"It doesn't matter how you feel, God is worthy to be praised." These are words to live by and the motto of the Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church. One thing is certain, with nearly 7,000 members, this church is an incredibly dynamic church in Washington, DC. Ministering to the needs of a congregation of this size can be a challenge particularly when it comes to the administrative and business aspects of the church.

Exponential Growth. Deacon Dwight Ellard is no stranger to this ministry; he has been active in the church for approximately 21 years and has seen some significant changes during those years. From the days of handwritten reports and the tedious task of manually processing data to the ever changing environment that technology brings, Dwight has seen it all. Just about 13 years ago, a decision was made to purchase a software management program. "The church was growing so fast that our system of doing things wasn't working for us," explained Ellard. As a result, the Board of Trustees set out to investigate various options to better suit their needs. After evaluating the competition, it was a clear decision to partner with ACS Technologies.

Currently, Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church has 93 employees, all with workstations and access to ACS products. The Financial Suite has been a tremendous benefit to Ellard, "Having ACS has saved me countless hours when it comes to generating reports. Now I don't have to transfer information from one spreadsheet to the next. I have easy access to multiple types of information and greater accountability and integrity in the work I do."

Multitasking. With over 50 auxiliary ministries, Greater Mt. Calvary is reliant on a product that can assist with the scheduling of all the church events. Events Planner and Scheduler, Michael Grayson knows firsthand how instrumental the Ministry Scheduler module has been for their organization. "I don't know how we could support a church of this size without this product. This tool allows me to have an overall picture of what is going on in the day of the life of the church. Ministry Scheduler lets me know instantly what rooms are available and when. Our ministry directors don't have to wait for an answer and I don't have to reference someone else's calendar or fumble through endless pages of data and room request forms."

Monumental Membership. Al Izlar, director of membership for the 7,000 member church can't even remember how he got his job done without ACS. Izlar has been using the product since 1998. "I use ACS all day long. One time when we had a power outage, I told everyone here in the office that if I can't use ACS, I might as well go home!"

Izlar especially enjoys the map feature of the membership module that allows the user to instantly retrieve a map to a member's home within seconds. "This has helped us to be much more efficient, particularly when a member of our church is in crisis," Izlar notes. Izlar uses ACS to help him generate reports and help to break out various demographics within the church membership. Currently, they are working on downloading the church membership directory photographs into their system.

Financial Processes. Having used ACS for approximately seven years, Financial Accountant, Novia Davis is always learning something new and incorporating ways to make the product meet the needs of Greater Mount Calvary's business operations. "This is a wonderful, church friendly product," Davis commented, "It has saved me hours, days, even months when I work on certain projects."

Just last year Davis spearheaded the effort to process receivables in an ACS environment. Previously, receivables were handled using another software product that wasn't as effective as they had hoped. She found ACS to be much easier to work with and provided them with accurate, timely information. She also noted that the reports that were generated tended to be more user friendly for those customers who were reading the reports and now provided more detailed information. Processing receivables has also saved time in terms of executing payments and invoices consistently. Now it is done automatically so the process is no longer part of a monthly ritual.

The benefits of having ACS are endless. "The support team is superior, in their timeliness, and especially with their ability to make us feel like we are a priority. I know that they spend a lot of time helping us out when we need it," Davis remarked. Davis also helps to train other staff members and churches that are starting to use the ACS Technologies products.

About Greater Mt. Calvary Church
God has blessed the ministry of Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church through the Vision of Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr., founder and pastor. The church was established under his leadership in 1966. Since that time, God has richly added to the ministry, Pastors Alfred and Susie Owens who now pastor a flock of almost 7,000 members and because of their faithfulness; thousands of lives have been touched, changed and delivered. Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church is a church where everybody is somebody. It is a church ordained by God where His children gather to worship and to be inspired by the preaching and teaching of His Word.

ACS Technologies Products & Services Used
People Suite: People, Contributions, Connections, Special Mailings
Growth Suite: Ministry Scheduler, Report Designer
Financial Suite: General Ledger, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable
Services Suite: Network/Multi-User, Faith Outreach Card

Web Site
http://www.gmchc.org/