Connection Card Pro Blog

We are excited to announce that Connection Card, Inc. has agreed to acquire Visional Apps, LLC along with their app, the SignUp Kiosk! 

Visional Apps had announced that it would be discontinuing service. Instead, Connection Card has decided to purchase the company in order to keep their app and service running. We see this as a great opportunity to serve the existing customers of SignUp Kiosk and allow them to continue to have access to the product that they know and love. This acquisition will help Connection Card Pro to expand even more and provide even better value to all of our customers, existing and new ones! 

In a typical church, only 20% of first-time guests will become part of the church. That number triples after their third visit! 

When someone new attends your church service for the first time, how do you connect with them? 

Mother's Day is May 14, 2023 - Begin planning your Mother's Day outreach opportunities now to minimize stress and to be effective in reaching your community this Mother's Day!

You may have noticed a trend in the outreach ideas we share. We rarely, if ever, encourage you to put on a big show or invite people to a service. Our heart behind the outreach ideas that we share is that you'll use these to take the love and hope of the Gospel out into your community, meet people where they are, and serve them no strings attached.

Easter, Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday - This time of year is a great opportunity to reach out to people in your community. Yet, just like Christmas, it can often be a major stress point for many churches. Because of our commitment to helping churches be effective through simplicity, here are four Easter outreach ideas that any church, small or large, can carry out without the stress and burnout that comes with major productions.

The beauty of these outreach ideas is that you can involve the entire church, or various groups within the church. These ideas don't fall solely upon the few technical and musically gifted individuals (like all major "outreaches" typically do).

How does your church reach new residents in your area? How do you contact new neighbors to invite them to church? Here’s a great idea that your church could use to connect with new residents in your city or neighborhood when they move in. 

When other believers move to a new town, many of them have trouble finding a new local church. Some even slip away from connecting with a local body of believers because of this barrier.

Yes, we know it's early January and that Valentine's Day is over a month away. But, like we mentioned in our Maximizing Your Church’s Impact in 2022 article on January 2, our goal in 2022 is to help your church be effective and minimize stress and burnout for your staff and volunteers.

That said, we're five weeks away from Valentine's Day. Now's the time to start planning an outreach opportunity to avoid the stress of last-minute planning. Don't have any outreach teams in place yet? No problem! Is there a leader or staff member who's passionate about any of these ideas? Is there a family in your church willing to take ownership in a Valentine's Day outreach?

These are instructions on how to make the most of the 2022 Outreach Planning Calendar which you can download here. (Or Canadian version here.)

For the complete article about how to make the most of your church's outreach activities in 2022, read it here.

How does your church maximize its impact on your community while minimizing the stress and volunteer burnout that comes with a busy schedule? Here are 3 tips to help your church make the most of 2022. 

You and the other leaders in your church have tons of great ideas on how to reach out to your community and spread the Gospel, grow your church and disciple believers. But, let's be honest - it seems like with every new idea comes more stress and burnout for your already limited group of volunteers and core members.

November 24, 2021 - We’ve just released version 1.3.1 of Connection Card Pro. As with all new releases, your account is automatically updated to this newest version without any waiting or downloads and you have immediate access to all new features! This new release focuses primarily on a new Administrative User Roles feature. Along with other minor updates and improvements.

Using the new Administrative User Roles (which can be found in Manage > Administrative User Roles) you have greater control over the permissions of each user. Once you've created a role and customized it to the permissions required for that type of user, you can apply that role to any users with ease. 

October 11, 2021 - We've just released version 1.2.9 of Connection Card Pro. As with all new releases, your account is automatically updated to this newest version without any waiting or downloads and you have immediate access to all new features!

This new release includes a completely redone user interface for sending emails and text messages. We believe this new interface is much simpler and more streamlined, which will help you send emails and text messages with ease!

When visitors come to your church, you naturally want them to join your flock. As a pastor or church leader, you know that people should come to worship God and not for the experience. However, people who don't like something in the church or don't feel welcome may not come back. While you can't adjust the doctrinal foundation or major physical attributes of your church to please every visitor who comes through the doors, you can control whether visitors feel welcome. This guide will give you some actionable solutions that you can use regardless of your denomination. First, it's important to understand what makes visitors feel unwelcome.

Since nobody is perfect, even churches are susceptible to cliques or groups. Although grouping is an issue that leaders must address separately, they should always assume it as a possible hindrance when making a hospitality or welcoming plan for visitors. These are some additional reasons why guests may not feel comfortable:

Based on a recent survey in 2018, giving to religious organizations (churches, missionaries, and other ministries) has consistently been America's single largest recipient of charitable giving. However, that doesn't mean that all Christians have been obedient to the calling of selfless giving. That same survey found that only 5% of Christians give 10% of their income and nearly 80% of all Christians only give 2% of their income. How can we encourage giving in our churches and make it easier for people to give?

Is Text-to-Give Worth It?
At first glance, it seems like a "cool" and trendy way to make giving simple. But, there are many pitfalls to text-to-give and many other options that may suit your church better.