Chris Huff
Director of Operations and Multi-Campus
12StoneChurch
1322 Buford Drive
Lawrenceville ●Georgia● 30043
678.990.8118
/

memo

To:Dan Reiland

cc:ChMS Selection Team (Eric Echols, Lisa Goodwin, Donna Cantrell, Janet Brown, Tony Mimms, Jason Berry, Matt Haff)

Date:January 29, 2014

Re:Decision and Selection of replacement database for Shelby

The Selection Team is ready to recommend a replacement system for our Shelby Church Management System (ChMS). After hundreds of hours of research and demo presentations, we feel that MinistryPlatform™ is the best system for 12Stone™. This decision comes after we researched over 150 different software solutions, with live demonstrations of the following systems:

  • ArenaChurch Systems (Shelby Inc. product)
  • FellowshipOne
  • Church Community Builder
  • MinistryPlatform (MP)
  • ProClaim
  • The City (by Zondervan)

The primary reasons we selected MP were:

  • It was the simplest and easiest to use of all the systems.
  • It had the most powerful reporting capabilities (search, sort, select with Boolean logic).
  • The database is hosted locally, and we own our own data. The system is expandable - we are able to add additional fields to serve any purpose we desire
  • The interface is a web browser and will operate in a Mac environment

MP will contain the following information and will replace the existing software and systems:

Process / Information / Current System
Online giving and forms / Shelby & custom web site software
Contact info (name, address, email, phone) / Shelby
Relationship (household and other) / Shelby
Contributions and Donor Management / Shelby
Church Participation (SG, events, volunteer, membership) / Shelby and Website(*)
Reporting / Shelby
Event Registration / Wufoo (website software)
Children’s Check-in / Lamb’s List
Facility Scheduling / EMS
Data Warehousing / (new feature)

(*) Church Teams will continue to be needed for SG registration

The cost of implementation cannot be fully identified until we complete a “scope of work” proposal with MP (there are unanticipated features and functions that we will surely need to add). However, below is an estimate based on our current understanding of the project:

Note: the final cost has been removed from this memo because the pricing structure has changed radically since our implementation. We were the 3rd church to implement this system and received substantial price discounts…but we also commissioned a significant custom software project for our site. These items were included in the final quote:

  • MinistryPlatform Software License
  • QL Server 2005 Software License
  • Data Conversion from Shelby and other sources
  • Custom Software Development for 12Stone
  • New Hardware for Check Scanning
  • Contingency for unanticipated costs

In addition, there is a recurring annual expense of approximately $1,000 per month for software maintenance and support. This will begin once the system is installed and working.

Any additional software development (beyond the initial implementation) is not included in this proposal. There will be other expenses in other department level accounts that we believe have been already budgeted for. These include:

  • Implementing a new server for this database (JRG support, hardware, software licenses, etc.)
  • Adding additional check-in stations for SG registration process and at other campuses
  • Adding additional power outlets for those check-in stations

On a final note - Our Team has agreed to continue to meet on a regular basis for these purposes:

  • Monitor and champion the conversion process
  • Prioritize the development of new features and represent department level needs
  • Pursue the selection of a church-wide web-based system for social networking, small group and volunteer management, and communication campaigns

I would like to add a special thanks and recognition to the team for all their hard work. We have made a lot of progress in church data management and systems for 12Stone™ Church

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