I really like this article from Christianity Today. Read it all the way through to end.

My favorite Church buzzwords are: connections, assimilation, next steps, database, metrics, and follow-up. I really like seeing people connected and tracking numbers.

It’s what I do for fun. On weekends. In my free time.

Then this line jumped out at me.

This is not a church numbers game we’re playing. People’s lives and eternities are at stake.

Remember that every connection has the potential to lead to a life transformation. Have a great weekend!

If I could devote my life career to one thing, it would be Church Connections. I love my church (I love The Church – capital C).  There have been times in my life where I have needed things and my church family has been there for me in ways that my ‘real’ family was not.

Even better than my needs or my family’s needs being met, are the ways I can serve others. We all have gifts and talents and we all have a desire to serve and give. Turn on the news at Thanksgiving. You’ll see stories of people serving in shelters. Turn on the news at Christmas and you’ll see stories of toy drives and inspirational stories of people giving to others.We all want to feel like we’re a part of something greater than ourselves. We all want to see our lives as having purpose and significance.

How can we bring that to the local church? And, how can a Church Management Software be of use?

First, how do we bring the joy of serving to the church? Through technology or personal connections, you can find out where someone is gifted and talented. You can help them discover their spiritual gifts and find out what motivates them. Here are some questions I like to ask when meeting with a potential volunteer:

1. What gets you out of bed in the morning – what are the issues you are passionate about?
2. If you could work full time for a church, what would be your dream job?

Next, I go to my ministry team directors and ask them what types of people are needed for their team? What gifts, talents, and skill set does someone need to possess to serve on their team?

*Note: this is not a comprehensive list and there are some other factors, but this is a start.

Your Church Management Software can help you match people with ministries.  I’ll use CCB (Church Community Builder) as my example here because I think they do the best job at this.

A Ministry Team Director will build their positions.  Let’s say my position is door greeter and I choose what gifts, talents, and skills I’m looking for in a door greeter.

At the same time, the end-user is able to update their own profile and choose their gifts, talents, abilities.

These areas of the software can be customized for your Church using your language.

The Ministry Team Director can run a report to see who meets their needs and sort it based on percentage. (ie, this person meets 7 of your 10 qualifications, etc.)

If the position is an open/listed position, the end user can search ways to serve based on the gifts, talents, and abilities they’ve entered.

In a perfect world, the person will contact that Ministry Team Director who is probably already looking at a report with that person’s name on it. And now you’ve got the right person, filling the right position.

This is just an example of how CCB can be used.  With Breeze, I’ve chosen to build a custom form listing  our ministry teams.  Someone can fill out that form and the results can be sent to the team leader for personal follow up.

When it comes to serving, I don’t think a Church Management Software can ever take the place of personal interviews or the connection someone will have with their Ministry Team Director or with those with whom they serve. But it can help you take a step in the right direction and fill those gaps on your ministry teams.

How have you used a Church Management Software to help you with connections?