Our mid-sized church uses Planning Center. If you're already using software, this could be an easy transition.
We have a registration team that take one month each to be a welcoming and informative face at the check in desk every Sunday. They explain our ministries and check in process to visitors, hopefully building a connection along the way. They are really the only ones who use the checkin software, so the team of "experts" in using the software is actually quite small. Not everyone who volunteers in the various ministries needs to know how to do checkins. Planning Center has tons of customization, from how many name tags and "claim slips" you get for each kiddo in each ministry/ classroom, to what's on them, to how you generate reports about checkins after the event is over. One of the cons is that there is just SO MUCH you can do with Planning Center, and sometimes the amount of information and customization can be overwhelming. Sometimes I try to figure one thing out and it feels like drinking from a firehose. However, there's a really helpful online community of users on Facebook where folks help each other out and crowd-source answers to their questions. I've learned so much from that group. I've never had to contact the Planning Center helpdesk, but it appears that they are responsive and helpful. Hope that helps!
We had another scam where someone "from the community" posed as a widow looking to sell her deceased husband's beloved piano. We had a family on the brink of sending an etransfer to ship the piano when a savvy Gen Xer looked into it and discovered it was a scam. So grateful it was caught in time! 9 months later, I got the same email again! We believe the sender targeted area churches to sell their fictitious piano so they could tap into a community who values worship music and music education, or just for a church to upgrade their own piano, assuming non-profits don't have the funds to buy something new.
We use Planning Center's Services to schedule volunteers for Sunday morning ministries. I like that I can see scheduling conflicts instantly as I input the schedule, and can make switches before sending the schedules out so I'm not flooded with emails asking me to do it after it goes out. I also love that PCO sends out the reminder emails- something I used to spend a lot of time on each week.
We use the Bridge App calendar feature which feeds from a Google calendar to indicate what's going on in the building and invite people to events. We're trying to create a single source of truth for the calendar in the Bridge App.
I recently did a ton of research to update our Nursery and Children's book collections. Here are the titles I chose, based on a careful reading of each to make sure they suited our goals of promoting diversity and inclusivity:
-God's Very Good Idea- Trillia Newbell -The Big Wide Welcome- Trillia Newbell (these are part of a series called Tales that Tell the Truth and we will be adding the rest from this series to our collection gradually)
-Josey Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit by Easau McCaulley
-God Made Me Unique by Joni and Friends, -God made Me AND You by Shai Linne -God Made Me for Worship by Jared Kennedy (all part of the God Made Me series of six books)
-The Garden, The Curtain, The Cross Board Book- Carl Laferton
-Gracefull by Dorena Williams -Colorfull by Dorena Williams
-The Biggest Story ABC by Kevin DeYoung
-Indescribably for Little Ones by Louis Giglio
-We're Different We're the Same by Sesame Worshop
-Our Skin by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, et al
-My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Grey Smith
Posted in: What Software Do You Use for Nursery and Sunday School Attendance?
Our mid-sized church uses Planning Center. If you're already using software, this could be an easy transition.
We have a registration team that take one month each to be a welcoming and informative face at the check in desk every Sunday. They explain our ministries and check in process to visitors, hopefully building a connection along the way. They are really the only ones who use the checkin software, so the team of "experts" in using the software is actually quite small. Not everyone who volunteers in the various ministries needs to know how to do checkins. Planning Center has tons of customization, from how many name tags and "claim slips" you get for each kiddo in each ministry/ classroom, to what's on them, to how you generate reports about checkins after the event is over. One of the cons is that there is just SO MUCH you can do with Planning Center, and sometimes the amount of information and customization can be overwhelming. Sometimes I try to figure one thing out and it feels like drinking from a firehose. However, there's a really helpful online community of users on Facebook where folks help each other out and crowd-source answers to their questions. I've learned so much from that group. I've never had to contact the Planning Center helpdesk, but it appears that they are responsive and helpful. Hope that helps!
Posted in: “Are You For Real?” Some Scams for Churches to Be Aware Of
We had another scam where someone "from the community" posed as a widow looking to sell her deceased husband's beloved piano. We had a family on the brink of sending an etransfer to ship the piano when a savvy Gen Xer looked into it and discovered it was a scam. So grateful it was caught in time! 9 months later, I got the same email again! We believe the sender targeted area churches to sell their fictitious piano so they could tap into a community who values worship music and music education, or just for a church to upgrade their own piano, assuming non-profits don't have the funds to buy something new.
Posted in: What Church Scheduling Software Do You Use?
We use Planning Center's Services to schedule volunteers for Sunday morning ministries. I like that I can see scheduling conflicts instantly as I input the schedule, and can make switches before sending the schedules out so I'm not flooded with emails asking me to do it after it goes out. I also love that PCO sends out the reminder emails- something I used to spend a lot of time on each week.
We use the Bridge App calendar feature which feeds from a Google calendar to indicate what's going on in the building and invite people to events. We're trying to create a single source of truth for the calendar in the Bridge App.
Posted in: Do You Have Any Children's Easter and Lent Book/Devotional Recommendations?
Great question. Can't wait to see the suggestions that come in!
Posted in: A Prayer for the Uncovering of Graves in Kamloops
Thank you for posting this. I especially appreciate the calls to action.
I'd love to share a link to it, however there are some typos in the prayer.
Posted in: What Faith-Forming Children's Books Do You Love?
I recently did a ton of research to update our Nursery and Children's book collections. Here are the titles I chose, based on a careful reading of each to make sure they suited our goals of promoting diversity and inclusivity:
-God's Very Good Idea- Trillia Newbell -The Big Wide Welcome- Trillia Newbell (these are part of a series called Tales that Tell the Truth and we will be adding the rest from this series to our collection gradually)
-Josey Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit by Easau McCaulley
-God Made Me Unique by Joni and Friends, -God made Me AND You by Shai Linne -God Made Me for Worship by Jared Kennedy (all part of the God Made Me series of six books)
-The Garden, The Curtain, The Cross Board Book- Carl Laferton
-Gracefull by Dorena Williams -Colorfull by Dorena Williams
-The Biggest Story ABC by Kevin DeYoung
-Indescribably for Little Ones by Louis Giglio
-We're Different We're the Same by Sesame Worshop
-Our Skin by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, et al
-My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Grey Smith
-Ten Little Fingers Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Posted in: What Faith-Forming Children's Books Do You Love?
I'd love to hear if your research brings you to other great titles!