Free training for pastors and church leaders.
Two classes, each a set of short modules with a lesson and a quiz. No signup required to read or take any of them. Everything here teaches a decision or a skill that works whatever tools your church uses — or doesn't use yet. We build church software ourselves, so where our own tools are relevant we name them alongside the alternatives.
13 free modules · about 3 hours of reading · no account needed
Who this training is for
Pastors, church administrators, and the volunteers who end up owning the church website, the announcements, and the giving page — often on top of everything else. Most of the churches we serve are small, and most of the people doing this work never trained for it. You don't need a technical background. Each lesson starts from the ministry goal, not the software.
How it works
Every module is a short written lesson you can read in one sitting, followed by a quiz that checks the ideas that matter most. Foundations comes first: it teaches the questions to ask before choosing anything, like who will own this in six months, what it will really cost, and how you'll get people to use it. Build comes second, and walks through doing the work yourself. You can take the modules in order or jump straight to the one your church needs this week.
Not sure where to begin?
Pick the situation that sounds most like your church.
You're about to choose a tool and want to choose well.
Choosing Church Technology You'll Actually UseApply a five-question filter — ownership, sunset risk, total cost, business model, adoption plan — to any technology decision, before looking at a single product.
12 min readVisitors can't easily find your church online.
Finding Your Church OnlineRun a 4-point audit on your current website (or the absence of one) and pick an approach that matches your church's actual capacity.
12 min readYou've decided on your tools and are ready to build.
Set Up Your Church's Digital Home BaseSettle ownership, admin access, and your church's canonical details before creating any account — so the setup survives the volunteer who built it.
10 min readThe two classes
6 modules · 76 min total
Foundations
Decide well
The decisions that come before any tool: what to weigh, what to ask, and how to avoid the choices churches most often regret.
- 1.Choosing Church Technology You'll Actually Use
- 2.Finding Your Church Online
- 3.Reaching Your Congregation Without the Noise
- 4.Digital Giving Without the Awkward Ask
- 5.Welcoming Newcomers & Building a Volunteer Culture
- 6.Staying Connected Between Sundays
7 modules · 88 min total
Build
Do it yourself
Hands-on modules that walk through building the thing — a website, an app home screen, online giving — with a recorded demonstration for each.
- 1.Set Up Your Church's Digital Home Base
- 2.Build a Church Website That Answers the Five Questions
- 3.Design an App Home Screen People Actually Use
- 4.Set Up Online Giving Safely
- 5.Write Announcements People Actually Read
- 6.Put Your Events and Groups Where People Look
- 7.Launch to Your Congregation and Keep It Running
Training and our own tools
Faith Software also runs myChelper, a free church app, website, and giving platform, and the Build class uses it for its demonstrations. But the training is a charitable program in its own right, not a sales funnel: the lessons teach skills that work on any platform, name real alternatives alongside ours, and never ask you to sign up for anything. If you finish the training and choose a different tool, it did its job.
Questions about a lesson? Write to us. Want to help keep the training free? Support our work.