What is a church management system, and does your church need one?

A church management system is the software a church uses to keep track of its people and everything that happens around them: contact details, groups, rotas, events, bookings, giving and the messages that hold it all together. You’ll sometimes see it shortened to ChMS, and in the UK you’ll also hear ‘church database’ or ‘church admin software’. They all mean the same thing.

Most churches don’t set out to buy one. They arrive at it after years of spreadsheets, a giving record on the treasurer’s laptop, a rota that lives in a WhatsApp group and a website that only one person knows how to edit. This guide explains what a church management system actually does, how to tell when you need one, and what to ask before you choose.

What a church management system does

At the centre is a people database. Every other feature hangs off it, which is the whole point. Here is what a good one covers.

• People and groups. Members, contacts, families, small groups, teams and ministries, with the details your church actually tracks: DBS renewal dates, baptism dates, dietary needs, who’s happy to be photographed. Generic contact software never thought of these. A church system should let you add them as custom fields.
• Rotas and serving. Who’s welcoming, reading, on sound, making the coffee. Automatic reminders so people don’t forget, and a personal view so each volunteer can see their own dates without hunting through a spreadsheet.
• Calendar and events. Single and repeating events, colour-coded by ministry, with control over who sees what: public, members only, or one team.
• Bookings. Registrations for free and paid events (holiday clubs, courses, meals), and room bookings for your hall so two groups never turn up at the same time.
• Communications. Email newsletters, targeted emails to one group, text messages, push notifications, and chat inside the church app through Messaging and Safe Messaging. All of it goes to the right people, because the system already knows who’s in which group.
• Giving. Online donations, one-off and regular, plus a record of offline giving from the plate and standing orders, with Gift Aid declarations attached to the person. Gift Aid claims go to HMRC through Hubb’s HMRC integration, as often as you like, so the money comes back quickly.
• Pastoral care. A private record of who visited whom and when, visible only to those who should see it.
• Reporting. Attendance, giving, group lists, and the numbers your annual returns ask for.

Some systems stop at the database. Others, including Hubb, also include the church website and a church app, so the calendar on your website, the events in your app and the bookings in the office are the same events, entered once.

Signs your church needs one

You probably don’t need a church management system if you’re 20 people who all know each other and the treasurer is happy. Beyond that, these are the signs we hear most often:

• The same person’s details exist in four places, and three of them are out of date.
• The rota is a WhatsApp group, and nobody is quite sure who’s on next Sunday.
• The treasurer spends a weekend every quarter on the Gift Aid claim.
• When a volunteer moves on, the spreadsheet, the logins and the knowledge go with them.
• Personal data sits on personal laptops and phones. Under UK GDPR your church is the data controller, and every extra copy is a risk you’re carrying.
• The website is out of date because only one person can edit it, and they’re busy.

None of these is a crisis on its own. Together they’re a steady drain on the time of the people who are usually the busiest in the church. Picture a treasurer who spends one weekend every quarter matching bank statements to a giving spreadsheet before she can even start the Gift Aid claim. With the declarations already on each person’s record and the claim built for her, that weekend goes back to her. Jayne at Bishop Ridley Church put it well: their church doesn’t have a big team working on admin, communication and the website, ‘but with Hubb Church we look like we do’.

Questions to ask before you choose

• Is it built for UK churches? Gift Aid, sterling billing, UK data hosting and an understanding of how British churches actually run. A lot of what you’ll find online is American.
• Does it include the website and the app, or are they extra? Many systems are database only, so you keep a separate website provider and a separate app, and end up entering everything twice. See why your church website, app and admin belong in one system.
• Can volunteers use it? If only the office manager can work it, it won’t survive her holiday.
• How does the price change as you grow? Some systems make you jump a whole plan when you add one more person. Look for pricing that grows a little at a time.
• What support is included? A phone number answered by people who know church life is worth a great deal. So are video guides your volunteers can follow at their own pace, and free training webinars.
• Can we try it properly first? A free trial with no card details is the honest way to find out whether it fits.
• What happens to our data if we leave? Your church should own its data and be able to export it. Ask before you sign, and get the answer in writing.

How Hubb approaches it

Hubb is a church management system, a church website and a church app in one. The people database sits underneath all three. A new event goes on the website, into the app and onto the calendar in one step. A rota reminder, a giving form and a group email all know who they’re talking to.

We have been building church websites and management tools since 2002. We’re a Christian-run team based near Cambridge, a Fairtrade-registered organisation and an accredited Living Wage Employer, and more than 7,000 leaders, staff and volunteers use Hubb across many denominations. Every church gets every feature, whatever its size. Church management plans, including the website and app, start from £35 a month including VAT, and there’s nothing to pay up front. The 30-day free trial needs no payment details, and you can see it all working on our demonstration church, The Town Church.

Our Why Us page sets out the reasons churches choose us in a little more depth, and our post on the value of Hubb explains what the monthly fee actually covers. If you need to take a decision to trustees or a PCC, our Trustee Pack answers the questions they will ask: data protection, safeguarding, who you’re contracting with, and what happens if you leave. And if you’re a Church of England, Baptist or Elim church, we have written a guide for you specifically.

Frequently asked questions

Is a church management system the same as a CRM?

Close, but not quite. A CRM (customer relationship management system) is built for sales pipelines. A church management system is built around membership, groups, rotas, giving and Gift Aid, which a CRM would need heavy customisation to handle.

Do small churches need one?

Not always, but small churches often feel the benefit most, because one or two people are doing everything. A system that sends the rota reminders and produces the Gift Aid claim gives those people their evenings back.

How much does a church management system cost in the UK?

It varies widely. Most providers price by the size of your database, and some charge separately for a website, an app or text messaging. Hubb’s church management plans start from £35 a month including VAT and include the website and app, on a rolling monthly contract, so you’re never locked in. If you take online payments there’s a Hubb.Processing account at £3 a month, with 2.2% plus 20p per transaction. Churches in their first two years, counted from when you first started meeting, get 50% off the main monthly fee for two years. Our pricing page has the full detail.

Is our members’ data safe?

It should be more secure than a spreadsheet. Look for UK-based hosting, role-based permissions so people only see what their role needs, two-factor authentication for administrators, and a clear statement that your church owns its data. Our security page explains how Hubb handles this, and our Trustee Pack sets it out for governance teams.

Adam Johannes
CEO, Hubb, and more than 20 years in church software. Church member, children’s ministry volunteer, and Chair of Trustees of a Christian charity.