Feature... Data Capture (Text Bots)
Keeping the conversation going is an essential part of a strong, healthy relationship, and for these connections to be effective, you must have the right information at the right time. For example, feedback about who’s interested in your sermon topics, life groups, and church events, so you can be sure you are really answering the needs of your flock. Or keeping your contact information updated, so texts and emails arrive at their intended destinations. And what about capturing and updating your new guest data?
Enter the PastorsLine Church Communication System, no links, Data Capture (Text Bot) feature. A text bot is an automated series of text messages. Using a few questions that prompt a few quick responses, text bots enable you to capture real time, relevant information for all your needs.
I heard about PastorsLine via a search on DuckDuckGo - searched for “church texting” or something like that.
We signed up because the automations were really nice. For example, all of the interaction is done via text - some other services we tried just sent a link to a web form. That works, but not as easy as a brief back and forth conversation.
Michael Schuermann, Pastor
“PastorsLine does what other texting services don't or can't. The response by text feature is the best. Rather than sending a respondent to a form, PastorsLine can automate a conversation that happens by text to request and capture the info you want. You can also do surveys. The interactive nature of texting has increased the personal touch we provide to our congregation and guests. It's the natural way to communicate today and done in a natural, native way.”
Brian F., Lead Pastor
Is capturing needed information becoming overwhelming?
Are you (and your staff...if you have any) spending lots of time running after people’s data? If it feels like a never-ending job, that’s because it is. You are never going to finish. Perhaps you are feeling that the time you are spending on this could be better spent on other things...and you are right.
Automating your information capture is a great solution for several important reasons.
First, you are able to capture MORE information with FEWER resources. After setting up a text bot driven data capture, it runs, over and over, without you doing anything.
Second, text bots don’t care when they work. They never eat, sleep, or need family time. So, they are available 24/7/365, increasing communication flexibility.
Here’s how data capture with text bots can improve your church communication, and in turn, your relationships with your ministry.
The human touch
“Text bot” automatically calls to mind “robot”, as in impersonal and unfeeling. Our text bots are neither.
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Give your text bots a human feel by adding first/last name to personalize the conversation.
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A PastorsLine text bot is individual, interacting with one person via their mobile phone, just like a “real” chat.
Easy visibility
You don’t have to search all over to find your text bot conversations.
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They can be seen via your Inbox.
Scale up or down as needed
Text bots can chat with as many (or as few) people simultaneously.
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PastorsLine is a bulk text messaging platform. Our mass text messaging suits 10s, 100s, or 1000s of contacts.
Benefit from our integrations
The data captured by a text bot can be synced with other platforms you may already be using, including several church management systems (ChMS). At the moment, we integrate with:
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Church Community Builder, including CCB process queues.
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Planning Center Online, including PCO workflows.
Combine with keywords
The PastorsLine text bot is an important building block in your church communication strategy, helping you to build strong, more effective relationships with members and first-time guests. When you combine a text bot with keywords, you open up a treasure trove of possibilities.
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Create powerful Automated Message Campaigns for a variety of applications
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Improve the effectiveness of your Guest Services package.
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Increase communication with your Small Groups and Volunteers.
Core Features
All these features are available and included in our free trial and all paid plans.
direct, automated data capture via phone from those interested
mobile keywords to opt in to different church campaigns
automatically create and manage groups
gather information via online forms
polls and surveys
personalized, bulk text messaging
personalized birthday wishes
contests
create and schedule a series of automated messages
2-way integrations with CCB and Planning Center (MailChimp is next)
Information to get you started
Download this free eguide
Overall, texts are the most opened, fastest read and most responded to type of communication. When you think about your audience’s needs like Jesus did, texting becomes the preferred way for Pastors to do more in less time, staying connected to their audience’s needs while creating some insulation between their own spaces and those of their audience.
Dozens of churches are already using
PastorsLine and seeing success.
The PastorsLine platform is a church-driven, bulk texting platform developed and managed by church ‘insiders’. We know churches intimately. We’ve attended them, been part of their management teams and worked with them for many years. Our goal is to serve you by helping you spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. We’ve positioned ourselves to be your in-house, IT team for solutions to your communication issues. In addition to everything our platform can do, our partners love our responsiveness to their needs and fast tech support.
Baptism Worship Service Reminders - bulk texting—we were blown away by the number of people who showed up.
Cara Saliby
Director of Admin
By using the same phone number for texting and calling you get people to remember your phone number. When it comes the time that are ready to reach out to us they know the phone number.
Abraham Schwartz
Sending and receiving texts from our landline number is the #1 feature that ensures visitors and members can engage with us on the most relevant means of communication there is right now. Having one number to advertise, simplifies all graphics, ads, announcements, etc. for us, as well as for those we're trying to reach. I use PastorsLine EVERY DAY. It's changing the way we engage with our members - it's both easier and more effective.
Tara Freeman
PastorsLine has totally changed not only my workflow, but it's taken our "personal" factor up 10x! Just with our welcome process, we have gone from a 40% READ rate to a 40% CONVERSATION rate. That's just crazy!
So thanks 🙂
Tommy Carreras
Group Director
I honestly never realized how many people must have been trying to text our landline all along! We never advertised our landline as a number you could text, but we have gotten multiple members of our congregation and even guests from some of our events to send us texts saying, ‘Thank you for this and that’, and it has been really great to see!
Heather Bredeman
Joy Christian, Center,
St. Cloud, MN
“Our land line [SMS-enabled by PastorsLine] is more familiar to our congregation. When we texted from the other number, some would inquire about who was sending the text as the number was unfamiliar, and we did not use it frequently, so by the time we sent another text, some had forgotten the number.”
Myrna and Peter Rohdin
New Life Fellowship Church, Elmhurst, NY
...the guest connection card...We had a great response -- people whose names and contact info we might not have captured otherwise. Our autoresponder directs them to our Welcome Center...where we have a gift...with their name on it.
Kristen Waddle
Church Communications
At first, the landline feature seemed like it would overload the church secretary since everyone would have the church phone number saved in their phones. This has not happened! People are simply interacting with our events better than ever before! We love the landline feature.
Sterling Willborn
Associate Pastor, Journey Church
The text message bible study invites are working great. We saw a huge increase from 5-6 to 10-12 and the numbers stayed consistent.
Zeke Vas
Pastor
I belong to a Church Communications group on Facebook, and you were highly recommended. We signed up with you over others because we are a multi-generational church and you have an ability to reach people on landlines.
Daniel Chambers
[PastorsLine is] a huge answer to something we’ve been looking for. I was able to send a template with a field merge by scheduling it...
Dr. Matthew Robinson
Pastor
When we finished our evangelistic event in Houston, 70% of those who were baptized, communicated with me through PastorsLine...it had a big influence.
Wyatt Allen
Evangelist, End Time Hope
For us [a PastorsLine text-enabled church landline] has been huge for people to be able to text the number they already knew for our church. It means they don’t have to remember two different numbers when they are looking to try and get in touch with us. Most people don’t even realize its mostly an automated process.
Tyler Boles
Connections Pastor, The Exchange
The personal and almost immediate assistance at [PastorsLine] is so great! We feel valued and important! We love that it is church-based!!! … Jason and the team at [PastorsLine] are always ready to help, make things better, and they also welcome feedback.
Richie Halversen
Pastor @ College Drive Church
PastorsLine has been a fantastic tool which has enhanced communication with out church family. As with any tool, the secret is in learning how to use it effectively. I have been most excited when I see my church members telling their very own unchurched friends to text “PRAY” to our pastorsline number and have them join our prayer sessions.
Paolo Esposito
Pastors, RGF Church
It’s honestly the best feature that we have utilized. Being able to give one phone number for voice and text simplified our process.
J.W. Dunbar
Pastor Gateway Church, Ashland, KY
We hired [PastorsLine] to assist us in a new “Small Group” initiative we were launching at our church. The tools they provided us with helped us monitor and take action on hundreds of responses. Our workflow was cut in half and our ability to track, monitor and follow through with the data gathered more than doubled.
Chris Elliott
Associate Pastor, New Believers
Thus far it’s worked perfectly!! When we wanna send out a text message we use the church office #.
When somebody calls this #, it just takes them to our office phone where a front desk agent can answer. This is perfect! Far better than our individual cell phones ringing when somebody calls our PastorsLine number. It’s only been a week but it’s working great!
Josiah Elias
Young Adults Pastor, Faith Chapel
Our full feature, free trial
If you sign up today, we will give you a bonus 500 credits. The invite code is TEXTBOTS. So act now. No CC required. No obligation to purchase. We will NOT automatically bill you if you are using our FREE trial. Try it, risk-free.