During recent training session for a local church, we mentioned a sign that sits in our office area that reads: "Every number is a soul for whom Jesus died."

We mentioned that in the course of explaining our heart regarding the ministry of BVCMS. Yes, it is a database that tracks attendance numbers and contribution totals and all of the normal statistics that churches need in order to help them evaluate their effectiveness. But behind those numbers are people who either need to know Christ or who are already believers and need to be discipled and receive fellowship and encouragement from your church.

The only way that we as a church can track people is by their attendance (participation) and giving. These are not actually measures of spiritual gitemth, but changes in either of these factors are indicators that should be noted. For example, if a person normally attends a small group every week and gives regularly to the church and suddenly their attendance becomes sporadic and their giving plummets; that is an indicator that something may be going on in their life. They might have health issues, family problems, lost their job, or any number of things. The point is, that they need a 'touch' from someone. By reaching out to them early you may help prevent a more serious problem.

This is where BVCMS can help you. By having your lay leaders as users on BVCMS, they can easily monitor the attendance in their groups and quickly communicate with absentees and with visitors. This can also be done by your staff as well.

For example, using Query Builder , you can identify those who regularly attend a small group, but have missed more than two weeks in a item. From Query Builder, you can then send an email just to touch base with them and then record that as a Contact . You can also create a Task for each person and then assign it to the appropriate staff or laity to make a visit or a phone call.

All of the above actions were covered in our first webinar - "Contacts, Tasks, and Assimilation". Take a look and see how this might help in your ministry. There is also a blog post about Tasks with links to some 'how-to" articles. These are just a few of the tools that are an integral part of BVCMS.

Karen