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As a former full-time youth minister (and now volunteer worker), I know first-hand how important it is to capture and maintain accurate contact information for your students. It doesn’t matter if you have 10 students or 1,000. Having a good system in place to do this is mission critical.

While there are a few good youth ministry software packages out there, along with some quality web-based youth group management websites, you simply need a system that will fit you — even if it is just an Excel spreadsheet!

This article is just an attempt to share some things that you might want to keep in mind when choosing a youth group software package or contact management solution.

• Are you able to generate mailing labels? Yes, even in today’s world, a mailed newsletter still works (and gets stuck to the Fridge). You’ll want to be able to export your data directly to labels.
• Is it easy and convenient to keep updated? Even the best youth group software package is useless if it is not easy to get in, make updates, and get out. Web-based services offer a benefit here — especially if, like me, you don’t work from a central location all the time.
• Are you able to associate photos with your contacts? This is a must-have feature for me and my short-term memory! Being able to see photos of new students is a big boast to memorizing names.
• Can you make Family Associations? Sure, “family” has a loose definition these days, but it is still important to be able to group your students into family groups in your database system. I especially like to create a “family” group for each student so I can keep important family information, even if their family does not attend with the student.
• Can it print a check-in sheet? It is very helpful to be able to print out a sheet to take with you to youth group to use for attendance and writing down visitor info.