Creating Time By Reducing Complexity In Tech

When gathering my thoughts for this article, I actually sat back and said “Oh wow!” out loud. Realizing I’ve worked for two decades in the same lane came as a bit of a shock.

But perhaps the surprise was because it’s a lane that I love, and it rarely feels like work. I intentionally grounded my career in customers, in fostering growth and developing digital solutions, and my trajectory has never wavered from bringing communities and humans together through connection. I truly believe the world needs more people coming together, aiding and encouraging one another, and taking a leading role in our society.

My role as Vice President of Product at Pushpay allows me to forward that vision, alongside a passionate team who feels just as strongly as I do that, above all else, our products should address and minimize the obstacles churches, their volunteers, and community members face in their mission of connection and spiritual growth.

Church Concerns Are Evolving

At Pushpay, we don’t just guess at what’s important to the 14,000 churches we serve. We constantly talk with those we work with, ideate with them—and sponsor an annual industry-leading study to identify the wants and needs of the leaders we aim to help.

The 2023 State of Church Tech report distilled several powerful insights, but in my eyes, some trends stood out above the rest:

When church leaders were asked what’s “extremely important” when considering new tech for adoption, “best software to solve the problem” ranked highly—as you’d expect. But conversely, a whopping 86% of respondents claimed they have no interest in increasing their number of digital tools.

In that same vein, when asked about the obstacles they face when adopting technology, leaders claimed implementation, onboarding and training, and time were among the most major hurdles.

Now, if you zoom out and look at the story told by those data points, you’re forced to conclude that everyone’s still looking for quality tools to advance their mission—but they have no interest in wasting time and increasing digital clutter.

Tech Rush vs. Tech Refinement

Stick with me through this metaphor:

Let’s say you’ve decided to learn to cook seriously for the first time. Out of necessity to kickstart your new hobby, and driven by giddy enthusiasm, you quickly acquire a wide array of pots and pans, utensils and aprons, spices and oils and all the rest.

A year later, you realize that you’ve not once used some of your pots. The drawer with the spatulas and ladles and whatnots is overstuffed, and constantly gets in the way of finding the few tools you regularly use. You’ve decided you can’t stand baking—the cookie sheets are gathering dust, the flour’s long forgotten—but you’ve discovered a love of Asian cuisine, and just know that a high-end wok could take your passion and skill to the next level.

Thousands and thousands of churches are living through that scenario with their tech right now. Driven by necessity and seeking quick results during the pandemic, leaders scooped up digital solutions like they were two-for-one oven mitts to keep their ministries afloat.

But now churches have a moment to breathe. They’ve identified what’s working, what’s not, what’s actually hampering their progress—and they’re actively working to hone in the tools and techniques that are working best.

And they’re telling us that, above all else, their priority is time.

Everyone Is Time Poor

One of the primary goals of all church technology solutions is to save leaders and congregations time, so that they can shift their focus away from administrative work and direct their energy toward building and supporting their community. The features and solutions my team prioritize are designed with this directive front-of-mind.

Pushpay’s technology solution, which consolidates ChMS, Apps, Giving, and now Resi Media, is a major part of that effort. Having these platforms integrated eliminates tedious manual tasks and paints a fuller picture of your congregation.

Over the year ahead, we’re focused on releasing the features we hear churches asking for. Whether it’s improvements to how you manage roles and volunteers, how congregants store and update their payment details, or how we integrate into other tools—in every case, we’re focused on simplicity, and that essential ingredient of time.

That said, we innovate with the understanding that not every church is looking to completely overhaul their digital toolkit. Most leadership teams already rely on software and platforms they’re satisfied with and—completely reasonably—have no inclination to move on from those tools.

No worries. Our software integrates with your favorite tools, too.

Pushpay partners with eighty (and counting!) common software solutions, allowing users of our tools to continue succeeding through their usual processes, while also seamlessly incorporating the features offered through our tech.

We’re driven by a never-ending process of development, of trial and error and good intentions, that revolves around this core idea of time. Whether our wide-ranging suite of tools is the best answer for a particular ministry, or if a few of our solutions can supplement and amplify your church’s current software kit, we want to give you time to support, build, and elevate the communities you so passionately lead.

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