Anyone using SaaS for streamlining callings?

Do any of you use web forms, SaaS, etc in your callings? I need something so that I can email members and they can look at a calendar and pick available times to sign up for volunteering at the storehouse during our time slots. I think this would also work pretty well for ministering reporting related stuff.

I figure Google would be a good solution here but I don't know where to begin to get a form to talk to a calendar, to mass (individually) email members, to send email reminders of the time they promised to go etc.

The technology is one thing, but security is another. I'd highly suggest avoiding any kind of system that requires a church leader to input/sync information about other members into a non-church system. If the member inputs information about themselves (such as registration for a conference), that's fine. The member is consenting to put their information there.

But having someone input information about another is something I'd avoid. If it goes bad, someone could end up with a "life altering" legal situation. And because it's outside of anything in the policy manuals, the church may not defend it.

russellhltn wrote:The technology is one thing, but security is another. I'd highly suggest avoiding any kind of system that requires a church leader to input/sync information about other members into a non-church system. If the member inputs information about themselves (such as registration for a conference), that's fine. The member is consenting to put their information there.

But having someone input information about another is something I'd avoid. If it goes bad, someone could end up with a "life altering" legal situation. And because it's outside of anything in the policy manuals, the church may not defend it.

I don't really see a risk in emailing a link out to EQ/RS members asking that if they'd be interested in volunteering to work the Storehouse during our times to please visit the link and select which day(s) they would be available.

ryanmercer wrote:I don't really see a risk in emailing a link out to EQ/RS members asking that if they'd be interested in volunteering to work the Storehouse during our times to please visit the link and select which day(s) they would be available.

As long as you're doing the emailing and not inputting the email addresses into another system.

Given the Church doesn't provide us with email addresses you're exposing the information by emailing a member from your personal account as countless services are often linked to a users email in the Web 2.0 era.

ryanmercer wrote:Given the Church doesn't provide us with email addresses you're exposing the information by emailing a member from your personal account as countless services are often linked to a users email in the Web 2.0 era.

The difference here is that you're either using church systems or using the information in the way it's intended. A far cry from setting up your own system which may or may not be secure.