Church Databases can be a great tool for the Church, but let’s not forget about the difference between Church Database Software, and Database Software for Church . It’s a common mistake that often gets made.
What is the best database software for church? Churches need to run on their database software – but they are often confused as to what they should really be using. This article explains church database solutions from the beginner level onwards so you can understand them clearly.
Using data in your church is about understanding your congregation’s needs and then matching those needs with relevant solutions. As you learn more, you can match more accurately and take a proactive approach to ministry. The outcome—personal growth for your people.
Whether you are a church looking to launch a new website or an individual wanting the best database software for church purposes, I’ve got you covered.
If you’re a Church Administrator, lets discuss your Database software options in more detail!
» What is Church Database Software? – Church Database Software is a technical solution designed for use by churches as well as other religious organizations. Also known as CdbS, the system helps churches organize, manage and automate their everyday operations with ease. The tasks handled by such a computerized system range from simple to the most complex. For instance, managing member databases and communications to tracking online giving.
» How to choose the best church Database Software? – To reap the desired benefits from a church management system, you need to choose the right solution with the right set of features. While features tend to vary with the vendors and the church’s requirements, certain factors remain constant. An ideal church management solution would allow you to easily capture, monitor, and maintain your members’ data. It would also facilitate recording and tracking of member attendance at your church and events. The software would also offer management of donations and contributions, including online giving. Apart from that, look for a system that contains calendar management, reporting and analytics, secure child check-ins, and seamless communications within the entire group. And since there is a sea of such systems in the market, we’ve compiled a list of the best 20+ church management software here so you can choose nothing but the best.
Patricia of Smart Church Database Software writes in her article, 7 Keys to Church Growth, “Church members are one of the key customer groups in a church. Understanding their unique needs and ensuring their needs are met—within the scope of the vision—is critical to church growth.”
Using data is an accurate and efficient way to gain insights about your people and make confident decisions, but before we jump into the ways you can use data in your church, let’s take a minute to discuss how data became big data.
How Data Became Big Data
Google defines data as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.”
Similarly, big data is defined by Google as “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.”
Though the terms are relatively new, the idea of using data to guide decisions is not. In fact, data-informed decision making dates back to ancient cultures. Ancient tribespeople tracked data by carving notches in bones or sticks, calculating trade activities, and determining how long their supplies would last.
In the 1660s, John Graunt collected mortality data and analyzed it to determine the frequency of various causes of death. He used that same data to refute the idea that the bubonic plague spreads by contagion. He even theorized an early warning system for the plague. Though mortality information had been collected for years, Graunt was the first to use the information to make connections to disease and population. The key here is that he used the data.
Today, analysts use data to predict heart disease or the spread of malaria and, of course, to track buying habits and encourage new purchases. But, just as John Graunt used data to draw conclusions to certain illnesses and disease, the data collected today does little good if it doesn’t drive action.
Data Only Offers Solutions When it Drives Action
We consciously, or subconsciously, match our reactions to the information we have available. Another way to think of this is through the idea of “know and match.” The more we know, the better we’re able to match our responses. For example, when you connect to your weather app you know the forecast and can match your clothing or activities accordingly. You act on the information provided.
Doctors predict disease based on genetics and family history, which allow them to act by providing preventative care. As a pastor, when you see data indicating your members are at risk of divorce, you can act on that data by planning sermons that focus on building stronger relationships or promoting marriage support groups.
Wondering how data can turbocharge your ministry? Take your next steps toward an effective digital strategy by watching this free 90-minute webinar. You’ll learn from a handful of experts in the church marketing and tech industries who show you how data can strengthen the people you serve.
Access and Use Data for Your Church Today
There are many ways you can collect data to understand the needs of your congregation and community. Here are a few tools you can use today.
1. Social media analytics.
There are many ways to collect and analyze data from social media. Facebook has Insights, and Twitter has Analytics. Additional tools are available through LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social media channels—and there are other resources with advice about how to understand what these tools surface, and to help you with the heavy lifting of interpreting the data.
2. Surveys and assessments.
Many churches use surveys to assess the needs of their members through first-party information. These can be done through software like SurveyMonkey or SurveyGizmo to assess the spiritual and temporal needs of your congregants.
Some churches find it helpful to collect data through formal assessments, but data can also be collected in meetings, private interviews, or detailed reports from church leaders.
3. Demographic reports.
Demographics can provide a lot of insight into your community. Through these reports, you can often access religious affiliation, marital status, household income, and the ages of residents.
4. Third-party data vendors.
While some data can be collected from individual sources, there are services that gather, sort, and provide data for their clients on a much larger scale—searching millions in their databases and producing thousands of data points per person for analysis. This information creates predictive models of behavior.
In other words, you’ll be able to know things like a specific person’s likelihood to get divorced or your congregation’s need of financial support.
If you decide to use a data analytics platform, make sure you select one that corresponds with the data you need to reach your local community and congregants. Also, be sure it provides a high degree of privacy—more about that next.
When using data and analytics, it’s important to keep the details private. When working with a trusted data analytics platform, all identifying information is kept private. The data is processed, scrubbed of any personal details, and then returned to you with only relevant information.
At Gloo, we’re passionate about data integrity and privacy. Data is increasingly important in the world we live in, and we believe using the power of data for good is essential and a moral imperative.
Know your People to Match them to the Right Resources and Provide Opportunities for Growth
It’s important to remember that data is predictive, not prescriptive. It should gather known ideas, habits, demographics, and activities—allowing you to organize the information to represent the whole and act on it. Churches that use the power of data in this way are able to predict struggles and pain points—and they generally know more about their congregants and community. When they use that information to tailor their message, they see long-term engagement that leads to personal growth.
CONCLUSION
When a church decides they need to start tracking attendance and other data, they may feel overwhelmed by the variety of options available. The truth is that databases made for church work can significantly simplify the job of handling large amounts of information like membership details. These are some of the best examples of database software for churches.
Perhaps you are like me and enjoy a good sermon, but even still you couldn’t narrow down the best software for managing a church’s database. It is likely one of the most important pieces of the church software puzzle because databases have the potential to hold all of your information. Your user information, your church member list, your event calendar, proclamation text and more — all in one place and easily searchable. I wanted to get an idea of what churches are currently using so I reached out to friends online, asked my Twitter followers and also did an informal poll on Facebook.
Although it is not specified, it is safe to assume this a technical blog post for the church community. This means that the tone and language used should reflect that. When writing in a technical manner, longer sentences are preferred over short and choppy ones, such as “SQL injection is one of the most common kinds of web site vulnerabilities, according to the SANS Institute. It involves sending hostile messages to a database server so as to compromise data integrity”.