Photos by Luis Morera
The consensus among ministry leads is that this module has greatly enhanced their ability to manage volunteers for both weekly ministry events and for special events , according to Gamache . “ It also makes the recruitment of new volunteers extremely easy and efficient ,” he adds . “ A person interested in volunteering merely has to text ‘ serve ’ to our church number and they receive a link to complete a form to sign up to volunteer in any of our ministry areas .” Even better , if the person is already in the church ’ s database , that form is pre-filled with all his or her pertinent personal information .
It actually does come easy … The ease with which the church ’ s data was transitioned to the Churchteams platform was another selling point , according to Gamache . This was especially important since the switch-over would need to happen during the Coronavirus pandemic — which actually proved to be great timing . “ When COVID hit and we were forced to shut down our in-person services , we knew we didn ’ t need children check-ins , volunteer management , or other Sunday services-related functionality ,” he explains . “ So , we could make the transition and become comfortable with the software without a lot of pressure .” Given the unique circumstances , Gamache says he and his team immediately familiarized themselves with the online giving functionality . They then communicated to the church family that they were still fully engaged with the ministry and appreciated their continued faithful giving , even in the absence of in-person worship . “ During that time , our online giving method became about 75 percent of our total giving !” Gamache points out . And that percentage endures , today . During the actual transition , Gamache says very specific instructions were provided regarding all the information Churchteams needed from TrueNorth , so all that was required of Gamache and his team , in terms of data , was clearly defined . Once the transition was complete , video-based ( Zoom and Knowledge Base ) and in-person training were provided to ensure church staff and volunteers could get answers to any questions that lingered .
“ When we transitioned back to in-person services , our entire staff was very comfortable with Churchteams ’ services and events functionality ,” Gamache adds . “ So , it was nearly seamless .”
Partnership prevails In the end , Gamache says that the level of customer service provided — plus , functionality and cost — made Churchteams the best possible fit for TrueNorth . “ To this day , we can call any member of their team , including [ Pelley ], and discuss what we need from the software ,” he adds . “ They either walk us through existing functionality to meet our needs or , if we have an idea that will benefit all users , they incorporate it into the application . “ Our church is extremely focused on relationships ,” Gamache concludes . “ Churchteams has proven to be focused on their relationships with their users , as well .”
Lead Pastor Steve Davis CHURCH EXECUTIVE . COM | 5