We hear it all the time: Why pay a lot of money for a church management system? Let's write our own program! On the surface, that sounds like wisdom and good stewardship. Even more so if there's a volunteer who will do the programming for you. But wisdom is sometimes less obvious. What sounds like a great idea sometimes proves to be a major mistake. Let's discuss buying an existing church management software package vs developing your own (also known as customware)— the pros and cons of both sides of the issue.

Choosing your church management software (CMS) package is the most important ministry software decision you'll make. It is the tool you and your team will depend on to help you— • Track and identify trends within your congregation, • Minister to those under your care, and • Demonstrate good financial management. There are many issues to consider as you make your decision on which CMS is best for your church or ministry. Let's talk through some of them together.

Many disagree about the best way to design church computer networks. Someone once said that if you ask three network engineers how to build a network you’ll get four answers! But is there a way to tell if a design strategy makes sense? I think so.

Most North American churches today have websites. While some are one page, most have many pages, and some have hundreds! Few, though, are effective at helping their church accomplish its mission. Let’s talk together about what some are doing that are effectively helping their church fulfill their mission.

When it comes to software, some solutions that churches need are fairly unique to their setting. One of those is for scheduling rooms and resources. Our firm (MBS, Inc.) has been telling its clients for some time that no one does resource scheduling better than Dean Evans Associates’ Event Management Systems, or EMS.