I serve on staff at a large program-sized congregation and one of the new things we are exploring is Google Calendar. We just started using it this week and here are my initial impressions: it rocks!!! I will not be doing a full-blown review of all the features of this program (there are a lot of reviews already out there) but rather, I will be highlighting the benefits of this program in a congregational setting.
As pastors, we all know that the three attributes we need to excel at are; communication, organization and planning and Google Calendar can aid you in all three! Prior to making the switch to Google Calendar, we were like most congregations in that we had a master calendar in the secretary’s office that listed all the upcoming baptisms, weddings and congregational events. If someone wanted to reserve a room or the sanctuary, they would have to call the office and the secretary would pencil it in. This type of system worked, but it was limited to scheduling only during office hours. Now with Google Calendar, anyone on the staff can place an event or task on the shared calendar anytime day or night and have access to it (as long as you have an internet connection). So if I am planning a Bible Study on Wednesday night in the fellowship hall, I just have to enter the data in the calendar and everyone who shares the calendar can see it on our website, their desktop, mobile device or smart-phone.
The other advantage that I see right away, is that Google Calendar syncs effortlessly with my personal calendar on my mobile device (an IPad). If I am called away to make a hospital call, I just enter it into my IPad calendar, and instantly the secretary and my colleague know where I am and if I will be available or not. This syncing feature alone saves me from having to reenter data from the church calendar into my personal calendar, a huge timesaver!!!
Another advantage that became readily apparent is the ability to assign notes to an event. This comes in very handy when planning worship services. For example, our pastoral staff has scheduled an installation service during one of upcoming worship services. I placed a note for that event to serve as a reminder for our secretary to make the appropriate changes to the worship service outline. I can click on any event to see the note, and know at a glance what is happening during that event.
The other advantage is that the entire staff (and only the staff) can make changes or add events or tasks to the calendar. If I look at the calendar and see a new event scheduled (a baptism perhaps) I can click on it and see who scheduled it and if there are any other notes that I may need to know. Another feature worth mentioning is that these notes and other tasks can be made “private” so that only the staff can see them.
On the downside, there is a learning curve just as there is with any new software. If you are somewhat computer (and especially internet) suave, you will find it no more challenging than posting a comment to this blog.
So far, we are liking the program and just beginning to tap into its potential. At this point, I would rate Google Calendar 4 out of 5 stars. If you have any questions, tips or tricks please post a comment, we’d love to hear from you!
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