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 rhollenbach@outreach.com.

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

rhollenbach@outreach.com

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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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?

8 | MinistryTech.com

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 jsmith@faithlafayette.org 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 rhollenbach@outreach.com.

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.

You want the freedom to… reach out

… minister to people

… create fellowship

… contribute to your community

PowerChurch Plus was created for just that!

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 nick@mbsinc.com, 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 McGuireruss.mcguire@gmail.com

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 russ.mcguire@gmail.com.

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)

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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.

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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.

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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��

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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