It takes months to plan popular summer events like Vacation Bible School. And the whole time you’re probably asking yourself what you can do to make VBS or your other summer children’s programs run smoother and be even more uplifting to the young people who participate.
Here’s the answer: Church Management Software (ChMS)! There’s ministry-driven technology available that will help you create next-level events this summer. We are going to share exactly what to look for and the right features to expect from your ChMS provider.
At SimpleChurch, helping ministries run smoothly is our passion. Based on the experience and expertise we’ve built around church technology, we’ve pinpointed the five key areas of ChMS that deserve your attention as you work to make this summer’s VBS better than ever. These features include:
Better Security through Background Checks
Putting safety first makes sense—especially for events like VBS and summer camps where parents trust you with their kids’ well-being. Implementing and maintaining a thorough background screening program for employees, staff, and volunteers will give families peace of mind, knowing your congregation is safe from predators.
With kids’ safety at stake, you need a credible screening company on your side. SimpleChurch integrates with the leader in faith-based background checks, Protect My Ministry, because they’re experienced. They have run millions of volunteer checks over the past decade. They also provide the quickest, best church volunteer screening service available today.
Easy Involvement with Digital Forms
Registering for VBS should be simple for your church families, and that’s where forms come in handy. Simple, easy-to-use online registration and payment forms will be the digital workhorses of your summer programs. Your families and church staff will greatly appreciate them.
The best ChMS platforms will offer you a variety of customizable online giving and registration forms that can be shared via email or social media and embedded right in your website or church app. They will let families instantly sign up for events and pay for any related fees. For summer programs, you can include space for families to list any allergies or special needs; designate emergency contacts; and specify who is authorized to pick up their children from the event.
And with an integrated church management system (such as SimpleChurch), the information and payments received through the forms can be seamlessly incorporated with your other church software. It can also trigger communications like confirmation emails and event reminders. This is a great workflow tool that can streamline processes for your team in your church’s busiest seasons.
Connections with a Church App
Like never before, your church families are powered by apps. They’re how they do everything from buying groceries to scheduling extracurricular activities. The sooner your church offers a thoughtfully designed app that engages families, the more engagement you will see in your congregation and community. This is especially true for summer events like VBS.
The integrated MinistryOne app is included with all SimpleChurch ChMS plans, and for VBS it can offer online registration and payment and giving options (using the forms we just discussed), plus event reminders and day-of check-in functions.
If you create your app now and implement it before the busy summer season, it can be tested and scaled for other things like fall classes and events. Plus, you can incorporate sermons, livestreaming, videos, prayer requests, group connections and giving options that will build engagement with your active church families. Planning your app now will strengthen your church year-round!
Efficiency through Volunteer Management
Summer programs like Vacation Bible School depend on volunteers, and your ChMS can power your volunteer organizing and tracking this summer. The SimpleChurch ChMS platform lets you maintain and manage your entire volunteer ministry for daily, weekly, and annual events, so they’ll run smoothly.
Leading up to a big event like VBS, you can create volunteer groups that keep participants connected with their specific times, roles, and training requirements. This ensures your volunteer team will be ready to serve. Group leaders will have the ability to maintain their team from anywhere, including communicating with the members and sending reminders before events get started.
On the day of each event, check-in options will let you and your team leaders keep track of who’s where and what’s happening, so you can be sure that your volunteers are at the ready to keep your event running.
Best of all, the volunteer management processes you implement for VBS can also work for virtually every day of your church calendar. From Sunday services, choir practices and weekly ministries to fall classes, Christmas festivities, and Easter programs.
Engagement All Year Long
The families who sign up for VBS will include regular attendees as well as those who haven’t attended in person for some time due to the pandemic. This will be your initial introduction to many families whose children are participating for the first time. A good church management solution will help you and your ministry teams engage all these families and build stronger connections once you’ve wrapped up VBS.
As you and your staff meet with families during your summer events, your ChMS should give you the flexibility to capture and maintain important data points, even right on your phone while conversations are still fresh in your mind.
Are families expressing interest in your church sports teams? Are there children who would be great fits for your youth choir? Have you met with moms and dads who just moved to your area, and want to learn more about your ministries? You can instantly make notes, assign follow-up tasks for your team, and get these families involved!
Make planning and leading your summer programs easier this year!
SimpleChurch is ready to help. Reach out to us here or contact us at 866-392-1744 to learn more about how our technology can strengthen your ministry.
