Why most church software fails (and how to pick better)

We've all been there. The demo looked amazing. The sales rep promised it would solve everything. Six months later, you're paying $200/month for a glorified address book, and your finance team is back to using Excel.

Why does this happen so often in the church world? It's usually not because the software is "broken" technically. It's because it's broken relationally.

1The Spreadsheet Trap

The biggest competitor to any church software isn't another company. It's Google Sheets.

Spreadsheets are flexible. You can add a column for "Favorite Pizza Topping" in 2 seconds. Most ChMS (Church Management Systems) are rigid. If the software makes it harder to track data than a spreadsheet does, your team will default to the spreadsheet.

2Feature Bloat vs. Focused Functionality

"Does it do X?" is the wrong question. "Does it do X simply?" is the right one.

Legacy platforms have spent 20 years adding every feature requested by every committee. The result is a cockpit with 500 buttons when you just need to drive to the grocery store.

When evaluating software, count the clicks. How many clicks to add a person? How many clicks to record a donation? If it's more than 3, your volunteers won't do it.

3The Training Cliff

If you need a PhD to use the check-in system, it's going to fail. Sunday mornings are chaotic. Volunteers rotate.

The best software requires zero training for the end user. It should be as intuitive as ordering an Uber. If you have to hold a 4-hour training seminar just to get people to log in, the friction is too high.

4Evaluating Through a Pastoral Lens

Most software is bought by administrators but used by pastors. Administrators care about reporting. Pastors care about people.

When you demo a product, don't just look at the financial reports. Look at the Person Profile.

• Does it tell a story of their journey?
• Can I easily see their family relationships?
• Is it easy to add a pastoral note on the fly?

Why Relius is Different

We built Relius because we were tired of "admin-first" software. We wanted "ministry-first" software.

That's why we use AI to help you write emails (because pastors are busy). That's why our check-in takes 10 seconds. That's why our pricing is simple.

We don't want to be another tool you tolerate. We want to be the partner that helps you thrive.