The money issue becomes compounded when thinking in terms of stewardship and not in terms of what is “hip” or “trendy.” Unfortunately, most people fall prey to the prevalent mindset that more features for less money equals value. This, however, is not always the case. Having many different features can be great, but features are only as valuable as they are usable. Too often, people approach these types of purchases like most other technology purchases, meaning they get lulled into the idea of the “potential” of the product, but end up frustrated because it doesn’t perform the critical functions well.

This problem is similar to buying a cell phone. At the end of the day, people want to be able make a call and not have it dropped. E-mail and text messaging have made their way into “essential” features for most people, but that’s about it. Cameras, MP3 players, video cameras, calendars and mobile Web all can be nice, but are they really necessary on a phone? In that sense, those features are only as valuable as they are usable and being used by the customer. In the same way, value in a software product for churches stems from not how much was paid, or how many features the product has, but how usable it is and how much it’s being used by the church. Whether paying $100 or $30,000 for software, value comes back to usability and being used, otherwise a product that may be cheap is still a waste of money and holds no value to the pastors or their staff.

While the church software industry can be confusing at times and frustrating at others, there are good things on the horizon. Many companies in this field are leveraging and using the latest technology and best practices in the industry, which is resulting in faster, cheaper and more useful software that benefits churches and ministries more than ever before. The day has arrived where churches are able to use the same powerful tools that most businesses have at their disposal, thus making administrative tasks easier and allowing them to get back to doing what God has called them to do.

Phil Hines has been with PurposeWare since its inception and is currently the executive director of marketing. As a pastor’s kid, he developed a passion for helping churches become more efficient and effective in ministry by leveraging technology. Hines has a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies and theology from Liberty University.