Church administration is a tough job. Daunting. Scary. To match the challenge, the administrator should have at his or her fingertips the power tools to take productivity, efficiency, speed, and convenience to the next level. We would like to suggest that there is a free and easy way to do so. One word: Google.
First off, please admit that Google is not the Beast of Revelation. It’s going to be okay. Now, please feel free to use Google’s tools for Kingdom purposes. For starters, if you don’t already have a Gmail account, now is time to set one up. While you’re at it, go ahead and sign in to Google Docs.
This is not a tutorial on Gmail or Google Docs. It is a suggestion of church-administrator-relevant things that Gmail and Google Docs will help you to do.
- Label your email. Gmail lets you apply cool little color-coded labels to emails that are flying fast and furious into your inbox througout the day. An email arrives from the Youth Pastor, and it has the word “VBS” in it. BANG-it hits your filter and flies into organization mode, automatically being color-coded with a green label and tagged with the word “VBS.” Efficiency city. You now know that you want to read that immediately, since VBS starts tomorrow. A little bit of set-up time is all it takes, and you can fly with the efficiency of labeling, organizing, and keeping your emails ultra-organized.
- Forget folders. Part of the coolness of labeling is that it is an easy way to organize your emails without making a million folders. I once knew a guy that probably had 90 folders for all his different emails. The problem was, he could never find anything. The solution? Label the emails that are important. Gmail will automatically pocket them with your designated label. Second, archive it. Don’t delete it. If you ever need any email again, just type in a few words of what you remember the email to be about, and Gmail will magically find it. It’s amazing.
- Chat with pastor. Need to chat with Pastor, Youth Pastor, or the Media Guy? But you don’t want to go all the way down to their office. No prob. Stay right in your seat and pop open the chat window. Chat away.
- Type the same thing over and over again without typing it. As an administrator, you may have the blessed task of typing the same message to people–“Thanks for inquiring about the Bible Reading Schedule that Pastor announced. We will email you a copy soon.” Or something like that. With Gmail’s canned response feature, you don’t even have to worry about copy-pasting. Just click click. Done.
- Use keyboard shortcuts. The journey that your hands take from the keyboard to the mouse can be a slow and time-consuming one. I mean, who wants to take the .6 seconds just to move your right hand to the mouse, navigate, and click? C’mon! Instead, use keyboard shortcuts–the true sign of a Techno Admin Nerd. A couple of ctrl+key swats, and you’ve attained the next level of geekdom for your church administrative tasks.
- Organize the whole leadership team on one calendar. Quite possibly the Biggest Challenge of church administration is the scheduling challenge. Throw four busy people onto one team, a few hundred people in a busy church, a few dozen church programs, and a pestering penchant for disorganization, and you have the recipe for Administrative Disaster. Google Calendar to the rescue. With the shared calendar feature, you can get everyone on a single, central, easy-to-access calendar. Voila, and you’ll never miss an appointment again. Hint: use the calendar as your tickler file for important upcoming events and tasks.
- Google Doc it and you’ll have it when you need it. Definition of frustration: you have a document that you need to access, but it’s locked away on your computer which is a) not working, 2) two states away, or 3) at home while you’re at church. No. Problem. Pull out anyone’s computer or mobile device with a half-decent Internet connection, and your document is safe within your welcoming arms. Google Docs is your answer to the disorganization that results from using multiple computers. Unify, streamline, and power up with Google Docs. You can do most of the important tasks that Word and Excel can do, plus the benefits of mobility.
In case you can’t tell, I’m a huge fan of efficiency, streamlining, and simplifying. I’ve found that through the powerful features of Google, I can satisfy my appetite for efficiency, streamlining, and simplifying. I’m not saying I’ve arrived or anything. I’ve simply found that there is a way to do it with Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and a few other Google tools that I haven’t even mentioned. The only way to learn is by trying, so why don’t you get started with it?
While you’re at it, if you’re not already a member of Sharefaith, now is a good time to do so (we’re offering a sweet discount). Sharefaith is another way to increase your productivity and take ministry to a whole new level. Give it a try.