Churches are not the simple worshiping places they are always perceived to be. Running a church in an organized way requires lots of effort. Managing a church is like operating corporations. The hierarchy and divisions within the institutions are very same and complex. The difference lies in the purpose and earning sources. Donations and contributions of members are being used to run churches. This makes it very important to keep the proper directory of finances and maintain a member list.
For growing a church or renovating, the management needs to increase the membership. The administrative work increases as the members increase. All these functions require proper management and bookkeeping skills. Church membership software is the perfect digital aid for church management. They are software explicitly designed for record keeping work.
The church membership software helps churches manage their operations and automate various membership processes. Today, there are many fantastic church management software and dedicated membership software available.
Let us look at some best church membership software of [CY ].
1. Instant Church Directory
The simple yet effective software is a complete solution for directory maintenance activities of your church. Instant Church Directory allows churches to maintain information record of members like name, birthday, photos, and address. User can easily group members’ information into family information. The directory is full of customization features such as adding new information fields and importing custom pages from third-party apps. With ICD, users can generate a photo membership directory of their church from scratch in a few hours. 
Features
- ICD church membership software is available on multiple platforms. It provides website software, and iOS software, and Kindle Fire support. This feature allows church members to access church information from anywhere.
- An administrator can send a quick email or text message to the whole directory or group of members anytime. The feature is available on both desktop and mobile versions. User needs to add a text message plan with minimal fees while email service is free.
- Upload the information directory to your website in a few simple steps. You can download the PDF or link our directory website with your church website.
- If you don't have a church website, your members can log in to members.instantchurchdirectory.com with a username and password. The website shows your church directory to members online.
- Birthday tracking feature regularly updates administrator about birthdays with notifications. The birthday page of church membership software also displays the upcoming birthdays.
- Exporting directory data is straightforward with CSV and PDF formats. CSV formats are helpful in preparing envelops or mailing labels through Mail merge software while a PDF directory is printable in a few clicks.
Pricing
- Free Plan: The church membership software is available for a free trial of 30 days.
- Monthly Plan: The fully featured software is available in a payment plan of $9.99 per month. The sum gets deducted every month from the credit card.
- Yearly Plan: The yearly plan deducts the whole amount for the year at once. However, the price is available to discount, averaging to $7.90 per month.
2. FellowshipOne
FellowshipOne church management software is a robust and intuitive solution for church management needs. It includes all the features of church membership software and much more. FellowshipOne is articulately formulated to smoothly handle administrative and accounting activities of large churches with over 1000 members. It maintains an active directory of all members with milestone tracking and voluntary work records of each. The software also houses unique security features like background checks of members. 
Features
- This software comes with the smart family grouping element that helps in aggregating the members into groups. This makes the communication process smooth and helps in tracking family milestones.
- The software features check-in options for weekly congregations. Users can check themselves in, or a volunteer can assist in checking in the users into the software. Users can also check in through their FellowshipOne mobile app.
- The integrated background checks ensure that all the members are safe, and there are no disturbing and dangerous elements in the congregations.
- Users can easily access church photo directories anywhere and anytime through the web, Android smartphones, and iOS devices.
- The software helps in accounting activities through maintaining donation records of all members. The platform also provides a donation path to members through online payments.
- The church membership software generates weekly, monthly, and annual reports on command. These reports provide information such as head counts for Sunday masses, the total headcount of members and donation graphs. This helps the management in data-driven decision making.
Pricing
FellowshipOne provides different software solutions for different administrative needs. The standard FellowshipOne church management software can fulfill most of the church membership software functions. The vendor does not disclose the price of the software. You can request for a demo followed by a price quote through the official website of FellowshipOne.
3. Church Suite
Church Suite is a cloud-hosted church database software. The church membership software aids church administration in maintaining information of members across different criteria and custom information fields. It is specialized software which can integrate the church databases of various branches of a church. This helps the administrators to compare progress and review activities of other churches. The software also has ministry functions with a member-facing approach. This gives easy information access to members of the church. The software is also available on Android and iOS platforms.
Features
- The address book module includes smooth communication ways to a whole directory or a group of people from the list. Admins can send messages through email or SMS.
- The donation module maintains a record of donations and contributions coming from members. This keeps legal proof and helps in the financial accounting of the church. Users can donate through online banking or links sent through SMS.
- Church Suite features an attendance module enabling user check-ins in every event. The attendance can be meticulously analyzed through digital reports. The attendance data is then entered into individual records automatically.
- Robust reports are available for all directory features. User can see donation, volunteer work, birthdays, and other stories on command.
- The software provides support and training to administrators at every step of the journey.
- The resource management options help you to distribute the available resources efficiently. This helps in the allocation of volunteer works to willing members.
Pricing
The pricing of church membership software varies on the basis of modules and the number of members of your church. The most basic package starts at £9 with address book module and 100 member support. Every additional module costs an extra sum, and increasing members also increase the fee.
