Offering services in both English and Spanish to 600 families, Faith Pleases God is an active evangelical community of believers that has special needs due to the bilingual parishioners it serves in Harlingen, Texas.
John Jacobson, the church’s former church administrator and current assistant pastor, started using Parish Data System (PDS) in 1989 at a church he served in Brownsville, Texas. When he joined Faith Pleases God in 1995, Jacobson converted the church over to PDS immediately and has never looked back.
“I just don’t know how we would function without it,” comments Jacobson on the church’s use of PDS.
Communication Tools
Due to Faith Pleases God’s bilingual communication needs, they must be able to communicate with members in both English and Spanish on a regular basis. Jacobson is excited to be using Church Office because it gives him the ability to create letters in both languages, print and send them out with great ease. Jacobson uses a designation within the membership records template to note the language each family prefers. He is then able to customize the letter template within Church Office to include a salutation and closing that is appropriate for the Spanish language.
“It’s great to be able to take an existing template letter within Church Office and set it up so that it meets our exact needs. This feature saves me lots of time when I need to communicate with members quickly and efficiently,” notes Jacobson.
“After our Sunday services, when I get the registration forms from visitors, all I have to do after entering the family information is go to the ‘family welcome letter’ and print out a personalized letter; also, I can easily go into the software and print out “New Birth Certificates” for those who received salvation that day. I simply click print and it’s done.”
Faith Pleases God also uses PDS to keep track of contributions. The church doesn’t take formal attendance, so when people use the contribution envelopes, it helps the church know who is coming and who isn’t, in addition to issuing the required end-of-year contribution letters.
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“With a software system like PDS, it’s very versatile. But there are times when you need support, and they’ve been great. When I went for training in Phoenix this year, it was like meeting long lost family for the very first time.”
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- John Jacobson, assistant pastor
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“We use PDS as a communications tool in sending letters to visitors, to people who are born again, and for various other certificates. Also, it’s great for sending out invitations and reminders for the many classes and events we offer,” Jacobson adds.
Record Keeping
Faith Pleases God is excited about the new image-management features within Church Office.
“Last Sunday, we set up a table at the back of the church to take digital images of members and gather email addresses in order to update our church records. Having a picture of a member is so helpful when the pastors are fulfilling prayer requests or someone in leadership needs to know who a particular person is, and these are great tools to enhance our overall ministry efforts,” comments Jacobson.
The church also uses the Sacrament feature to record salvations, water baptisms, core instructional program classes, and other sacraments. Additionally, the church is enjoying keeping better track of people in small groups, volunteers, and members’ talents and skills.
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“PDS is very open to suggestions from the field. I love how my suggestions often get incorporated into the next update. They are extremely responsive to user’s suggestions.”
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- John Jacobson, assistant pastor
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“I use the software more than anyone else for pastoral follow up. It’s very powerful and very personal,” Jacobson says. “I love the ability to customize every aspect of the software.”
About Faith Pleases God
Faith Pleases God was founded in 1988 by Pastors Aracelis and Carlos Ortiz. This growing church of over 600 families now reaches the entire Spanish-speaking world through its FETV Spanish Christian Network and its La Familia Spanish family network which reaches the third largest Hispanic market in the United States. With many different ministries for adults, teens, and children, Faith Pleases God is a leader in the community and world.
Parish Data System Products & Services Used: Church Office
Web Site
http://www.faithpleasesgod.com
