By Farica Chang, Managing Principal
Personal connections can spark real change—for community hubs as well as the people they support. Here’s what happened when one of our team saw the chance to give back.
How It Started: A Partnership Built on Trust
For churches and nonprofits, serving the community is at the heart of it all. Between hosting local outreach events and supporting overseas missions, the work of a flagship church in the St. Louis area (our CTO Luke Bragg’s church) impacted countless lives for the better.
But behind the scenes, their operations were becoming increasingly strained.
IT isn’t just what we do; it’s who we are—so even off the clock, it wasn’t long before Luke noticed the technological issues adding to the church’s struggles. What began as a conversation about stretched resources, outdated systems, and looming cybersecurity risks turned into a collaboration that would transform their operations, allowing them to better serve their mission.
“As a multi-staff church with thousands of members that operates every day of the week, we have a variety of IT needs. Anderson Technologies has a team of specialists that have been able to service all them in a timely fashion.” – A.C, Senior Associate Pastor
Problem 1: IT Capabilities Stretched to the Limit
Like many smaller organizations, the church relied on limited resources to manage their systems. This worked when the church was smaller, but as outreach programs grew, the load became unmanageable.
Their key problems?
1. Volunteers couldn’t check attendees in for events.
2. Staff struggled to manage registrations and outreach efforts.
3. Daily IT needs were ignored in favor of putting out fires.
The church simply couldn’t keep up, and the lack of structure was taking its toll. Minor issues became major headaches, creating frustration among staff and volunteers alike.
How IT Support Can Help:
Partnering with an IT provider meant access to an entire team of experts like those at Anderson Technologies. We:
- Audited the church’s systems to identify areas for improvement.
- Established a structured support system where issues could be resolved quickly.
- Provided scalable solutions to support growth, ensuring their outreach efforts weren’t hindered by technical problems.
With professional IT support in place, their staff could focus on their programs instead of troubleshooting tech problems.
Problem 2: Growing Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
According to a 2023 report, more than a quarter of nonprofits worldwide have experienced a cyberattack before, and churches are in the same firing line. They’re all seen as low hanging fruit seen by cybercriminals, increasingly targeted by cybercriminals who know these groups tend to lack advanced protections.
The unfortunate bottom line is cybercriminals really don’t care who’s on the receiving end of their attacks, as long as they have weak enough defenses.
As we often hear from nonprofits, cybersecurity wasn’t a top priority for the flagship church in the St. Louis —until we uncovered some major security vulnerabilities. Being entrusted with such sensitive member information (like bank details and donation records), the church had a lot to lose.
How IT Support Can Help:
We implemented enterprise-grade security—yes, even churches need it—to protect private data and prevent critical systems from being compromised.
This included:
Patching systems to address vulnerabilities and prevent attacks.
Adding email and data encryption to safeguard sensitive information.
Ensuring compliance with financial security requirements.
These changes not only secured the church’s operations—they also went a long way to reinforce trust among its members.
Problem 3: Being Held Back by Unsuitable IT Systems
The church was also part of the 67% of nonprofits using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to track member donations.
While well-intentioned—CRMs make managing data and reaching members faster and more easily—the system was ill-suited for their growing needs. Instead of a tailored solutions, they’d been relying on an open-source platform with little developer support. As a result:
Volunteers struggled to engage with outdated tools.
Tasks like event registration became time-consuming and error-prone.
New volunteers faced a steep learning curve, limiting their ability to contribute effectively.
Ultimately, the unsuitable systems created roadblocks to outreach. Staff spent time fighting with technology instead of connecting with the community.
How IT Support Can Help:
Our team worked with church leadership to identify systems that better aligned with their mission. Then, we implemented a supported, cloud-based platform that made life easier for staff and volunteers.
This enabled:
Improved event management: Volunteers could check in attendees seamlessly, reducing frustration.
Simplified workflows: Through automating administrative tasks (which you can learn more about here), processes were streamlined, saving time and reducing errors.
Better support: Staff now had tools designed to grow with the organization.
By modernizing their systems, the church removed obstacles that had been preventing them from fully engaging with the community.
Lacking Structure Causes IT Issues to Snowball
How IT Support Can Help:
Without project management or IT oversight, the church’s operations were chaotic. Problems were only addressed when they reached a crisis point, and there was no clear plan to move forward.
This reactive approach can feel inevitable for many organizations, and it leaves critical issues unresolved:
Security gaps were ignored until they became urgent.
Systems were outdated because no one had the capacity to implement upgrades.
Departments weren’t consulted about their needs, so solutions often fell short.
We provided the church with a vCIO (virtual Chief Information Officer)—someone to guide their technical strategy and set priorities that made sense for their needs. This opened the door to structured project management, establishing clear plans with definitive deadlines and measurable milestones.
Now, leadership could confidently tell staff:
“Here’s the plan for improving our systems.”
“These are the targets we’re heading for.”
“This is when your issue will be resolved.”
The result? Less uncertainty, greater accountability, and a more proactive approach to IT management.
The Outcome: Tech That Supports Outreach Efforts, Instead of Stalling Them
With Anderson Technologies’ support, the church saw a true transformation. Their systems are now secure, efficient, and scalable—allowing staff and volunteers to focus on connecting with people instead of wrestling with IT problems.
Trust Restored: Members feel confident their data is secure.
Time Saved: Staff and volunteers spend less time troubleshooting tech and more time serving the community.
Enhanced Outreach: The church can manage events, registrations, and donations effortlessly.
Perhaps the most significant change is the sense of relief. The church knows it has a trusted IT partner to call on when issues arise.
“Anderson Technologies has exceeded all our expectations. Not only do they resolve problems quickly, but they also educate us on best practices and ways to improve how we do things. It’s truly a joy to have them as part of our team.”
– A.K, Ministry Assistant
Don’t Let IT Be a Barrier to Your Mission
Churches and non-profits exist to help their communities. But without the right tools, their ability to make an impact can be severely limited. Whether you’re struggling with stretched resources, cybersecurity concerns, or outdated systems, professional IT support can help.
Partnering with a trusted IT provider gives you:
Peace of mind that your systems are secure.
More time to focus on outreach, not IT problems.
Scalable solutions that grow with your mission.
At Anderson Technologies, we believe in supporting the people who support others (read about more companies we’ve helped here and here). Together, we can build systems that empower your team and push you towards your goals more effectively.
Anderson Technologies: Real People Delivering Impactful IT Solutions for Businesses and Nonprofits
For over 25 years, Anderson Technologies has leveraged our expertise for the benefit of our clients, supplying them with suitable, secure IT and strategic guidance for their technological future.
We’re a dynamic team of IT professionals with over 200 years of combined experience and specialist certifications to back up our knowledge. As a trusted advisor, we don’t just focus on today. We strive to make technology an asset for your team long into the future.
Ready to secure your organization? Contact us today to get started.
