As a team of consultants that work on church and ministry networks nationwide, we have wrestled through many hardware issues. Having worked on so many hundreds of ministry networks, we’ve seen firsthand which hardware improves system reliability and which hardware hurts it. In this article I’d like to share with you the hardware we currently spec for our clients— specs that help ministries build the Kingdom.

Our team has had the privilege of working on hundreds of ministry networks around the country. We are often appalled at the high support costs our clients paid with their prior engineering/support firm. There are usually three reasons ministries pay more than they should, let’s identify them to help you avoid unnecessary support fees.

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.

The advent of the website and the technology it involves has forced most organizations to react quickly to get something “up and running.” As is true with most new technologies, best practice strategies follow their introduction based on lessons learned. An issue we’re just beginning to put our finger on that can cost or save an organization tens— or even hundreds— of thousands is: Who is in charge of your website?

Our team has had the privilege of serving many hundreds of ministries nationwide as systems integrators. In that role we have found, as you might expect, that some software works better in ministry offices than others. We have also found that some software seems to operate more trouble-free than others. It is with that perspective that we make the following recommendations.