Church contact management software is about more than just keeping an address book of names and numbers; it's about knowing which members have lapsed in attendance, who is registered for small groups and services, tithe records and receipts, and so much more. Accurate church contact management helps you keep in touch with your most dedicated community members and win back those who have fallen behind.
"The key word in the church community is relationships, you know your brother and sister in Christ." — John C. Maxwell, American author, speaker, and pastor
A church contact management software is crucial in keeping an accurate record of church members for easier coordination during services and events. With many choices available in the market, it can be challenging to choose the ideal contact management application for your church. In this article, I will discuss with you some of the best church contact management software so you can choose one that will meet the needs of your church.
The Best Church Contact Management Software Shortlist
Here’s a shortlist of the best contact management software:
- Facebook Groups
- ChurchTrac
- FaithTeams
- Church Office Online
- Breeze chMS
- Membee
- FlockBase
- Elexio
- SimpleChurch CRM
- ChurchStaq
What is Church Contact Management Software?
Church contact management software is a type of software designed to help religious organizations manage their contacts and communications more effectively. It includes features such as a centralized database for storing and managing contact information, tools for sending mass emails, texts, and phone calls, event management capabilities, donor management tools, and reporting functionalities.
With these tools, churches can streamline their operations, engage with their members and volunteers more efficiently, and better manage their fundraising efforts. Church contact management software provides a comprehensive solution for managing and organizing the various aspects of a church's operations, making it an essential tool for many religious organizations.
How I Selected the Best KEYWORD
If you're wondering how I selected the best church contact management software, here's where I'll break it all down for you. First of all, I started with church contact management software that have high user review and satisfaction ratings. Then, using my experience in church technology and leadership, I discerned what key criteria were most important for church contact management software and compared how each of them stacked up against the rest.
I empathize with how much time it takes to source the right software for a job. I do this work so that you don't have to. I've been using and reviewing church software for years so you can trust me to do the heavy lifting and compile all the facts you need to make your final decision.
If you have more general questions about church contact management and communication strategy, you can skip to our FAQ at the bottom of the page. Or, you can jump right to the best church contact management software overviews if you're ready to start comparing.
Selection Criteria
After careful consideration, I've determined that these are the most important criteria when selecting the best church contact management software. Here's a brief list outlining the whats and whys of my selection.
Customer Support:
Customer service is an essential factor to consider when choosing church contact management software because it ensures that you have access to timely and effective support when you need it. This level of support is especially critical for churches and religious organizations that may have limited resources and staff to devote to managing technology.
Usability:
Usability is an important consideration when selecting church contact management software because it impacts how efficiently your church can manage its contacts, events, and communications. Intuitive and user-friendly software makes it easier for staff and volunteers to navigate and use the software. Software that is easy to use can increase engagement among church members and volunteers, who may be more likely to participate in events and respond to communications if they can easily access and interact with the software.
Notifications:
Some church leaders want to be kept up-to-date on every little change, where others are content getting more of a weekly or monthly "wrap up" on contact details for worship planning and contribution management purposes. I wanted tools that have flexible and customizable notifications and alerts so that you can pick the touch point right for you.
Pricing:
Knowing churches may not have the biggest budgets, I always look for affordable church management software. I take into account which software has scalable pricing per church needs, free church contact management options, and at least a free trial, if nothing else. Only you will know how much you are able to spend vs what specific features you need, so I've included options in a variety of price ranges.
Overviews Of The 10 Best Church Contact Management Software
Here’s a brief description of each contact management application to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the interface.
1. Facebook Groups – Best for social media users
Facebook Groups is a feature that allows users to create a private or public group with members that share a common interest. You can create a Facebook Group and add members of your congregation so you can communicate with them via the FB group. You can post articles, videos, and documents visible only to the members of your group.
Facebook Groups is best for congregations with social media savvy users because it is easy to use and accessible via mobile phones. You can restrict who can join the group and what information your members can see. You can also form small groups for specific purposes, such as a group for Sunday school teachers, for volunteers, or for choir members.
Facebook Groups is free contact management software.
2. ChurchTrac – Best for tracking special occasions
ChurchTrac is a contact management software you can use to maintain a database of your church’s members, employees, donors, and volunteers. You can use it to organize people into groups and assign custom tags for easier filtering. ChurchTrac app allows you to send SMS, voice messages, and newsletters to members if you have announcements or reminders.
ChurchTrac is best for churches who want software that can generate directories of members with pictures and church's phone numbers for easier recordkeeping. You can also produce reports on anniversaries, birthdays, and other important events so you can track them on your calendar and send congratulatory emails or messages.
ChurcTrac app integrates with MailChimp for easier syncing of contacts and ensuring that your members’ contact information is up to date.
Churchtac offers three price plans that you can choose from: you can get their free contact management software, their standard plan at $50 per month, or their plus plan at $60 per month.
3. Faith Teams – Best for remote sermons
Faith Teams is a church membership software you can use to create a database so you can quickly access a list of your members, families, donors, and church workers. It allows you to input an unlimited number of entries, making it ideal for small churches and large churches. You can also use Faith Teams to track attendance, print name tags, and do child check-in during events and services.
Faith Teams is best for remote work because it has a mobile app version on iOS and Android mobile devices. Faith Teams is a cloud-based SaaS, so you can access crucial information anywhere you are.
Faith Teams costs $40 per month and has a free 10-day trial period.
4. Church Office – Best for project & task management
Church Office is a church management system that lets you keep an updated church member record. This system has a group management capability to create groups, manage team members, and assign tasks using a single platform. It has a user-friendly mobile app that you can use to access Church Office tools using your mobile device so you can work remotely.
Church Office is the best church management software if you want to streamline workflow through automation. You can automate tasks, follow-ups, and assignments. You can also create triggers for specific actions like sending a welcome note whenever new members sign up. This can help you take care of repetitive administrative tasks to concentrate on essential tasks that require immediate attention.
Background checks are an add-on service so you can screen new members, volunteers, or staff members and protect the children in your congregation.
Church Office’s pricing starts at $35.13 per month and goes up depending on the number of records you need to maintain. Church Office offers a free 30-day trial.
5. Breeze ChMS – Best for detailed directories
Breeze is an intuitive contact management application you can use to store and organize church members’ contact information and personal details. You can use Breeze to plan church events and manage their execution from budgeting, volunteer scheduling, event registration, and post-event assessment. Breeze also allows you to track donations and offer online and text giving within a unified system.
Breeze is best for creating highly customized directories of church members because it allows users to create unique profile templates. You can add custom fields to profiles such as food allergies, dates for background check renewals, birthdates, and baptism dates. You can also import existing directories to Breeze without additional costs.
Breeze costs $50 per month.
6. Membee – Best for sign-ups & subscriptions
Membee is a contact management software you can use to manage church membership sign-ups and renewals. It has built-in website analytics and SEO features to quickly determine areas for improvement and put into action intervention programs. You can use it to automate your donation system and provide donors with tax-compliant receipts.
Membee is the best church management system for churches of all sizes because it provides unlimited sign-up forms. You can also customize your Membee account to reflect custom dropdown choices and tags to fit your church’s requirements. You can use Membee to store members’ credit card details to make donations, tithes, and event payments easier.
Membee’s pricing is $179 per month, with an option to pay $44 per month for every administrator you want to add.
7. FlockBase – Best for contact donation management
FlockBase is a church management solution that allows users to manage membership data and contact information. It has attendance tracking functionality so church leaders can track which events draw members and improve events with low attendance numbers. FlockBase equips church leaders with communication tools to send mass emails and text messages to reach their flock quickly.
FlockBase is the best church management solution for those who need a financial management tool because it has a built-in accounting tool enabling users to track funds. You can use FlockBase to pay church employees and comply with IRS regulations. It also has robust reporting capabilities allowing users to track income, expenses, and balances for better records reconciliation.
FlockBase basic plan costs $16 per month, plus plan for $29 per month and pro plan for $59 per month and offers a 2-week free trial period.
8. Elexio – Best for automated communications
Elexio is a membership management software that allows you to manage church members’ personal information, contact information, interaction history, and documents. It has an intuitive mobile app version that church members can use to update their profiles, ensuring that church records are accurate. Elexio has volunteer management capabilities, so you can organize groups, assign tasks, send communications, track attendances and evaluate them to make resource handling efficient.
Elexio is the best church management solution for church leaders who want to streamline their workflow because of its automation capabilities. You can use Elexio to automate simple yet repetitive tasks such as sending a welcome note to new members and scheduling a phone call to members who frequently miss services. You can automate the sending of thank you notes and receipts to donors to make them feel appreciated.
Elexio’s pricing starts at $35.13 per month and offers a free 30-day trial.
9. SimpleChurch CRM – Best for contact relationship management
SimpleChurch CRM is a membership management software that you can use to record members’ names, addresses, contact information, and pictures. You can use the software to create directories of members that you can use as reference when planning fundraising events, worship services, and team-building activities. It has a mobile app version you can use to add new members, access information, assign tasks and view interactions while working remotely.
SimpleChurch CRM is best for churches looking for donation management software because it provides members with a wide range of donating options like text giving and online giving. SimpleChurch can help encourage giving because it allows members to control their giving methods. On the other hand, church administration can use this donation management tool to automatically and accurately record donation transactions.
SimpleChurch CRM pricing starts at $35.13 a month and offers a 30-day free trial.
10. ChurchStaq – Best for community events
ChurchStaq is a software solution you can use to store member records containing personal information, contact information, pictures, notes, and documents. It has a messaging feature you can use to send text messages and emails to members of your congregation. ChurchStaq also has a donation management feature you can use to encourage online donations, text to give, and automated donations.
ChurchStaq is best for those looking for a church community builder tool because it allows users to create events that foster camaraderie among church members. You can use ChurchStaq to engage members in volunteer and outreach activities. ChurchStaq makes planning worship services easier by helping you organize church groups into units with specific tasks and responsibilities.
ChurchStaq pricing is available by request from its website.
Other Contact Management Tools
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list. They are less specialized than our top tools but excel in the fact they have free church software or low-cost plans that are perfect for non-profit organizations.
- MailChimp - Best e-newsletter builder
- Freshworks CRM Free Plan - Best CRM for churches with sales/marketing features
- Copper - Best for mid-sized churches
- Church Planning Center - Best for holistic church management with contacts included
- Servant Keeper - Best for ease-of-use
- Aplos - Best contact management with accounting
- FellowshipOne - Best for dynamic communications needs
- ChMeetings - Best contact management around small groups & volunteers
People Also Ask
Here are a few questions I get now and again. I figured I would put them here for those just getting their footing in church management and church tech.
Which Software is Used in a Church?
Aside from contact management software (and the closely related church membership software), churches also use other software to deal with different aspects of the ministry including:
- Church Software
- Church Management Software
- Church Accounting Software
- Church Website Builder
- Worship Software
- Church Presentation Software
- Donor Management Software
- Information Management Software
Do Churches Use CRM?
Some do, some don't. Church CRM software can be useful when you are ready to grow your congregation. Some of the tools on this list can be used much like a basic web-based CRM, like Simple Church CRM and ChurchCRM. I would recommend a church-specific CRM rather than something like Zoho CRM or Salesforce because it will have more realistic and useful feature sets to cater to your needs as an NGO.
What are Church Contact Management Software Key Features?
- Member Management: Allows users to keep an accurate record of church members.
- Mobile App Version: Allows administrators access to the software while working remotely.
- Event Management: Makes organizing events, services, and fundraising activities of religious organizations more organized.
- Financial Management: Allows users to maintain a record of funds, expenses, and donations for better fund management.
What Church Leadership Resources Should I Check Out Next?
If you're already thinking about church contact software, then you are ahead of most! Here are recommendations for more strategy sessions and tool lists to guide you next:
- How To Communicate With Your Congregation
- Ultimate Guide To Church Business Plans: How To & A Free Template
- 15 Church Welcome Ideas to Make New Church Members at Home
Church Contact Management Software for Optimal Organization
Contact management software can help provide churches with a way to maintain an accurate record of their members. This can help make it easy for church leaders to reach out to members to provide better services. If your church doesn’t have contact management software, get one now to spend less time recording your members’ contact information and more time expanding your ministry.
Keep up with The Lead Pastor to tap into thought leadership and software reviews in the church management space.