Although the central focus of a church and the services managed therein are related to something much bigger than a worldly business, it’s important to understand that the actual management and logistics of a church need to be run like a business today. If the ultimate goal is to attract more people to the church, where they can receive the word of God and grow in their faith, they need to be met with a well-oiled machine that is evident from the moment worship starts until the last Bible class is completed for the week.
If a church is haphazardly managed without any kid’s ministry, church curriculum, or church software, the guests that have come in your doors will probably walk right back out those same doors. Especially thanks to social media today and online reviews, which play a massive role in the success of a church, if things aren’t in tip-top shape for everyone in the vicinity, it can reflect poorly in the church’s online presence.
Your church needs to be run like a business, and we’re going to provide you with some suggestions on how to whip things into shape today. The more you focus on improving the flow of ideas, information, and resources within your church, the more people you are going to positively impact down the line.
How to Run a Church Like a Lean Business
1. Establish Communication Channels:
Communication is at the core of any business, and your church is no different. There needs to be open communication between your church team, as well as a direct line to your congregation. If your members feel like they cannot get in contact with you, they may shop another church.
Email works, but it is exhausting and inefficient for quick chats. Software like Slack is an easy way to sort communication into channels among your teammates, so you can chat in real-time. It’s also important to have someone on your staff who responds to social media comments and private messages, ensuring your congregation members feel like they can always reach you.
Bonus: you can create a volunteer channel in your slack that allows everyday members to write in and share their ideas while coordinating events. Slack offers a limited free version of their software, although it can get pricey the more you use it.
2. Scheduling with a Calendar:
A church is a business, which means there needs to be a master calendar that everyone can see and track for the important meetings. If you spend hours every week chasing people down for meetings, having a Calendly that everyone accesses can change your life. When an invite is sent, the software takes into account everyone’s available hours and provides options that it already knows works for all members. And, once something is already on the calendar, that event shows up in the master calendar so nothing is scheduled over it. This minimizes all of the back-and-forth about finding the perfect meeting time on-the-fly.
3. Bring on the Automation:
Automation has become the cornerstone tool for most businesses today, even allowing singular individuals to manage massive online empires. Automation can take the boring, mundane, and wasteful tasks, and give you your time back. Zapier, an automation tool, uses If/Then statements to go ahead and interject when needed. For example, if someone removed themselves from your emailing list, Zapier can then mark them as unsubscribed in your master church list. This will save you time, and most importantly, money when you don’t need to hire assistants to do these simple tasks.
4. Content Recycling on Social Media:
Social media is immensely important and powerful today. But it can seem like it’s just too much work with all of the apps and attention. That’s why you should be engaging in content recycling between the different apps. Cross-posting doesn’t help your organic reach; however, if you record, edit, and post a video to TikTok, that same video can be used on other channels. First, download TikSave to remove the TikTok watermark. Next, upload that same video to your Facebook page, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Finally, share the Reels video to your Pinterest, and even Snapchat if you desire. Now you have a presence on 5+ social media apps using just one video.
5. Don’t Undervalue Graphics:
Graphics are quick and easy filler content, and everyone loves them. Spending just a few hours over the weekend making 3-5 graphics for the week can clean up your social and work as an asset in your email marketing. Plus, graphics are a powerful way to get Bible verses and profound statements out to people on social media who may not be aware of your church or of the teachings of God. These same graphics can also be used in carousel posts on social media, in Instagram Stories, YouTube Stories, and Pinterest Story Pins. Recycle each one on each social media channel while posting them in their appropriate place to extend your digital reach.
Bonus Tool: Free Church Presentation Software
Here at Playlister, we want your church to be as successful as possible, which is why we have developed a church worship software that you can use for free. Now you can throw away the USB sticks, skip the downloads, and instantly import Orange curriculum. Schedule when the lessons appear in your room and sit down while the volunteers simply point and click to present. Time is of the essence in the world of church management, which is why we recommend you check out our free church software today.