A quick guide to implementing QR codes for churches

For churches and religious institutions, digital solutions can make it a lot easier to carry out various administrative tasks. In fact, many of these organizations have embraced tools like QR codes for churches to make their operations more efficient than ever.

But how can your organization take advantage of these tools, and what are some ways QR codes can make a difference? Here’s how your church can start making the most of this simple technology.

QR codes and churches

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, people were using QR codes frequently to access web pages or online forms from their mobile devices. But with touch-free experiences now being more common than ever, QR code usage is at an all-time high — with a 443 percent increase in the number of QR code scans in the past year alone — for everything from restaurant menus to live event information.

Likewise, churches can use QR codes to easily share information with their congregations. QR codes can be instrumental for organizing events, generating interest, and encouraging signups for different roles or volunteer opportunities.

Simply put, these digital tools can quickly connect your organization to your community and cut out a lot of the unnecessary friction that comes with traditional pen-and-paper processes.

Ways to use QR codes for churches

Here are four common ways to implement QR codes in churches to make both organizers’ and churchgoers’ lives easier.

1. Collecting donations

Like all nonprofit organizations, churches depend heavily on donations to fund all the activities, events, and equipment necessary to run them. In addition to passing the collection plate, you can also print and post QR codes that link to payment pages (e.g., a Venmo account) around the building so anyone can easily use their phones to send a few more dollars your way. You can even include a QR code in digital spaces like your website to spread your reach even further.

2. Collecting RSVPs for events or subscribers for newsletters

Church events are great occasions to fundraise for your organization and generate interest for newcomers. QR codes make RSVPing for events simpler than ever, so you get more names on your guest list in less time. You can also provide a church QR code that leads directly to a signup page for your newsletter, so you can get new subscribers with a simple scan of the code and share important information and updates easily.

3. Fielding surveys

It’s crucial to make sure your congregants’ church-going experience is a positive one, but getting people to take a survey of any kind can be like pulling teeth. One way to ensure you get more responses is by making it easy for churchgoers to access it with a QR code.

4. Recruiting volunteers

For all the events and ceremonies your church puts on, it takes a lot of labor to make sure everything runs smoothly. Try using QR codes for a seamless volunteer signup process, making it easier for folks to help out and ensuring you’re properly staffed for every event you have planned.

Steps for creating QR codes for churches

There are lots of websites and services for creating church QR codes. But with online form builder Jotform, you get a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that helps you design all kinds of forms with ease — as well as track and manage all the information you receive. What’s more, churches can easily create and implement QR codes to drive their audience directly to their forms.

Simply follow these four steps to create a QR code you can share or print for folks to access your form:

1. Go to the Publish tab in the Jotform Form Builder.
2. Select Quick Share from the menu on the left.
3. Select Share Options.
4. Select Download QR Code.

You can then print the QR code file or add it to your website or other digital space.

On top of generating unique QR codes that drive people to your forms, you can also use Jotform widgets to incorporate these codes directly into your forms. This allows you to link out from your initial form to other third-party sites for people to find more information if necessary.

Increased efficiency for your church with Jotform

Beyond simply generating and implementing QR codes, Jotform has a variety of tools that churches can implement immediately to make their processes more streamlined and efficient. With church management software, your organization can collect donations, get signups, and even collect consent and prayer forms — all in one handy location. In addition to running many aspects of your church digitally, you can also generate dozens of different types of forms using one of Jotform’s premade church templates.

Jotform offers many of its tools and templates for free, while nonprofits get a 50 percent discount on paid plans if they want to expand their capabilities even further.

Embracing online tools can seem like tricky business, but QR codes for churches are a great way to get things started and make your organization more digitally accessible. In doing so, you’ll give your church a wider reach and offer a more informed, collaborative experience for your congregation.

Photo by cottonbro studio