10 church software solutions to help your church succeed

March 4, 2022

Not long ago, pastors used landline phones for communication, hardback Bible commentaries for research, and cassette tapes for recording Sunday’s sermon. Thanks to today’s technology, they can now communicate, study, and share sermons right from their smartphones. 

Similarly, church software has revolutionized how churches operate. For example, church management software (ChMS) can improve organizational management, save your church time and money, while also helping your pastor better understand, engage, and disciple your congregation. 

Let’s take a deeper dive into what church software programs are, the 10 best software solutions for your church, and how you can integrate them with other software to make an even bigger impact on your community! 

Church software: What it is & how it can help your church

Church software is a computer program or application specifically designed to help churches manage their operations, stay connected, and grow their communities. Church software programs are different from generic software in that they are focused on solving the unique challenges facing pastors, church staff, and volunteers. 

Here’s a simple example. Some churches print cards for collecting visitor information, prayer requests, volunteer signups, and so on. These cards often get left on a chair or stuck inside a Bible, while other times the handwriting is not legible. Church website software, like SnapPages™, comes with customizable forms for creating digital connection cards that collect the same information, helping you better connect with your congregation and visitors whether they’re attending in person or checking out your community online!

There are many software options to choose from, and each offers its own benefits. To make your choice easier, here are the 10 most important church software solutions that can help your church reach more people and run more efficiently. 

  1. Church Management Software (ChMS)
  2. Church giving software
  3. Church event registration software
  4. Church membership software
  5. Church volunteer software
  6. Church website builders
  7. Church app software
  8. Church messaging software
  9. Church streaming software
  10. Church podcast software

Top 10 church software solutions for pastors  

1. Church Management Software (ChMS)

Your pastor and church staff have to manage a lot of information. It’s often a challenge knowing exactly who and where your people are and how they’re engaging with your church. Church management software is designed to manage nearly every aspect of your church’s data, providing deeper insights into your community and helping you keep a good pulse on your church’s overall health.  

For example, with Subsplash One, your church can easily keep track of incoming donations, event registrations, volunteer participation, small group attendance, child check-ins, and even service planning. It also offers a simple-to-use dashboard that seamlessly manages your church’s website, mobile app, live streaming, online giving, and much more! 

With such powerful ChMS tools, your team can have the right tools to quickly gauge the overall health of your congregation as well as gather deeper insights. 

2. Church giving software

Does your church offer church giving software to make it as easy as possible for people to show their generosity? Today, fewer people are carrying cash and checks than ever before. It’s no longer an option to only depend on a physical collection plate for receiving tithes and gifts, regardless of the size of your church. 

Let’s take a look at the important reasons why more people give through church giving software than any other method

The best church donation software has no monthly fees and allows you to easily track online and cash donations. It also integrates with popular accounting software, saving your staff time and improving the accuracy of your bookkeeping. 

3. Church event registration software

Think of all the events your church hosts each year: Vacation Bible School, small groups, concerts, summer camps, discipleship classes, staff retreats, and so on. One of the most important aspects of church life is providing opportunities for people to gather together for fellowship, fun, and discipleship. Yet successfully managing church events can cause headaches for even the most experienced staff member. 

The best church event registration software takes the complexity out of managing events. You can easily:

  • Schedule your events
  • Share your event calendar on your website and mobile app
  • Invite people to attend
  • Offer church event registration online
  • See who’s registered
  • Communicate with everyone
  • Track who attended 

With such powerful tools, you can give your attendees and organizers the best experience possible and increase attendance at future events. 

4. Church membership software

It’s important for your church to engage your community throughout the various stages of their lives and discipleship journeys. Without the right church membership management tools in place, it’s easy for church members to fall through the cracks. 

Church membership software helps you to get a deeper understanding of your members. You can keep track of your people, contact information, family members, ages, donations, attendance, small group and volunteer participation, and much more. It also makes it easy to communicate with individuals and groups, like youth or small group leaders. The best membership software integrates with your ChMS and other tools like your mobile app and online giving

5. Church volunteer software

Volunteers are at the heart of your church, making sure everything keeps moving forward as they freely serve others. It can be a rewarding experience, but miscommunication, confusing schedules, and missed opportunities can quickly steal the joy away from volunteering. Managing volunteers can also be a major challenge for church leaders.  

Successfully recruiting, managing, and retaining volunteers requires good organization and communication. Fortunately, church volunteer software is available to help make life easier for leadership and the volunteers.

The best church volunteer software offers valuable features such as:

  • Simplified online signup processes
  • Integration with a ChMS to manage volunteer information 
  • Scheduling capabilities
  • Access for volunteers to update their own information and schedules
  • Group messaging for team communication

These tools ensure that your church leaders and volunteers have a smooth experience as they help your church. 

6. Church website builders

Church websites serve as your online front door. Today, it’s common for people to visit a church's website before ever visiting physically, and how your website looks and feels says a lot about your church.

Have you ever wondered how your church could get a professional-looking website with useful features without costing lots of time and money? The answer is simpler than you might think! 

Church website builders, like Subsplash Websites, come with templates designed specifically for ministries and churches with built-in media, digital giving, live streaming, events, and more. Its drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily customize your website without expensive development. 

7. Church app software

Having a church app is one of the most powerful tools to successfully engage your community and expand your reach. The average American spends over 5 hours every day on their mobile devices, and this provides a wonderful opportunity for your church to put gospel-centered content right in their hands.

While a website acts as your church’s digital front door, a church app acts as your online family room—it’s where discussions and discipleship happen. The best church apps offer powerful tools and mobile features that help disciple your congregation all week long, including:

  • Video player—watch videos like sermons or devotional messages
  • Audio player—listen to podcasts, sermons, and other messages
  • In-app giving—donate from anywhere at any time
  • Push notifications—send instant messages right to your users’ phones
  • Group messaging—chat, share prayer requests, and build relationships in a safe environment
  • Live streaming—experience streamed services and events in real time from anywhere
  • Events calendar—keep everyone in the loop of all the happenings in your church
  • Bible & reading plans—access built-in Bibles and custom reading plans for discipleship
  • Notes & fill-in-notes—take sermon notes or personal devotions
  • Digital forms—create custom signup forms for prayer requests, visitors, volunteers, and more
  • Digital bulletins—going digital is more convenient and affordable than printed bulletins
  • Google Cast & Airplay—easily cast your mobile videos onto smart TVs

Subsplash church apps are the industry standard for world-class mobile applications specifically designed for churches and ministries. Our team of experts help you through each stage of building your church app, getting it onto the app stores, and helping promote it to your church. 

8. Church messaging software  

When a pastor needs to communicate with their congregation, they often send emails, group text messages, or use Facebook Messenger. However, emails are slow, text messages are clunky, and Facebook Messenger users are often distracted by things like social posts, videos, and ads. On the other hand, a church-focused messaging tool, like Subsplash Messaging, allows pastors and church members to safely chat, send files, manage small groups, and share prayer requests in a distraction-free environment. 

9. Church streaming software

Church live streaming software allows you to gather together from anywhere to share a church service experience in real time. It’s simpler than ever to go live, and this practice is important for engaging and staying connected with your church community. 

Some churches depend on public streaming platforms like Facebook Live or YouTube Live. While these services seem attractive, they are full of distractions, ads, and potentially harmful content. 

Subsplash Live is the best live streaming software for churches, broadcasting your services to your mobile app and church website for a distraction-free experience—as well as to Facebook and YouTube. Subsplash believes that your media ministry should be able to work without the restrictions and limitations that some social media platforms are known for. Your live streams automatically are converted to on-demand content with a built-in media trimming feature, and added to your media library. 

10. Church podcast software

One of the most effective ways to share your messages with your community is through church podcasts. Over 125 million Americans listen to podcasts each month. Such a massive audience demonstrates that people seek out podcasts for valuable information and content. 

With Subsplash Media, you can turn your messages into podcasts with a click of a button. This allows you to take your content further, repurposing it to engage and disciple your listeners. Your community can listen to your podcasts anytime and from anywhere. Subsplash also hosts your podcasts right next to your other media content.  

All-in-one software for your church 

Church software should streamline your processes, provide valuable insights, and help you better engage your community. With Subsplash One, your ChMS becomes the central hub for managing all of your other church software solutions. 

Because all of your information is stored, updated, and managed with Subsplash One, it becomes the single source of truth for all of your church’s data. You can also manage all of your engagement tools, like websites, mobile apps, and live streaming within one powerful but simple-to-use dashboard. 

Subsplash One is the ideal church management software solution for your church—giving you the freedom to easily see the big picture of your church’s overall health, while also being able to zoom in to finer details. 

To see just how much your church can do with Subsplash One, schedule your demo today!

       

 

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