In any church, volunteers play a vital role in keeping things running. But when you have many helpers assisting with various events and activities, managing them can be a headache. It’s hard to keep track of who’s doing what—and even harder to ensure that each project has the right staffing at the right time.
That’s why church volunteer management software is such a fast-growing sector in the SaaS niche. From food drives to community outreach, these volunteer management tools help keep church programs running efficiently. In this article, I’ll discuss the top church volunteer management software tools and show how they can help.
Tool Shortlist
Here’s the list of the best church volunteer management systems I’ll cover in this article.
- Church CREW - Best for automating recurring volunteer schedules
- Churchteams - Best for text-to-church communications tools
- Planning Center - Best for advanced scheduling over long time periods
- Church Community Builder - Best for simplifying scheduling
- ASC Technologies - Best for making the most of individual talents
- Galaxy Digital - A complete solution for volunteer management
- Track it Forward - Best for volunteer self-tracking
- SignUp.com - Best for free online signup sheets
- iVolunteer - A better alternative to messy spreadsheets
- VolunteerMark - A volunteer management system you can learn in minutes
- VolunteerHub - Best for combined volunteer and event management
Comparison Criteria
What do I look for when I select the best church volunteer management solutions? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:
- User Interface (UI): I look for an interface that users both young and old will find easy to understand
- Usability: I expect everyone from the pastor down to have no problems getting to grips with features
- Integrations: I look for ready-made integrations with related church software and other productivity tools
- Value for $: I’m seeking software that will keep volunteer programs on track without making a big hole in the church budget
Church Volunteer Management Key Features
Here are the features I hope to see in quality church volunteer management software:
- Creating and storing volunteer profiles: allowing volunteers to register and indicate their interests, favorite activities, and licenses.
- Coordinating volunteer schedules: customizable calendars and volunteer self-scheduling tools to keep everyone engaged and in the loop
- Volunteer hours tracking & reporting: accurate data showing how volunteer resources are being allocated and used
- Volunteer interests & skills matching: making the most of your team by fitting the right people to each task
- Online background checks: integration with a quality background screen organization for a thorough investigation of volunteer’s histories
- Communications hub: multi-channel connections with volunteers using email, text, and social media messaging to stay in touch
- View and fill available shifts: coordinate helpers, cap attendance, and fill in gaps as required
- Check-in and check-out processes: contactless tracking of volunteer attendance at events and meetings
- Group scheduling: working with other ministries and volunteer groups with coordinated volunteer recruitment and scheduling
- Reporting: creating a full range of reports to share with the community, demonstrating the impact of projects
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Overviews Of The 11 Best Church Volunteer Management Software
Here’s a brief description of each church volunteer management platform to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.
1. Church CREW - Best for automating recurring volunteer schedules
Church CREW is a church volunteer management software that utilizes artificial intelligence to manage congregation members involved in church activities. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to generate balanced schedules, facilitate volunteer-initiated swapping, and assist leaders in finding substitutes automatically.
What sets Church CREW apart is its use of AI to generate volunteer schedules, a feature not commonly found in other church management tools. It also offers a comprehensive suite of features such as alerts, automated scheduling, availability and calendar management, reminders, and SMS messaging. These features make it a comprehensive tool for managing volunteers in a church setting.
Integrations include most popular email platforms.
Church CREW is free to use for 1 schedule and 20 volunteers. Paid plans start at $6/month for up to 100 volunteers.
2. Churchteams - Best for text-to-church communications tools
Churchteams provides membership management, communications, and contributions management for churches and nonprofit organizations of any size. Church leaders can collect custom member attributes and record attendance, as well as taking pastoral notes and prayer requests. The check-in features help with managing attendance at classes, events, and worship services.
The text-to-church capability allows volunteers and others to start an interaction with the church, using technology they are comfortable with. Volunteers can be assigned to one or more groups according to their preferences. Churchteams is available both on the web and as a mobile app.
This tool integrates with a number of applications, including Google Maps.
Churchteams cost $37/user/month, and a 30-day free trial is available.
3. Planning Center - Best for advanced scheduling over long time periods
Planning Center is a cloud-based CHMS that supports church leaders in organizing, scheduling, and managing programs and events. Features include a services module for planning worship events, plus a resources module that makes it easy to reserve rooms and publish event calendars. Members of the congregation can see future events displayed on tablets, touchscreens, or TVs in common areas.
Organizers can schedule months ahead using the Matrix feature, while volunteer gaps can be filled with auto-scheduling. Church members can upload and tag media and files, including songs or videos required for services. All events, rooms, and resources have their own calendar feeds, which can be synched with programs such as Outlook, iCal, and Google Calendar.
This tool integrates with ChurchSuite, Essential Worship, Faithlife Proclaim, and Mailchimp.
Planning Center offers customized pricing according to individual needs. A free 30-day trial is available for all users.
4. Church Community Builder - Best for simplifying scheduling
Church Community Builder from Pushpay is a cloud-based solution that helps leaders engage with their congregation. The software includes features such as contact management, check-in, and contribution management. Leaders can also follow up with guests, manage online giving, and view metrics on the built-in dashboards.
This platform includes volunteer scheduling to help you organize teams and empower them to get things done. Schedulers can also receive alerts when volunteers need to complete a background check before proceeding. The system notifies volunteers of available positions and sends automatic reminders when they are due to serve.
This platform integrates many related tools, including Active Screening, Aplos, PastorsLine, and Text-em-All.
Pushpay provides customized pricing on request.
5. ASC Technologies Realm - Best for making the most of individual talents
Realm from ASC Technologies manages your church volunteer database, including volunteers, staff, and members of the congregation. The software keeps track of attendance, monitors giving, and helps leaders communicate with members. Realm integrates with your church website to manage check-in and allow updating of personal profiles.
The software has features to help ministers discover the talents of individual volunteers. This information can then be used to assign people to the tasks that suit them best. If necessary, unique roles can be created to leverage the skills of particular volunteers.
Realm integrates with solutions such as Givelify, Extend, and the Journey Project.
6. Galaxy Digital - A complete solution for volunteer management
Designed to be mobile-first, Galaxy Digital helps nonprofit organizations automate, streamline and grow their volunteer programs. The Get Connected functionality tracks volunteer hours and reports on the impact of their work. Volunteer managers can quickly approve time submissions. Helpers can also be managed in large or small groups, with time allocated to different projects as required.
The work of 'plus one' volunteers can also be tracked easily. This all-in-one app is social-media friendly, encouraging volunteers to share their work with friends. Volunteer resumes are built automatically, ready for download at any time.
Galaxy Digital offers customized pricing on request. There is no free trial.
7. Track It Forward - Best for volunteer self-tracking
With the help of Track It Forward, you can easily track the time committed by volunteers and coordinators. Approvals can be delegated to multiple people, with alerts sent when hours are pending confirmation. For large groups, hours can be approved in bulk.
Volunteers can log their hours instantly, either using the website or through the mobile app. They can also sign up for future activities using the calendar function. Where possible, information is pre-filled to make logging time as simple as possible.
Track It Forward costs from $12/user/month, and a free trial is available.
8. SignUp.com - Best for free online signup sheets
SignUp.com offers volunteer scheduling software for streamlining scheduling, event planning, and fundraising. Ministers can manage volunteer records and send invitations by email or SMS. They can also receive confirmation notifications instantly.
This app can be used to manage signups for any event, using features such as engagement analytics, data synchronization, custom workflows, and calendar management. Church leaders can use the mobile app to view or edit volunteer details, assign tasks and generate reports.
The software integrates with WePay for online payments, allowing organizations to collect fees and contributions.
Signup.com costs from $9.99/user/month. A 30-day free trial is available.
9. iVolunteer - A better alternative to messy spreadsheets
iVolunteer allows helpers to sign up for events quickly and easily. Designed to replace paper signup sheets, this user-friendly software eliminates confusion and duplication of staffing, while also protecting privacy.
You can record attendance in real-time via the web or use manual sign-in reports. It's easy to modify the home page, header, and instructions for each event. Administrators can be kept up to date with email notifications of signups and cancellations.
iVolunteer costs from $20/user/month, and a free 30-day trial is available.
10. VolunteerMark - A volunteer management system you can learn in minutes
VolunteerMark is a cloud-based system for managing interactions with volunteers. It assists with scheduling, attendance tracking, reporting, and communications. Ministers can share volunteer opportunities to recruit helpers, as well as send emails and text messages to keep everyone in the loop.
VolunteerMark is designed to be easy to use, and even novice users can get up to speed quickly. Additional features include supporting multiple administrators, data migration, custom fields, and tags. The software connects to social media to make sharing simple.
The software integrates with applications such as Stripe, LinkedIn, Facebook, and SendGrid.
VolunteerMark costs from $34/user/month, and a free 30-day trial is available.
11. VolunteerHub - Best for combined volunteer and event management
VolunteerHub is designed to make organizing ministry outreach events simple. The software facilities all aspects of volunteer management, ensuring that all projects and events are staffed optimally. Church leaders can view and print rosters, update event details, and email helpers from anywhere.
The software encompasses both volunteer management and event administration. As a result, managers can regulate the number of volunteers assisting at each event, search for appropriate helpers and register them as needed. Waitlists can be created for full events, with emails sent as spaces become available.
VolunteerHub integrates with many business platforms including Altru and eTapestry.
VolunteerHub costs from $150/user/month. There is no free trial.
Other Options
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list.
- Timecounts - Best for a software solution that scales with your program
- Roster Volunteers - Quick and easy volunteer scheduling
- SignUpGenius - Eliminates ‘reply-all’ emails and paper signup sheets
- Signup Zone - Management of rosters, signups, and rotas
- VolunteerLocal - Best for streamlined scheduling, event registration, and communication
- WhenToHelp - Eliminates volunteer scheduling headaches
- YourVolunteers - 100% free volunteer scheduling
Related Read: Online Church Management Software
What do you think about this list?
Do you agree with my choices for the best church volunteer management software? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Remember to sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news and information.
You might also like to check out our post on Church Management Software. For alternatives that won’t bust your budget, try our picks of Free Church Management Software. There’s always something interesting to read, so be sure to come back to The Lead Pastor often!
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