Most churches have some system for recording the details of people who attend the church. This is often called a member database or church management software, although it is often no more sophisticated than an Excel spreadsheet.

While a spreadsheet may meet your church's needs, late last year I shared details of 3 databases worth considering. I also followed up on some questions about privacy legislation and how this might impact the selection of member databases. It's a topic I continue to explore because databases can help us to love people - especially when, by God's grace, our churches grow to have more people than we can keep track of in our heads.

I've noticed two things as I've chatted with churches about their databases:

• many churches sign-up to feature-rich database but don't end up using most of these features.
• many churches don't know how best to use the database to proactively care for their members.

In summary, most churches know they need a database, and most churches don't know how to go about selecting one or implementing it once selected. Would you agree with this summary? What would you add or remove?

I've put together a survey to gather together the collective experiences with church member databases. Already, 16 churches have participated in this survey, and the results have been fascinating. 

Click here to participate in this (brief) survey.

I'd love to get your feedback. I'll then report back (keeping details of individuals and specific churches anonymous) to see what we can learn, and how we can make better use of these tools.