Here’s a blog copy of the email I sent out today.

Thanks for all the referrals. I can’t emphasize this enough. Your referrals mean the world to us. We’ll keep doing our best to serve you and every new customer / friend helps us continue to move forward. Here’s some stuff to know.

Check in & Security – We’ve learned a lot the past 3 months and feel really great about where we’re at with check-in and security. The videos for setup / customization and training are both done. You can also find them on the admin main menus. We even put the training video on the main menu when you log in using the check in password (view/edit that password at either SG or Membersip Admin levels). It is super easy to use and very effective. You can use the same idea to check in teenagers or volunteers or anyone else.

Add/edit members from meeting report page – In the process of tweaking for use in check in, we upgraded all the meeting reports so that you can add new members or edit members right from the report page. This makes it way easier for your leaders and staff to enter new people.

Texting Ideas

1. Give preschool parents confidence by adding their cell #s and carriers to pre-schooler information. Then you can text mom/dad if they are needed.
2. It looks like it might be a cold winter. Why not use the request to upgrade member info (see below) to update cell #s and carriers so you can use texting as well as email this winter to alert everyone to weather driven schedule changes or remind them of events?
3. One student pastor is looking to have a text ready to email from Churchteams at a critical time in his message to get feedback from the kids (it will go to his inbox). For those who don’t get the text, he’ll have them text their name and mobile carrier to his or someone else’s phone to collect the new numbers. Can you imagine everyone’s phone buzzing at once?

Request for members to update their own information – It is worth repeating. From member or group reports there is an option to send an email to ask your people to update their own information – a self-updating database! You choose who to send it to and using the “other options” you can send reminders to those who haven’t responded. Combine it with announcements on Sundays and you’ll have better info than you’ve ever had. Control what information they can access under member customizations. This would be a great way to grab mobile carriers for texting.

Contributions – We added a new report at the member administrator level to be able to pull detailed reports which essentially recall all entries over a designated date range including a single day / batch. The summary report enables you to see your giving over any period of time. Churches that are using this part of the tool are giving it a thumbs up.

2010 – The new year is just a couple of months away. Have you thought about upgrading your use of Churchteams? You have all the features already. It might be a great way to help your budget and stewardship.

Coming soon – some of you are curious as to what we’re working on. Right now, we’re taking the assimilation lessons we’ve learned the last 3-4 years and adding features that will simplify and smooth out the flow of people from one place to another or from decision to application. Also, we’re going to upgrade our mapping features.

We value the opportunity you’ve given us to serve you. It is our commitment to serve you well for the honor of the One we all serve.

Fall quarter is here and with it all the year end activities. Here’s a best practices process to help sign up volunteers for a Fall Festival, Christmas presentation or any other event.

* Make sure your normal link from your website goes just to the right group type (Videos-Setup/Customization – #4).
* Create a group type for events. You’ll use this throughout the year.
* Create a group for each area you need volunteers for and the maximum number needed.
* Identify them with this group type.
* Add a link to this group type from your website event promotion page with instructions to click “Join The Group”
* Be sure the “Join A Group” option is enabled (Customization Features, Security & Accessibility).
* Use email, texting or labels for any instructions, coordination and appreciation notes to these groups.
* When the event is over, make the groups inactive and use them for reference and recruitment next year.
* Note: Browse Groups for SG Admin has the option to view inactive groups and then re-activate them.

BTW, a number of churches are using this same process to manage their mission trips and/or service projects as well.

(This is updated from the original email)
About 18 months ago we decided to begin creating a full Church Management System option. So, we created the contributions feature, then we expanded what we were doing to an extensive members and family tracking and much more. We’ll continue adding features, but with this one, I believe we’re ready to offer you a full CMS solution. We’ve pretty well learned how to do check in for kids and volunteers and last week we added security. Here’s the scoop.

Electronic children’s check-in and security! This is huge. From the Administrator Assistant main menu only, click on the Childcare check-in customization steps to customize labels and set up / test your label printer. From the Small Group Admin or Membership Admin level go to password administration and customize a password for check-in login (default is admin password plus “check”). Then using Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher login using this new password. Hold down control and click Check-in for the groups you want to check in at that station. All you’ll have to do is check them present and click on the label button to print a label for kiddo and another one for dad/mom with a randomly designated 5 place alpha-numeric. When everyone is checked in, just click to save the attendance. If you want to send an email, put in the parent’s email for the kids and email parents an update on what happened in class. I’ll update the video page soon with a new video to walk you through training volunteers.

Manual check in roster and entering attendance. Click “Reports and Communication” – “Group Reports” – “Check in roster”. Allows you to pick dates / groups to print out a check in sheet for either a single group or a whole set of a certain group type. When you’re ready to enter attendance as a batch, login as the Administrative Assistant, click Enter Batch Attendance, then designate the same groups and dates. This will enable you to enter attendance for each group quickly over any date range.

Parent and family communication. Click “Reports and Communication” – “Either Group Reports or Member Reports” – “Family Labels”. Notice we have added two new options to designate “Parents of” or “Lastname Family”. This will be great for sending out postcards, flyers and letters.

How much extra does it cost? Nothing extra. We’re not going modular in our business plan. If you start using these other features, you might find you have more people in the database which may take you to the next pricing level. We figured that would be enough. Plus, this is aligned with our commitment to constantly improve the tool to better serve churches. I pray you find these features for children’s ministry helpful.

We’re here to serve you. For real.

Purpose Driven Small Groups wrapped up their 2009 conference year the past couple of days with a conference in Dallas. I think I have been to every small group conference but one that they have done just as I have been to every small group conference Willow has done in like 10 years and many other conferences as well. Here are the reasons I go to these conferences:

1. To be with and learn from leaders responsible for community life in their church. Whether that means 3 groups or 3000 groups, these are my people. Like Dane Havard from Rabbit Creek church in Anchorage, AK.
2. To share how Churchteams can serve them. Our calling/ministry.
3. To meet current Churchteams clients face to face. Like Bill and Pat Morgan from Beumont and Cindy Burleson from Gillette, Wyoming.
4. To catch up with friends like Ron Wilbur from Saddleback, Jay Daniel from Norfolk, NE and Rick Howerton from Lifeway to name but a few.
5. To learn and be inspired. I loved Steve’s Saturday morning session on Authenticity. We died laughing and were moved to tears and application of what group life ought to be like.

Honestly, it was conferences that taught me how to think about and do ministry. I have been just one of hundreds or in some cases thousands attending a church conference for almost 20 years and student conferences for a decade before that. A conference inspired me to see that the local church really is the hope of the world. A conference helped forge my convictions that life change happens best in community. A conference introduced me to a world much bigger than where I live day to day. They influence my life.

They will yours as well.

Finally, in the spirit of a football commercial, here’s to you Mr. “God has led me to share my life, learnings, mentors and team through a conference” man. Thank you. It is so worth it.

I’ve not done a very good job of writing about the high five that I started last spring. Better late than never though. Belong. Grow. Serve. Launch. Together. These are the high five that determine a win and keep your ministry flowing (see earlier post).

Serve really is the new kid on the block in many ways. As small groups ministry have grown in churches, they have taken on in recent years a move away from being just Bible Studies or Fellowship Groups. There are some models where the whole group is built around service: volunteer for a charity group, worship service support, mission trip teams. My personal bias is to have your groups have an element of each of the high five to whatever degree the group predetermines in conjunction with their leadership. Service in a small group can be a simple a helping a neighbor through a tough time or touch up project, or putting together a game booth for the church fall festival. Or it could be adopting a mission trip or local ministry effort or school.

The value of “serve” is that it puts feet to the gospel. It gets it out there where it can be noticed for what it is – good news, someone is here to help. What could possibly be more like Jesus?

This will change the way people view groups on your website!

Finally, the contemporary web-interface we’ve been talking about and you have been waiting for! Here’s a link to check it out. If you log in to your account, you’ll see it with your groups. Mess around with it and you’ll see a ton of incredible changed and upgrades.

Ready to link it to your website directly? This will give your groups an entirely new feel going into the fall. Since we don’t have access to your specific website, you’ll need to forward this email to your website update person and have them change part of your link:

from GroupBrowse.asp to GroupBrowseNew.asp

To add your logo, go to Customization Features, then Browse small groups customization options. You’ll see an html box there to link to your logo or put whatever header you want on top. You’ll notice other options on that page to add or delete filters in the left column and what group information you want displayed in the right column.

Get your leaders to upload pictures of their group and the thumbnail will automatically be added to your webpage (unless you uncheck the pictures option). This will bring your groups to life. For even more, have them do a video introduction, upload it to Tangle, Vimeo or Youtube and then add the link on Churchteams and it will show up on your website. They can link to literally anything on the Internet: their Facebook group, a Google calendar, their curriculum or even another website. If you’re worried about what they put up, give them some guidelines, trust your leaders and keep a good eye on it. Their creativity may amaze you and add spice to finding a small group.

Member customization attributes added to Small Group Admin

From the Small Group Admin main menu, go to Customization Features, then click on member customization. This feature was previously exclusively on the Membership Admin main menu, but we changed it for two reasons: 1) easier overall customization of the tool by SG Admin, and 2) the ability to make the Membership Admin exclusively for contribution access. With this change the only distinctives of the Membership Admin are contribution entry customization, giving record access and Member Admin password customization.

I like one word descriptions of major ideas. Several months ago I did a blog on the High Five. You really out to read it first to get what this one is about (click here). The big idea: we need to clearly identify a win for group leades.

Part of defining the win is helping leaders see clearly what they need to do with their groups. Among other things, they need to help people grow. Lots of things help people grow, but the Bible is exhibit one. It’s the food and it comes in every conceivable form from milk to apple sauce to broccoli to steak. It’s alive. It penetrates. It varies in taste. It’s timely. It energizes. Without it … well, who doesn’t want to eat. So, you make sure your leaders are helping their group eat well. Our Growthfinder tool was designed to help them get a perspective on nutritional needs and recommended supplements.

But stuff helps you grow too. You know … stuff happens. I can’t print the “sh” word here. But it does apply. Don’t know if you remember, but Paul used that word in Philippians 3:8. All the “rubbish” that happened just made him want to know Jesus better. So, help your leaders take whatever stuff happens, good or bad, and learn to translate those things into growth opportunities. Someone gets laid off, help them grow. Someone gets a promotion, help the grow. Babies, death of parents, challenging teens, car repairs … all growth opportunities. This “stuff” of life is food too. It forms your perspective and your character. Bitter or better? One of my favorite poems is:

“One ship goes east another goes west, by the self-same winds that blow. ‘Tis the set of the sail and not the gail that determines the way to go.”

The set of the sail using the mooring of scripture determines whether people in your groups grow. Help them get good at recognizing the winds and navigating the seas.

I just sent this email out to our clients. Our goal is constant improvement at no extra charge to you. Once you’ve got a subscription, you’re part of the family.

Here’s several more upgrades, gang.

1. Member / Family Pictures. You can now upload a member and/or family picture. Cool idea: use the member report feature to email a request to update information and let everyone upload their own pictures. Note: Customize the member attributes first so they input the information you want them to. To do that, log in as member admin (not small group admin, use your sg admin password plus ma if you haven’t done this yet) and click member customization.
2. Growthfinder Invitation. Now there’s an option in member reports to invite everyone with one email to take the Growthfinder discipleship assessment. Note: you can customize that survey to fit your church (see video – setup and customization #8).
3. Edit / Hide Member Attributes. Log in as the membership admin. Under member customization you have various options. You can edit these and then determine who can see which attributes essentially hiding them from users without certain privileges.
4. Enter Batch Attendance. Login as membership Admin Assistant (try SG admin password plus aa). There’s a new link to enter attendance that allows you to pick the dates and the groups you want to enter attendance for. The report takes you to each group on each date and then gives you a batch summary of what you just entered. You can even update member details right from the reports.
5. Bilingual Spanish? Email me if you’d like me to turn on an option for spanish at the leader level. It doesn’t translate the whole tool, but it does offer spanish translation of the pages most used by spanish leaders.

Hopefully, you’ll find these helpful. You are going to love the next one of these I do in then next week or two.

New Changes / Updates – June 23, 2009

I hope you’ve stayed on top of the changes we have made to Churchteams the past months. Here are few more that I wanted you to be aware of that we have done in the past 6 weeks or so:

1. Distinct members. Your “Meeting Attendance By Group” preview report and “End of the Month Summary” spreadsheet both now include the number of distinct members who attended during a given week. That means if someone attended more than one group, they are only counted once.
2. Member Attribute Security. In February we released our full membership database with customizable member attributes. Since releasing that, we have added the ability to determine which level of security can access (i.e. view and/or edit) each individual attribute. This allows members to update their own birthdays and yet have pastors add pastoral flags or pastoral notes without compromising confidentiality.
3. Member Listing and Group Roster Output Options. When selecting these reports you can now select membership attributes to output along with address information. This is useful for things like birthdates, spiritual gifts or ministry interests for a group. Or for listing allergies for a Sunday morning Sunday School roster.
4. Family Listing Report. Shows the make up of adults and children in families. Look under member reports.
5. Report Group Info Changes To Coach. Customization features, then organization options. You’ll notice a new check box that notifies coaches of any changes one of their leaders makes to his/her group.

Our goal is to make Churchteams as intuitive and training-free as possible. Toward that end, we are always adding little tweaks and features that you likely don’t notice. However, we will try to keep you updated from time to time. There are more things to come in the next couple of months.

Did You Know? We’ve communicated these in the past, but just in case you missed it. We are a full membership database now as well as the leading edge of small group and discipleship software. Examples:

1. Input contributions. Reconcile deposits, communicate summaries for accounting, send out statements. 2 new levels of security allowing the separation of financial data from anything small group related.
2. Sort / report based on any membership attribute. Birthdates, spiritual gifts, ministry interests, baptism dates, allergies or anything else you want to track, report or identify.
3. Assimilation pools. Use our groups system to work with first time guests, those interested in the new member class, people looking for groups, volunteers interested in children’s ministry, and anyone else. Their movement in your assimilation process is automatically noted. When a marker is achieved, use member attributes to capture it or place them in a permanent group / ministry.
4. Identify “at-risk” groups. Groups highlighted in red on your monthly summary spreadsheet have less than 50% consistency across the board for the month. That means leaders are cleaning house, making snacks, preparing lessons and no one (or just a few) is showing up. Now you can identify these leaders before they burn out.

If you’re interested to learn more about any of these, join me for a membership webinar. You’re welcome to join a small group webinar as well. Also, you can find videos on some of these in the video libraries listed on your main menus.

Summer is a great time to increase your learning about the usefulness of Churchteams.

July was always a great time for me to grab a week of vacation and spend a good amount of time preparing for the fall ministry. My goal as a small group pastor each year was to continue focusing on a balanced ministry, but also to pick one area of the ministry to work on improving during the next year. Recently, a client and friend who works in the area of organizational improvement for Microsoft shared with me the maxim:

“You can’t improve what you can’t manage. And you can’t manage what you can’t measure”

So, here’s the question: what do you want to improve in your ministry? Is it health of the groups? Growth? Prayer? Time in the word? Leadership development? Missional activities? Outreach?

How are you going to manage and measure to evaluate improvement?

As you think about these questions, please keep us in mind. We have uniquely designed Churchteams to collect the information you need to measure and improve your ministry.

We haven’t mastered this by any means, but we are definitely moving the ball ahead on it. We have a solid way in place now to collect, measure and manage the health of individual small groups. If you’re not sure how, meet me on a webinar.

Growthfinder can survey to help with other measures, but we’re also trying to learn how to measure other things like prayer and service through normal usage of the tool.

Why improve? To win the prize of our calling.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. (Phil 3:13-15)