When you think about the most powerful and important programs your church offers, Religious Education is bound to be one of the first things that springs to mind – it truly re represents the future of your church and your faith! Specifically, Religious Education can:

– helps kids in your church develop a strong Christian identity; 
– allow young people to create lasting relationships with their peers and your church leaders while teaching them that their church is truly a home and safe haven;
– and most importantly, Religious Education nurtures young people’s spiritual growth and equips them with a foundation of faith in a world that will always test and tempt them.

Religious Education is a key component of your church life, and your church software should be instrumental in its implementation and success. Specifically, there are four ways your church technology can help your Religious Education program flourish:

1. Your Church Website

This is where you have space to share the mission of your Religious Education program, as well as other details, like class schedules. The best website providers will offer you customization for pages dedicated to individual programs like Religious Education, as well as customized registration forms for families who want to participate.

Your web service should also offer abundant design options that you can use to capture the spirit and character of your church, as well as a core design that is innovative and functional – so it’s easy for you to update and simple for church members to navigate on any device. The more welcoming your website feels, the more people will use it to get involved in programs like Religious Education that matter so much to your ministries.

2. Your Mobile App

With advances in mobile technology, people are more connected than ever. Members of your congregation now do business, find entertainment and share their lives through their phones and tablets. If your ministry isn’t mobile-optimized (or, if your church management software doesn’t offer app capabilities), then you are missing out on one of the best ways to connect your congregation with programs like Religious Education.

A well-designed mobile app can include features such as event registration, reminder notifications, and check-in functions that will help your Religious Education program run smoothly for your church staff and for the families who participate – as well as live streaming, sermon archives, giving options, and prayer request features that help your church members stay engaged with all aspects of your ministries.

3. Your Church Management Tools

Religious Education takes hours of planning, beyond the actual lessons that will be taught. You have to schedule days and times, set aside meeting spaces, coordinate with church leaders and staff, organize volunteers, and keep your entire team up to date on schedule changes and other adjustments.

The right church management platform – one that’s flexible, adaptive, and fully integrated for all your church operations – can help you handle every aspect of this planning, so that your primary focus can stay where it belongs – on teaching young people about what it means to be a Christian. You can also keep track of attendance numbers, identify engagement trends in your congregation, and create reports showing how Religious Education participation is growing. 

4. Your Church Safety

Families trust your church when they send their kids to youth-oriented programs such as Religious Education, and you owe it to them to make sure your church is protected from criminals and predators.

That’s why background checks should be an essential component of your church management software. Any employee, staff member, or volunteer who helps lead Religious Education or other active programs (especially those developed for children) should be carefully vetted with a thorough background screening program – specifically, one that’s tailored to meet the unique needs of churches, and that you can integrate into your church management platform.

Church Technology that Lets You Work Smarter, Not Harder

Is your church software system up to the task of enhancing your most important ministries such as Religious Education? The Shelby Systems team is eager to talk with you about how we are helping over 3,000 churches in the United States, and how we can help your church too!

For over 40 years we have partnered with ministries of all shapes and sizes. Connect with us here to discover the variety of solutions you can access through Shelby Systems.