When it comes to church software, Joel Knox, Bi-Vocational Pastor for The Vineyard Church of Brenham, has seen firsthand how the right platform can enable, empower, and positively impact ministry.
Communication Challenges
Before switching to a one-platform solution, The Vineyard Church of Brenham experienced multiple communication challenges. They had one platform for their church database, a different platform for their church website, and yet another platform for their giving.
When Joel took over from the founding pastor, it didn’t take long for him to experience the struggles and challenges these multiple platforms created.
Joel explained, “We had to move from one thing to the other and really couldn’t share any information from one platform to the other. It made things really difficult in terms of getting started.”
He knew they needed to make a change.
Starting Small
Joel’s first step was to start with the church website. In just one week, they rebuilt their website to make it user-friendly, helpful, and up-to-date. And this was just the start.
From there, Joel explained that they added additional solutions piece by piece. The Vineyard Church of Brenham added on the giving platform followed by the church management system (ChMS). Before long, their multiple solutions turned into a single platform eliminating their communication and integration issues.
“It was a really easy process to move from one to another, “ Joel said.
Big Impacts
The impact of switching to a one-platform solution has been huge. Now, the church:
- Has everything in one place
- Can easily hand over information and access to different people
- Doesn’t have to keep up with multiple payment or contract deadlines
- Benefits from the lower costs of only paying for one solution
- Has a relationship with software experts ready to help
Or in Joel’s words, “Moving to a single software platform just makes it easy to invite other people in to assist us and help us. It also takes away a lot of the headaches we had in terms of the different deadlines we had for when our contracts renewed and keeping up with our different payments. It’s really simplified our lives in so many ways.”
Considering a Change?
When asked what Joel would tell another church considering a move to a one-platform solution, he quickly replied: “Do it!... If anybody’s on the fence, get a demo. I promise you you’ll be happy with what you see.”
Change isn’t always easy, but it’s often worth it. When he decided to make the transition, Joel had a few fears that were quickly dispelled:
- FEAR: He’d have to make the change by himself.
- TRUTH: Our team is full of experts who are here to help. We’re happy to provide what you need, whether that’s holding your hand through the whole process or simply providing encouragement along the way.
- FEAR: He was “scared to death” that they’d lose information or have to move over data by hand.
- TRUTH: No data was lost and we were able to help The Vineyard Church of Brenham with the entire transition process making it smooth and easy.
- FEAR: He was worried it would be too expensive.
- TRUTH: Having everything in one place is cost-effective. A one-platform solution allows you to invest in one place instead of having to pay for multiple solutions.
In short, it’s more than software. It’s a relationship with experts who know your ministry matters.
If you’re ready to try it out for yourself, you can sign up for your free demo of Ministry Brands Amplify here. It’s one platform with multiple services (website, giving, ChMS, etc.) designed to help you spend more time on what’s really important.
