Can you remember what it was like to do your job before software to help you streamline various tasks? Software, in general, has revolutionized the way everyone does business; then, factor in the church-specific software that has evolved over the years, and your job is even easier, as the programs out there are meeting the specific needs of your job.

In our annual software focus, we've provided some great information about the advantages of various types of church software and tips for evaluating and making your selection. We have also included, at the end of this section, a roundup of some of the leading software packages available to churches right now.

Here are some great take-aways from this section.

Church Management Software
You want match church management software features to your congregation's practices. Individual congregational practices and culture vary greatly. You need to find software that meets your needs. Think about your congregation's "culture"--that is, how you do things. Knowing how your church's systems work--how and why you do what you do--will help you pick software that matches your needs, rather than making you fit your needs to a software's capabilities.

Library Automation Software
A creative church library ministry is a vital part of the life of your church. Resources you provide help children learn about their faith and provide the support members need as they seek to live strong Christian lives. Automation will help you increase interest in and use of your library materials. Automating simply means using specialized software to help with cataloging, circulation, administration and card catalog. Automation software in a well-run library can truly contribute to the ministry of your church.

Bible Reference Software
Though the cost of buying Bible reference software can be expensive, the benefits to Bible study are great. Software will not remove the need for study, but it will make that need easier to meet. Bible software is a very competitive market, and you owe it to yourself to consider all your options. Most people in the market for Bible software will have either cost or content as their main criteria. If you have no particular resource in mind, you may make your choice based on what price level you can afford. It may be, however, that you are not so concerned with price as long as it contains a particular reference work.