What do you recommend?

11.11.24 04:09 PM - By Elliott Wood

But, what do you want?

Have you ever been to a restaurant with a long menu and someone at the table asks the server... "What do you recommend?" or "How is the salmon?"


And the server often replies... "What do you like?" or "I don't like fish, but the salmon is popular." 


And there you are, still stuck at any option being as good as the other options. Unless your server asks you some clarifying questions.

  • Do you like sweet or savory?
  • Do you like crunchy or creamy?
  • Are you a fan of sour? Do you have any dietary restrictions?

I'm in several user groups for church management software and almost every day, one of them will have a post resembling the question we all ask our server. "What do you recommend?"


And yet, that question will never answer the question you really want to know the answer to.


What you really want to know, is "Which software will meet our wants and needs." And your wants and needs are different than those of the church down the street or on the other side of the country. 


  • So, before you can make a good choice on your Church Management Software decision, start with questions that you need to answer:
    What kinds of custom data do you need to keep track of?
  • What reports do your denominational standards or bylaws require you to provide?
  • What processes, like new member/guest assimilation and volunteer onboarding do you need to manage?
  • Where do you currently have to step out of your ChMS to some other software or a spreadsheet to keep track of something?


Asking a group of people what they use usually ends up with a bunch of people just naming the thing they use and a few people saying whether they like, or hate that thing. I've often seen recommendations for and against the same products in the same thread. How can you make a decision based on that?


When we work with churches to define their wants and needs, we start with their Vision and mission, and a deep dive into their ministry strategy. It's not uncommon to have a bit of work to do to define their ministry strategy before a good choice can be made. But, by digging into their organizational goals, we get a much clearer picture of what they want the software to do, and how it should do it.


If you want to narrow the field of your ChMS search to those applications that have the best chance of meeting your needs - start with your needs. 


Strategic Matter has helped churches from 5 staff members to 600 staff members choose their ChMS as a team. We'd love to help you.


Elliott Wood