This Tip Will Help Your Church Avoid Some Major Headaches

Connect all of your church’s online accounts to one central web-based email address. Spend an hour or two going through every online service your church uses, any service that requires an email address: Social Media Accounts, Subscriptions, Retail Services, News Services, Contact Forms, etc. Change the email address for those accounts to this new, common email.

  • I recommend using a Gmail Account that isn’t owned by any one individual in the church. In fact it should be accessible by all program and administrative staff.
  • A web-based account ensures that any of the users can get access to the account regardless of what email system they are using. It also protects you from domain issues. If “yourchurch.org” goes down you will still have access to important services.
  • About now, some of you are thinking, “Wil, isn’t this a security risk.” It is! But having accounts connected to several different users is an even bigger security risk. If a disgruntled employee has sole control of your facebook account it could be a big problem. If your facebook account is linked to the common email, you can reset your facebook password and your common email password at the same time to lock out the disgruntled employee. If the disgruntled employee changes the common email password, it’s less likely to go unnoticed, and easier to contest.
  • Besides, having a single email lets you manage your security even easier. If an employee leaves the church, you simply have to change one password to protect both the church (and the individual that left) from liability.
  • A central email will help you save valuable time and energy every time there is a changing of the guard. There will be continuity. Someone will always have access to everything.
  • Your work email accounts can use this email as their secondary recovery email address.
  • You can receive generic information requests from your website via this email. I recommend that the head administrator be responsible for checking this email along with their own work email.

Bottom line: do an hour of work now wrangling in your accounts to protect yourself from some serious headaches in the future. Time well spent.

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