Actually, you would probably argue that everything about event planning is critical. If you’ve tried to coordinate a successful church events at your local church, you know what it’s like to pull off a decent event—let’s say, a quilting contest for your high school ministry. I mean, there are so many aspects to event management, doing all of them well is not an effort for the faint of heart.
I mean, you’ve got:
- Three staff meetings to make sure the date works
- There’s the room reservation (would someone please use the specially designed magnet/calendar system that Brother Barry hand-whittled)
- Securing the overhead projector from Sister Suzie (yeah, you remember those things),
- Then running a Sunday morning bake sale to help buy the thread and fabric, and
- When you think you’ve got all the pieces assembled, you still don’t have anyone attending, so you’ve got to dig through your pile of old church bulletins to find the church directory so you can spread the word.
While I’m guessing that this is not at all indicative of where you are with your event planning, even the most tech-savvy groups are missing the mark on using intelligent, integrated technology platforms to make these processes easier. You see, there are robust, stand-alone event management software platforms that efficiently handle most, if not all, of these tasks. There is, however, a vital component missing from most of these software platforms: integration with the membership database, website and check-in system.
We’ve seen it before: the publicity on the church’s website is stellar, and the registration process is flawless. Then your event goers arrive at the venue, and there are the obligatory black-shirted volunteers sitting behind a folding table with pre-registered name lists, a money box and the ubiquitous highlighter. And what do they do with that sacred list after the event? Well, Sister Suzie takes it back on Monday and hand-keys everything into your database so you have a record for future teen quilting events.
How about this scenario: your event goer finds the splash on the youth web page (Don’t Quit, Quilt!) and clicks to register. While they’re there, payment is processed with a simple transaction. Day of the event, they walk up to a kiosk that welcomes them to the event and provides admission by fingerprint scan or name recognition. Once they’re signed in, the kiosk prints their sticker, and all their data is logged in the church’s database. Now, wasn’t that simple!? Better yet, the planning of the entire event happens from a single computer screen: rooms are reserved, dates are managed, volunteers are solicited (via email) and notice of the event goes out through social, web and main calendars.
Let’s make this process easier, so you can stop looking forward to the day after the event as the best aspect of the entire process. Within their integrated suite, Elexio’s newest tools open up the possibility that your church can function efficiently regardless of its size and complexity. Check them out here.
But please, don’t ever consider hosting a teen quilting event! Happy event planning!
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