Helping churches increase impact
Contact: Karen Sebold,
865-271-9430
CORDOVA, Tenn., July 28, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Shelby Systems, a leading software and services company for churches and ministries recently celebrated their 40th anniversary at the International Shelby Conference, the firm's annual user conference which offers education, thought leadership and networking opportunities for attendees.
Photo: The Shelby team celebrates its 40-year anniversary
This year over 500 church leaders and staff joined many members of the Shelby team in Orlando, Fla., for a special worship session that marked the occasion and gave thanks for four decades of service to the church.
Over that span, more than 7,500 churches and ministries in 45 countries have relied on Shelby solutions to manage their membership and financial software needs, giving churches the ability to be more effective and efficient in ministry and increasing their impact on the world.
"We've had quite an exciting 40th year," remarked Russell McDaniel, general manager of Shelby Systems. The milestone year began with Shelby joining forces with Ministry Brands, a dynamic church solutions company that acquired Shelby in the spring of 2015.
"Teaming up with Ministry Brands has been an incredible experience. Both companies have leaders and employees who share a genuine passion to bring the best solutions possible to the church market. Ministry Brands brought technology and innovation that we were immediately able to combine with the Shelby experience and expertise to rapidly advance our next generation solutions," said McDaniel.
"The new suite of products, along with our existing Arena church management system, gives us the ability to meet the needs of all types of churches," McDaniel added.
The new suite of products are cloud-based SaaS offerings appropriately and collectively known as ShelbyNEXT and include church membership management, fund accounting, online giving and website solutions as an integrated offering. The solution also makes available integrated background check ordering from the leader in church protection services, Protect My Ministry.
"ShelbyNEXT is the culmination of years of listening, planning and designing what we think is the perfect blend of tools for ministries," said McDaniel. "The suite really rounds out our product offerings in addition to our Arena Church Management platform."
"Shelby has seen strong adoption of its upgraded offerings over the last year with hundreds of churches already realizing substantial benefit," shared Mark White, executive vice president of church management platforms for Ministry Brands and a former executive with Shelby Systems. "This has been such a positive transformational year for the Shelby team. Being able to partner with Ministry Brands and the other sister companies we work with has provided a spark that we know will power the Shelby team for decades to come."
Shelby is powered by a strong group of dedicated and passionate people. "Our people make us great," said McDaniel. "Our customers are constantly letting us know that our expertise in the church market and our years of experience make an incredible difference. Whether it is the team's knowledge of the nuances of membership management or our industry leading understanding of fund accounting for the church, the Shelby team is second to none."
In April of 2016, Shelby team members joined other Ministry Brands employees in El Salvador. During the trip, the team of 12 worked alongside a local team at a child development center focused on enriching the lives and sharing the Gospel with children in need. The center is funded in part by Ministry Brands and several employees have signed on to sponsor children served by the center.
"The leaders and employees at Shelby and Ministry Brands are aligned in their desire to live out their faith and serve God at home and abroad. It is part of our mutual DNA and a big part of what makes us good at what we do. Over the last 40 years, we've been blessed to be able to assist the Church in ministry. I think we are on a great path to help increase the impact as we move into the next 40 years," remarked White.
About Shelby Systems
Shelby Systems supplies software, services and support to help churches and ministries thrive. For more information, visit www.shelbysystems.com.
About Ministry Brands
Ministry Brands is leading the way with technology driven solutions and market leading services for churches and ministries. We do what we do, so you can do ministry. For more information, visit www.ministrybrands.com.
