Save your church hundreds of dollars each year using the Internet

June 5, 6:43 PMPastor & Minister ExaminerDarlene Bishop

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Pastor & Minister Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

It costs money to run a church, as every pastor knows. But there are many ways to save money, time and manpower using online resources. Let's explore some of the many free or practically free services available to you online every day.

• Email is obviously the first option. You can save 43 cents for every email you send compared to sending that same correspondence via United States mail. And you can include photos, check authorizations, proposals, and more in an email, just like you can in an envelope. If your office sends only 10 letters a week (a very low number) you can save $4.30 on this service alone.

• Add to that the manpower saved in using email versus the Post Office. Let's say you pay your assistant $8.00 per hour (an average wage for a part-time assistant). And let's say it takes her/him three hours to input those 10 letters, proof them, print the letters and envelopes, get your signature on all 10 letters, copy the letters, file the copies, stuff the envelopes, run the envelopes through the postage meter or stamp them, and place those same 10 letters in the outgoing mail box.

Now, let's say that same $8.00 per hour assistant can input the letters in your email program, select the recipients, and press send in about 30 minutes. A cost of $4 versus $24. Pretty good savings, don't you think? Now, do that five days a week, and you've just saved $100!

• Another area for savings is in printing. How much would it cost to print a 20-page church policy manual and distribute it to 20 church Board members? At cut-rate printing prices, it would cost at least $4 each to copy and bind the manuals. Add about an hour of labor to copy, collate and staple. Multiply that if you have a larger Board. If you email those same 20 manuals, it would take about 15 minutes of that $8.00 per hour assistant's time, or $2. And there would be less chance for error. And that's just one project.

• What about the church newsletter and other direct mail pieces? You could put more money into the content of your brochures and newsletters and less into the printing and distribution if you sent your newsletters via email. What about building a dynamic, multi-page, full-color website online that contains all the information you would include in a mailed brochure? You can then send a simple announcement to your contact list and let them know your web address. Couldn't be simpler. Or cheaper. These costs can add up in a hurry.

• Demographic research, an area that is often ignored by small churches especially because of lack of funds, can be done absolutely free on the Internet. Check out your neighborhood. See what they're involved in and learn how to reach them. Discover new ministries. Conduct surveys. Find out how many of them are single, married, have children or aging parents. Any number of demographic questions can be answered online with very little time investment. And no cash outlay.

• Increase your outreach and community involvement. Improve relations with those you already have a relationship with and get to know others you hope to draw into the church. Build relationships. Make a name for the church. While you can't eliminate face-to-face contact, you can certainly build bridges and begin interaction.

• Provide important information and answer commonly asked questions. Create a FAQ (frequently asked questions) list and post it on your church website. State your beliefs and church affiliations. Offer the steps to salvation as well as audio and print sermons. List your staff backgrounds, ministries, service times and more. When a prospective member has a question that isn't answered in your FAQ, give them an email address so they can contact you. Then post the answer to that question in your FAQ! See how your church site keeps growing and improving?

• Accept online contributions from your donors if desired. Not only can you automate much of your ministry interaction and provide the answers church members and prospect want and need, you can accept donations directly over the web in the form of online checks or even credit cards if the church has a PayPal account.

• Purchase church and communion supplies, computer and office equipment, lesson materials, music and more online. You can find multiple sources online for practically any item you need, often at much greater discounts than anywhere else, even allowing for shipping costs.

• Office, shipping and janitorial supplies. Find great deals for all of these online with just a few simple searches. Many of the same major suppliers you use now are online doing business just as efficiently. But it may be worth your time to look around. You never know when you might find a better price on items you use every day.

There are many other ways to find savings for your church online. For example, Internet telephones allow you to make free calls anywhere in the world. And video-conferencing is practically free compared to the high cost of travel and lodging if you need to meet with someone long-distance. Add to that free software, e-cards, graphics, poetry, drama, and more. Use your imagination. The savings and resources for your church are practically unlimited.