Is Google Apps Church Management Software?

During the last MinistryVault.com podcast recording (coming soon to an itunes near you), we got into a discussion of the tech that pastors use everyday to be more efficient. We – ok, I – talked at length about All-In-One church management systems versus Google Applications. For those who missed it or want a brief, “ICanHazLinks2ShareW/MyChurchTreasurer” summary, here’s a quick recap of what is out there and how Google measures up.

CORE COMPETENCY

This post will, admittedly, be an oversimplification.  But in my last job, I managed a contact database at a mega-church with over 60,000 people on the books. In short, I am qualified to make the following statements.

Church management breaks down into 2 categories:
1) communicating with people
2) managing the tithes and offerings

In my opinion, the latter should be done with the best software and resources out there – QuickBooks and professional accountants. Period.

I could go on, but my practical stance on this matter has left no one disappointed.  It’s the smart, safe, cheap, as-painless-as-possible road for the small church (the big church, the growing church, the start-up church – any church with a connection to the internet on a desktop, laptop, or phone).

To belabor the point, LARGE companies even use this same one-two financial punch.

Now for the former task: communicating with people.  THAT is something that regular folk can get in on, and there are all sorts of tools that can help us do a good job.

It’s completely overwhelming to study – let alone to choose from. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simpler way to get the work done? Tarry a moment, friends, with the decision hymn held in readiness …

EENIE-MEANIE, MONEY-‘MO?

Let’s cut this list down a bit. First off, check out the Price ranges! Since I am an advocate of, for, by and to the local church and for spending toward the eternal mission more than the earthly mansion, let’s throw out all the fancy pants with their high dollar offerings, since we’re about to find out that money, for a change, is not the key to the ministry-communication kingdom. Check. That eliminates over half.

Next, let’s cast into outer darkness – on a 3.5-inch floppy disk, to boot – all the ones that are NOT online apps. Ouch. Is that weeping and the gnashing of profit-margin teeth we hear?

Now, we have a list of 5 companies. Of those 5 companies, Fellowship Technologies is far and away the biggest. And what they lack in easy to understand pricing structures, they make up for with mind-blowing complexity and sheer size of instructional manuals. Did I mention this company has options for ALL the pricing options? Right on up to over $2000 a month.

Yeah, TWO THOUSAND. Dollars. A month. And next month. And …

“DON’T BE EVIL” -Google

Enter: Google Apps. The irony here is that the largest, richest, most powerful company ever to be on this planet is helping the local church. I don’t think it KNOWS it’s helping the church, but Google is clearly committed to offering premium services to the non-profit and educational market. Just the top-tier colleges? Nay! Whole states are running their communication models through Google Apps – from email and calendaring to online documents and secure storage.

I could go on and on about what it does, but I think it is enough to say that it does email and contact management EXTREMELY well. No Church Management System (ChMS) can hold a candle to Google and its increasingly seamless and interactive communications empire. These apps are ideal for posting docs and calendars to websites, accessing and updating information on the go, quickly finding a person on your phone … Google even gives directions to addresses with one click within the contacts application. The bugs? All worked out for us by others in the great cloud of early-adopters who have gone before us on the beta-testing trail. The stuff just plain works. The price? For anyone who already has a connection to the internet and a browser: FREE. Who can compete with that?

CELL PHONES ARE THE NEW COMPUTER

Whosoever will may come to the trailing edge … the long tail of technology has finally begun to trickle down to churches. FaceBook is widely used now by many, MANY churches. From a “what should we get today to help us in the future” perspective, desktops are completely dead. Laptops are still being used, but the march to smaller, more portable gear is already off and running. The netbook has largely come and gone. Now, the iPad and iPhone are what appeal to many pastors I know. The APP-nation is marching, and the prevailing attitude is – if their ain’t “an app for that,” why bother? Many ChMS vendors are scrambling to remain relevant when the pastor just wants his info on his phone. Why does any of this matter? Because Google Applications work great on an iPhone, or an Android phone – yesterday and today and, until the last trumpet sounds, tomorrow(s). iPad? No problem.

“CAUGHT UP TOGETHER” IN THE CLOUD

The bottom line is that Google Apps can enable your church staff and congregation (and visitors and neighbors next door and around the world) to interact and communicate – ‘community-cate’ – in real time for real effect in fellowship, worship and outreach – e-mail unlimited groups, collaborate, calendar, write, plot, draw, chat, IM, video chat, poll, newsletter, fill out forms online, sign up, respond, discuss and publish – are already here.

They are not as free (or as essentially precious) as saving grace, but they are given freely, as gifts … from billionaires.

The simple truth of the Gospel can get bogged down in the complexity of ministry in today’s world. With Google Apps, the simple truth meets a simple solution for Church Management Software. Amen!