference
and Expo (WFX) serves as a yearly
retreat for many such churches,
offering training and education
for everyone, all at the same place
and at the same time. We are
determined to help you solve your
problems by offering five distinct,
co-located conferences, where
specialized training for the entire
team is available. WFX promises to
be an experience that will change
your church.
Justin Firesheets, production
manager for Church of the Highlands
in Birmingham, Alabama, says, “WFX
has long been known as a preeminent
destination for church tech directors
looking to grow themselves both
personally and professionally. It has
always been a prime opportunity for
me to network and strengthen my
connection with fellow church TDs,
and I know this year’s attendees will
benefit from being part of that larger
church community. And even beyond
just growing in technical knowledge,
I’m confident that those who attend
will also leave encouraged and feel
more empowered to serve their
ministries to [the best of their]
abilities as technicians and leaders.”
In just a few months, the perfect
solution will be descending on
Dallas, Texas. WFX will be at the
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention
Center this Fall, October 10–12.
It will provide state-of-the-art
WFX CONFERENCE & EXPO: An Experience That Will Change Your ChurchDiscover why 800+ churches plan to send people to this conference
22 | MinistryTech.com
church team training and the
largest dedicated church expo in the
country.
Unlike in previous years the 2017
WFX conference will be significantly
different. For starters, it will be
made up of five targeted, individual
conferences related to tech arts,
safety and security, communications,
worship arts, and buildings and
facilities. There’s something for your
entire team. During the two-and-
a-half days, there will be extensive
learning opportunities, including
the annual Tech Leader’s Retreat,
hands-on training, pre-conference
boot camps, sponsored workshops,
Keynote speakers and a vast array of
educational sessions.
Boot camps, the Tech Leaders
Retreat and sponsored workshops
will be offered on Tuesday, October
10. These deep-dive offerings will
jump-start your WFX education
experience and help you bring about
change for your church. You can
choose from two-hour ($35) or four-
hour ($55) sessions, making it the
most affordable learning experience
in the market.
In addition to two inspiring
WFX keynote presentations,
each conference will have their
own keynote speakers as well.
Justin Firesheets will deliver the
Keynote address at the Tech Arts Conference. Tech Art
sessions include skill-based
learning for church sound, live
mixing, lighting design, streaming
and video broadcast, technology
project planning, and volunteer
recruitment and training.
“At WFX, you can get to see the
manufacturers, you can demo and
go over things, and the classes are
a big deal,” says David Leuschner,
Senior Director of Technology and
Technical Arts at Gateway Church,
located in the Dallas-Fort-Worth
area. He will lead a session called
“How to Start a Tech Internship
Program.” When asked who
would be ideally suited to attend
his session, he noted, “I think the
internship idea comes up a lot in
churches. We have volunteers, but
for any church that is looking for
long-term stable health, they should
look in-house to have interns.”
The Church Communication Conference will help the partici-
pants explore how to best share their
church’s message by utilizing idea
sharing, leveraging social media,
storytelling, branding and more. Len
Wilson, author of 10 books on the
topic of church communications,
as well as a church staff veteran,
will deliver his Keynote message,
“Shareability: Transform Hearts,
Lives and Communities with
Messages That Click,” at the Church
Communications Conference.
The Next-Gen Buildings Conference is meant for pastors,
executive pastors, administrators
and other members of church
leadership involved in determining
facility needs for their church.
The conference will help uncover
the building trends of today and
provide guidance on planning,
funding and overseeing building
projects. The conference’s Keynote
speaker is Karl Vaters, author of
the book The Grasshopper Myth:
Big Churches, Small Churches and the
Small Thinking That Divides Us.
While the targeted conferences
are ideal in providing new expertise
related to your role, WFX still
offers plenty of time for conference
attendees to connect with their team
and share newfound information
and knowledge. For those at WFX
who will be looking for additional
networking and team building
experiences, there will be a reception
on Tuesday night, loudspeaker demos
and gatherings at The Spark, located
on the expo floor where thought-
leaders, authors and Integrity Music
artists will be available to co-create
solutions to your problems.
July 2017 | 23
“We want teams to receive
the individualized training they
need, have time to collaborate with
ministry experts and leaders, and
also have time to connect with their
teams while there. Two inspiring
Keynote sessions, worship with
Integrity Music artists, dedicated
expo time and cross-functional
training sessions will enrich the
team’s WFX experience,” said Beth
Vinton, Program Manager for WFX.
The expo floor offers the opportu-
nity to do up close research on more
than 225 church-related manufactur-
ers, products and services. Product
demonstrations and answers to your
questions about the newest tools on
the market are an added part of all
there is to learn at WFX.
Whether you are a small,
medium or larger church—you’ll be
among 800 other churches finding
relevant, church-focused products
and services. Most importantly,
you will find the answers to your
questions and the solutions to your
problems. “You can see if you can fit
things into your church culture, as
the classes definitely bring a lot of
information to the decision-making
process. If you have issues and
problems you can figure out how to
fix them,” added Leuschner.
The all-encompassing two-and-
a-half days at the convention center
should be deemed YOUR perfect
“solution center.” MT
To learn more about the conference and to register, visit www.wfxevents.com. Early pricing for the full conference ends August 11, 2017.
FACT: Church Teams that Train Together have Greater Kingdom Impact
Register Today at wfxevents.comUSE PROMO CODE MTP17
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n 5 Unique Conferences with 150+ sessions running concurrently:
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n Largest Church Expo in the U.S. with 225+ companiesn Worship led by renowned Integrity Music Worship Artists
WFX17 Ministry Tech Ad_Layout 1.indd 1 5/18/17 12:13 PM
| MinistryTech.com24
When you think about tech
in the church it’s easy
to think it only appeals
and ministers to Millennials,
but that’s not the case. Baby
Boomers at church (the gen-
eration born between 1946 and
1964) are finally becoming more
and more comfortable with
technology.
Consider these stats from the Pew
Research Center:
X 66 percent of young Boomers (51–59) and 60 percent of older Boomers (60–69) have broad-band Internet at home
X 59 percent of young Boomers and 46 percent of older Boomers use a smartphone
X 54 percent of young Boomers and 45 percent of older Boomers are on social media
X 52 percent of young Boomers and 46 percent of older Boomers are on Facebook
If you think about it, Baby Boomers
are the ideal generation to minister
to with technology. As they retire,
discover more free time and begin
traveling, tech can be a way to keep
them engaged. In fact, technology
can enable them to become your
church’s biggest promoters!
Adjusting Your Adoption StrategyChurches run into problems when
they have only one strategy for
rolling out technology. They share a
new tech tool and encourage every-
one to start using it.
Millennials are digital natives, so
they’re the ones that can be trusted
to adopt new technology the fastest.
They’re not intimidated by a new
app or program, figuring it out as
they go. Baby Boomers don’t tend to
jump in like that.
A 2009 AARP article shared that
Boomers will tend to adopt technol-
ogy as younger generations—typi-
cally family members—explain to
them how to use it. Once they catch
on, however, they become enthusi-
astic evangelists to other Boomers,
embracing a kind of tech peer
| MinistryTech.com
BOOMERSor
BUSTUSING TECH to MINISTER to BABY BOOMERS at CHURCH
July 2017 | 25
pressure to their community.
The takeaway for churches
is that it’s not enough to simply
roll out a new tech solution. They
need to invest some time walking
Boomers through its functionality.
Once Boomers become comfortable
with it, they’ll become your biggest
allies and more likely to commit to
using it long term.
Keeping Baby Boomers at Church in MindBecause churches tend to associate
technology with Millennials, they
unwittingly exclude Boomers. It’s
important to ensure that when
Boomers download your app or visit
your social media channels, they’re
not seeing content that only speaks
to Millennials. If you want Baby
Boomers at church to invest in using
your technology, they need to feel
that it addresses their interests. They
need to see images of people their
age and discussions of topics that
address their concerns and needs.
How to avoid these 5 fatal chuch staff
hiring mistakes.
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Churches run into problems when they have only one strategy for rolling out a new tech tool and encourage everyone to start using it. Millennials are digital natives, so they adopt new technology the fastest, but Baby Boomers don’t tend to jump in just like that. Once they catch on, however, they become enthusiastic evangelists to other Boomers.
26 | MinistryTech.com
This means that a church’s social
media person needs to be inclusive
in their posts. Trying to be too hip
and culturally relevant can actually
backfire. Filling up your Facebook
page with a bunch of Christian takes
on the latest viral meme could actu-
ally convince Boomers that your
tech isn’t for them.
Find Ways to Bring Boomers on BoardIt will help to blur the line between
your “normal” church ministry and
your online or tech ministry. The
more they weave in and out of each
other, the more likely Boomers are
to get involved with the high-tech
aspects of the church.
So find creative ways to bring
these worlds together. Do Facebook
polls and use the results in your
sermon, or share lyric videos of new
worship songs on your blog. If tech
is a non-negotiable part of your
church’s ministry, Boomers will be
willing to use it.
This becomes incredibly important
if you’re using a tool like echurch’s
Total Engagement Package. This is
an app that not only helps keep the
church engaged, but it’s also powered
with Pushpay to make giving faster
and easier. If you want to get your
church acclimated to mobile giving,
it’s imperative that you get Boomers
on board—as they’re often the ones
best poised to be generous.
Getting Baby Boomers at church
to buy into your technology goals
isn’t difficult. You just need to be
strategic and intentional about the
way you do it. MT
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July 2017 | 27
A recent report from the U.N.
Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction estimated that an
investment of $6 billion annually
toward disaster risk reduction
would save the world losses of
more than $360 billion over the
decade and a half ahead.
Margareta Wahlstrom, a U.N.
special representative on disaster
risk reduction, said, “The report is a
wake-up call for countries to in-
crease their commitment to invest in
smart solutions to strengthen resil-
ience to disasters.” But disaster risk
reduction doesn’t just happen on a
global level, nor only on a corporate
one. The reality is that faith-based
communities aren’t exempt from
disasters. And as with all organiza-
tions, planning ahead for disasters
and having a disaster response
plan in place can mean the differ-
ence between continuity and chaos.
Here’s a closer look at what all faith-
based communities should know
about disaster recovery.
Understanding the Threats The aim of disaster recovery is to
anticipate disasters before they
strike and have a plan at the ready
that responds to the needs of your
organization, its constituents and
the surrounding community during
and after an event.
Unfortunately, faith-based
organizations are vulnerable to a
multitude of disasters, ranging in va-
riety from natural to man-made. Not
only are natural disasters, such as
extreme storms and flooding, on the
rise, but so are man-made ones, com-
prising everything from data breach-
es to active shooters. While planning
ahead for each of the scenarios may
seem like a lot of work for a situa-
tion that may never arise, doing so is
something like taking out an insur-
ance policy: If and when disaster
does befall your organization, you’ll
be glad to have the proper support
systems in place.
Create Your Disaster Recovery Plan | The ultimate
goal of disaster recovery planning is
to minimize confusion and maximize
safety and self-sufficiency follow-
ing a disaster. Your starting point?
Accepting that disasters can and do
happen to faith-based organizations
just like yours. Once you’ve assessed
the threats to your organization,
FEMA’s “Four Phases of Emergency
Management” offers a handy guide-
line to the complete process of disas-
ter management process, including
the following:
�● Mitigation: Take steps to prevent
or reduce the risk of both emergen-
cies and their dangerous effects for
each threat scenario.
�● Preparedness: Make rescue and
response plans and operations for
each threat scenario.
�● Response: Put your rescue and
response plans into action during a
disaster in order to prevent property
damage and save lives.
�● Recovery: Take the actions neces-
sary in order to resume activities
following a disaster.
Keep in mind that the more rigor-
ous you are throughout these four
phases, the greater control you’ll
maintain during and after a crisis.
Do You Have a Disaster Recovery Plan?A Primer for Faith-Based Organizations
28 | MinistryTech.com
Ensuring Best Outcomes Through Communications Even the best disaster recovery
efforts are guaranteed to fall short
without one critical piece: making
sure every member of your commu-
nity understands the plan and their
roles in it. If your constituents don’t
behave in the prescribed way during
a crisis, all of your planning may be
in vain.
Be sure to document your plan
and share it with staff, volunteers
and other constituents. In addition
to having a hard copy available in a
central location, electronic copies are
invaluable if your facility is compro-
mised or destroyed.
However, the reality is that you
can’t rely on everyone to remember
what to do and/or to consult a recov-
ery plan in times of stress and panic.
Incorporating a multi-channel com-
munication strategy ensures that
people have access to the informa-
tion they need when they need it.
One last thing to keep in mind:
When it comes to disaster recovery
planning, your work is never done.
From staff turnover to external
emergency response protocol updates,
changes that impact your discovery
recovery planning are constantly
underway. Routinely reviewing your
plan and communicating with affected
constituents about key changes can
help ensure that the right actions
happen at the right time. MT
For more information about Disaster Planning and Communications, contact a Church Communication Consultant at One Call Now at 877-698-3262 or visit us at OneCallNow.com/Religious.
CAN TECHNOLOGY BE THE ANSWER TO Better Church Communications?
“One Call Now allows us to reach and connect with younger potential members, and encourage them to be a part of the wonderful ministry we have here. Having improved technology and communications methods will help us connect with people who might never have attended church—or who have left the church and are considering going back to their roots.”
By subscribing to our on-line service,
churches can call, text, email and notify all their
members at once through one simple platform.
One Call Now users say...
Kim Cabrera, Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Ministry Coordination,
Harvey Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
To learn more, visit us at http://www.onecallnow.com/ who-we-serve/religious/
July 2017 | 29
oney�is�the�one�area�where�the�church�and�state�intersect�more�than�
any�other.�Perhaps�because�dona-tions�are�the�sole�source�of�funding�for�most�churches,�the�weight�of�legal�opinion�stands�strongly�behind�the�givers,�with�recipients�shoul-dering�the�burden�of�making�sure�the�gifts�are�used�as�intended.�This�burden�means�churches�and�chari-ties�have�to�face�a�complex�web�of�regulations�and�tax�implications�with�every�gift�they�receive.
So�how�do�you�ensure�accuracy,�consistency�and�compliance�in�an�area�that’s�as�littered�with�pitfalls�as�The Pilgrim’s Progress?�Like�that�novel’s�hero,�you�will�need�persist-ence�and�some�reliable�guides�to�help�your�church�get�safely�past�each�obstacle.�Here’s�how�to�chart�the�path:
THE MARSH OF RESTRICTED GIFTSThe Bible isn’t kidding when it tells
us “where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also” (Matthew
6:21). Your members can be deeply
attached to their hard-earned dollars,
even the ones they’ve released to God
through tithes and offerings. This is
why you’ll often receive a single do-
nation earmarked to several different
areas, with specific amounts desig-
nated for youth ministry, missionary
support or a building fund. As a non-
profit organization, by law, you must
obey the wishes on these restricted
gifts to the letter. Ignore them, and
you could find yourself sucked into a
legal wrangle. Nonprofits have been
ordered to repay misplaced gifts and
risk charges of fraud if they deny
donors’ direction, “even if the condi-
tions that existed at the time of the
gift may have materially changed.”
Your best friend in this quag-
mire is a Church Management
System (ChMS) that allows you to
easily document and disburse gifts
as they’re received, before they’re
accidentally sloshed into a general
fund and forgotten. Your ChMS will
immediately divert the restricted
dollars into a named fund, or allow
you to create a new fund on the fly
to suit the donor’s request.
THE GATE OF DEDUCTIBILITYBecause churches qualify as 501(c)(3)
organizations, donors tend to expect
their gifts to your church to be tax-
deductible. But not every donation
to a church qualifies for a deduction.
Among the exceptions:
n Raffles, auctions or dinners. Even
if all proceeds are going to fund min-
istry needs, the IRS will not award
A
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30 | MinistryTech.com
deductions to the extent that donors
receive a benefit for their donation.
However, donors can claim the
difference between their purchase
price and fair market value, so it’s a
good idea to state the value of what
you’re providing to your donors at
fundraising events.
n Undocumented gifts. When your
church receives cash or non-cash
gifts (anything from missionary sup-
plies to real estate), the IRS requires
that the giver show proof of all
donations to be deducted. Choose a
ChMS flexible enough to record non-
cash donations and to issue a receipt
for any non-anonymous gift valued
between $250 and $500, and your
donors will thank you come tax time.
(To mitigate the risks of restricted
gifts, your receipts should also note
in writing whether there was any
expectation attached to the gift, like
naming rights to a new building.)
TECHNOLOGY THICKETThe advent of smartphone banking
means churches have to embrace
new ways of accepting donations. If
you’re a healthy, multigenerational
church, this task is now even harder.
How can a single system cater to
Millennials’ demands for e-payment
and also honor the checks and
change of the traditional offering
plate—managing two completely
different processes with to-the-
penny accuracy?
A web-based payment service is
the solution here. Look for ones that
accommodate more than just secure
online payments (like Paypal). You’ll
also want the ability to offer ACH
deposits (scheduled automatic with-
drawals from members’ bank ac-
counts) and church giving apps that
streamline payment from phones.
Other important features include e-
receipts delivered immediately after
the donation, and auto-notification
in the case of a failed transaction.
When the payment service is tied
into your ChMS, you can also solve
the problem of restricted gifts by
letting donors select their desired
funds as they pay online.
THE FOREST OF DOCUMENTATIONThe requirements for church and
nonprofit accounting are not vastly
different from those of for-profit
companies. For most, this means a
seven-year record retention policy.
That means you’ll need a strong
database within your ChMS, as well
as cloud-based storage to save you
from generating a forest’s worth of
paper files.
Once you have your database in
place, train your staff to be continu-
ally updating and analyzing data on
their ministries and the congregants
in their care—ensuring you can sift
through your data to see the forest
over the trees. Use up-to-the-minute
giving reports from your database to
understand who’s giving regularly,
with what frequency and through
what method.
Nonprofits are also held to a
high standard of accountability
for the gifts they accept. Non-cash
gifts must not appear to represent
a conflict of interest to church of-
ficers or key employees. Churches
would be wise to develop a docu-
mented policy that subjects any
non-cash gifts to church leadership
for approval. This way, you can
avoid any appearance of impro-
priety in accepting the gifts, and if
accusations arise, you have a paper
trail to show how the gift was sub-
mitted, approved and used.
THE CREVASSE OF INCOMPLETE DATAIt doesn’t matter how clean your
financials are: if you can’t deliver a tax
statement to your donor, you might as
well have thrown it to the bottom of
the Grand Canyon. Church staffs bear
a heavy responsibility to coordinate
giver data, manually clearing differ-
ences in spelling or duplicate records.
All it takes is a missing email or an
out-of-date mailing address to doom
your delivery and undo your careful
record keeping.
The church is also under pressure
to properly attribute gifts based on
what little information donors make
available. For instance, it seems
like a no-brainer to lump together
all contributions from the same
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reliable�guides�to�help�get�safely�past�all��the�obstacles�churches�and�charities�face��
in�the�complex�web�of�regulations�and��tax�implications�with�every�gift�received.�
July 2017 | 31
address, especially when the donors
have the same last name. But what
if one of those donors was an adult
living with their parents and filing
their own taxes? You can’t have the
child’s donations showing up on the
parents’ tax statement.
Fortunately, the same church
apps that allow people to make do-
nations electronically can also give
users full control over their account
profile, right from their phone.
Without an app, it’s up to church
staff to coordinate their data, manu-
ally clearing duplicate addresses
or differences in spelling. The app
spares the church business office or
finance team from having to inter-
pret or investigate the data and lets
members load their info directly
into the database or ChMS. This
way, a change of address or change
of dependents can be modified as
easily as posting to Facebook—and
the church can publish tax state-
ments with confidence.
FIND YOUR WAYThese pointers are not intended to
cover all the regulations a church
can expect. Please seek the advice of
a financial advisor who’s well versed
in the regulations governing non-
profits and charities.
Proper support and guidance
will keep your church free of legal
scrutiny, of course, but these best
practices also have a better purpose.
Your conscientious handling of your
members’ gifts builds trust within
your congregation—so givers can
know with confidence that their
funds are going to the exact needs
God inspired them to support. MT
To track attendance, my church uses
Seraphim Fills in the blanks
Safe Check-in
Member Management
Ministry Planner
Giving Tools
Reporting & Analytics
The Church App
www.seraphimsoftware.com
| MinistryTech.com32
THE LAST WORD
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����������������my�mother’s�womb.
�����I�praise�you,�for�I�am�fearfully��
������������and�wonderfully�made.
—Psalm 139:13-14 (ESV)
Photo: Jenn Evelyn-Ann, unsplash.com