Why REALM?

Our church systems were old and dated.  Our member and friends of the church lists have been in multiple places, electronic and paper. It has been difficult to keep these up-to-date and accurate. This has impacted our ability to accurately report our membership as well as ensuring we have the correct contact information for each member and friend of the church.  The conversion to REALM is a solution to this.  REALM is a state-of-the-art cloud-based church management system, designed specifically for churches provided by ACS Technologies. As ACS provided our prior system, the conversion to REALM was simpler and more efficient. 

What does REALM do?

The answer is, basically everything. Our financial systems are upgraded, our member lists are upgraded, and the system allows for real-time updated directory. The system allows for both the church staff and each individual to be able to update their contact information. The system also allows for us to be able to create groups of people, such as the Session, College of Elders, Sunday School, youth groups, circles, etc. 

How is security?

REALM is a cloud-based state of the art system which has strong security protection. Each member will set their own password for their protection. The other advantage is, in the event of a major disaster, our church data are protected, as opposed to being on the computers in our office.

How do you access REALM?

First, you can access the REALM through the email invitation you received.  The instructions for accessing REALM are at the bottom of this note. The church office can assist as needed.

Why did I receive a privacy notification from REALM?

The privacy option was changed to allow members to see the other members contact information.  Julie, who is the administrator, had to set everyone's status to be in the online directory for REALM.  This was the cause of the privacy notice you received.  If anyone wishes to not be in the published directory, you can do so in REALM by adjusting your profile or by calling Julie.

Path Forward

Our current effort is to ask everyone to register and update their profiles. It would be great if everyone would also include a photo. As we get past the virus and more normal, we will then begin to engage the features beyond the financial and directory for all to use.

Learn more – here is the web site for the REALM product. We invite you to check this out to see the tool we have now in our church. https://www.acstechnologies.com/products/realm