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Practical Church Computer Policies

A computer policy and procedures handbook helps stabilize system operations. Following are some important questions to think through as you put together your computer policy handbook.

According to studies, the second greatest cause of computer problems is user error. Fortunately, written computer policies and procedures can prevent user-caused computer problems. Without them, computer users can lose valuable time correcting problems that could have been easily prevented.

Following are some questions to think through as you put together your computer policy handbook. The resulting policies and procedures will help you and your team avoid many common pitfalls and maximize your ministry team’s efforts for the Kingdom.

1. Who may use your computers? Rather than establishing an open policy that allows nearly anyone to use your computers, restricting their use will go a long way toward making the system one that is reliable for the church staff and available when they need it.

2. What is the backup procedure, and who is responsible for doing backups? We recommend daily backups of at least your data onto rotated sets of tapes. Ideally, we recommend daily backups of your entire system. In addition, make an extra backup of your entire system periodically and store it off-site. Many keep their off-site backup in a safe deposit box or at a key employee’s home. We recommend doing this at least monthly.

3. When a problem occurs, how should it be documented, and who should be called? Create a form asking which program users were in, what they were doing immediately before the problem occurred, and what they did to get past it.

4. Should computers be shut down when not in use or always left on? Consider logging out and turning them off during lunch and overnight.

5. Can screen savers be used on computers? Many of the lockup problems on network workstations are caused by screen savers. Consider not allowing their use in a networked environment.

6. Can personal work be done on the ministry’s computer system? If the individual is authorized to work on the system, and the work is being done on personal time, why not? The ministry will likely benefit from skills this kind of freedom develops.

7. Who approves what software or hardware can be added to the system? Someone needs to be in charge. An individual or committee can be given authority to approve or disapprove what software and hardware can be added. This will help guard against copyright law violations, viruses, and protect the system from compromise.

8. Who may change a computer’s configuration? Only those authorized should be allowed to change a computer’s configuration.

9. What is the security policy protecting sensitive data such as payroll and contributions, letters, and counseling notes? Passwords must be kept secret. Give users a strategy to follow in designing their passwords. We recommend:

   • Never use names or initials or words, not even backwards. Those who could cause the most damage are those who know us. They probably know our family members’ names too. Good passwords never refer to anything that could be guessed.

   • Use the initials of a favorite hymn, verse, or praise song. In addition to being difficult to guess, this will also remind users why they are there every time they log in to your system.

   • Passwords should be from three to five characters long.

10. Can there be more than one database? When members advise us of an address change, they expect all mail to go to the new address. Maintaining duplicate databases, in addition to being inefficient and costly, compromises that expectation.

11. Should the system be scanned for viruses? Install a high-quality virus-scanning product. It should monitor all writes to the hard drive, scan memory, and have the ability to scan for known and unknown viruses. Also, someone must be responsible for loading the latest virus signature files to catch the latest bugs.

12. Can software be copied onto home or member’s computers? Viruses spread through practices such as this. Beyond the copyright law issues, you never know what might be transmitted on those disks you will be putting into your system.

13. For those on a network, what are the network start-up procedures if the system goes down? Detail how to restart your server and load any manually activated software.

14. Which files should be kept on the system hard drive? Periodically evaluate the files on your hard drive to see if they are worthy of the space they occupy. Maybe some should be deleted.

    • Only programs you use should be on your hard drive.

    • Only the data files you will need within the next 12 months should be on your hard drive.

15. Can users eat or drink near their computers? Establish reasonable guidelines to help your team understand the potential danger associated with this.

A computer policy and procedures handbook helps stabilize system operations. By asking these questions while writing your handbook, your system will become more reliable and available for your staff. It will decrease the administrative load required to do ministry, maximizing your team’s efforts for the Kingdom.

—Nick B. Nicholaou, Huntington, California. You can reach Nick via e-mail: nick@mbsinc.com.