Write About Now

I don’t usually enjoy most things IT, but I do enjoy paying my rent each month, so recently I accepted a short-term gig helping a megachurch discover how they are (or are not) using the Fellowship 1 church database they purchased a few years ago. Fellowship 1, or F1, is one of the top software programs churches can use to track attendance, create online registration for events, check children into their programming with unique security codes, and more.

Like most such initiatives without a strong champion, F1 at this church faces an uphill battle for fans. A few users, most of whom have previously worked with more primitive databases, love the system. Many more dislike its, shall we say, “less than intuitive” interface. And then there’s the fun group who’s never actually used it, but has lunch with the haters, and therefore also think it’s terrible.

So my job is to figure out how the church can use it more effectively and then train/cajole/bribe the current staff into using it that way, with the end goal of creating absolutely raving fans who scurry en masse to get “F1 4eva” tattoed on their lower backs……or at least use it most days with a minimum of grumbling.

Now here’s the deal: I am scrambling to learn as much about this system as I can, and I’d love any help you can give me. Every church’s processes and programs are different, but part of the F1 joy is it doesn’t offer tons of customization–so I’m betting if you’re using it in some winning ways, this church could too. Does your church use F1? What has been your experience? Any tips for making ministries more productive with it? And what did you bribe your staff with?