Two quiet problems slow church offices down every week: numbering paper offering envelopes by hand, and chasing outdated phone numbers and addresses in the people database.
This release tackles both. Automatic Envelope IDs suggest the next sequential envelope number when staff create or import people. Ask to update info lets you send a secure link so members review — and correct — their own contact details.
Together, they keep people management and giving workflows cleaner without adding more spreadsheet work for your team.
Why these updates matter
Most churches still run a hybrid world: digital giving sits beside paper envelopes, and the member database is only as good as the last time someone updated a phone number.
When envelope numbers are missing, batch entry and offline gifts get slower. When contact info is stale, texts bounce, statements go to the wrong address, and follow-up stalls. Staff end up retyping what members already know about themselves.
These features are built for that reality — optional where they should be optional, secure where privacy matters, and tied to the places your team already works.
Automatic Envelope IDs
If your church still uses numbered offering envelopes, every new household eventually needs an envelope ID. Doing that from memory (or a sticky note on the counter) is how duplicates and gaps creep in.
What changed
When you create or import people without an Envelope ID, ChurchRaise can show an optional Skip / Assign prompt. It pre-fills the next sequential number based on the highest purely numeric envelope ID already in your database.
You can:
- •Assign the suggested number(s)
- •Edit a row before saving (handy for household sharing)
- •Clear rows in bulk and fill only the ones you need
- •Skip entirely and assign later on the person profile
Nothing is forced. If a contact does not need an envelope, skip and move on.
Where it shows up
The prompt appears when new contacts are created without an envelope ID, including:
1. Adding a person manually (Add Person or the people create modal)
2. Recording an offline gift that creates a new donor
3. Importing people via CSV
4. Importing giving history when created contacts are missing envelopes
Envelope IDs remain editable on the person profile, visible as an optional column on the people list, and searchable in batch entry and offline gifts — so Sunday counting still works the way your counters expect.
How the next number is chosen
ChurchRaise looks at existing envelope IDs that are purely numeric, takes the maximum, and suggests the next one. If nobody has a numeric ID yet, it starts at `1`.
Non-numeric codes (for example `A-1` or letter prefixes) are ignored for sequencing but still count toward uniqueness checks, so you do not accidentally assign a duplicate.
On bulk imports, missing contacts get a consecutive run of suggestions (`13`, `14`, `15`…) you can accept or adjust before saving.
Tips for envelope-number churches
- •Treat the household envelope as shared when that is your convention — edit the suggested ID so spouses match.
- •Keep a consistent numeric series if you want reliable “next number” suggestions.
- •Use Skip for visitors and contacts who will never receive envelopes.
- •Map an “Envelope #” column in CSV and giving imports so migrations land cleaner the first time.
For the broader people and giving stack these sit inside, see people management and online giving.
Ask members to update their contact information
Outdated contact records are rarely a technology problem — they are a process problem. Staff should not have to call every household to ask, “Is this still your cell number?”
What changed
From a person profile, staff can click Ask to update info and send a secure link by email, SMS, or both.
The member opens the link on Church Hub, verifies with a phone one-time code, then either:
- •Saves updates to name, email, phone, address, city, state, zip, date of birth, gender (and optional directory preferences), or
- •Taps Everything looks good to confirm the record is current without changing anything
Staff see request status on the profile — Requested, Opened, Updated, or Confirmed — so follow-up is visible, not buried in an inbox.
Built for trust
Contact details are not shown until the person verifies with a phone that matches the contact on file. Links expire after 14 days. The flow works even if the person is not already living in My Church Hub day to day — they get a focused update page, not a scavenger hunt through settings.
That makes it useful for annual data cleanups, before year-end statements, after a move season, or whenever a bounce or wrong number shows up.
How staff can use it this month
1. Open the person profile for someone with questionable contact info.
2. Choose Ask to update info and pick email, SMS, or both.
3. When they finish, check the status badge on the profile.
4. Repeat for a list — visitors from last quarter, bounced emails, or households with incomplete addresses.
Pair this with Church Hub as the everyday home for members, and with the Church Directory when people also want control over what the congregation can see.
How the two features work together
Envelope IDs keep giving operations orderly. Contact updates keep the people database honest. Both reduce rework:
| Need | Feature |
|------|---------|
| New family joins and needs an envelope | Automatic Envelope ID suggestion after create or import |
| Counters look up gifts by envelope # | Search by envelope in batch entry / offline gifts |
| Statement mailings need current addresses | Ask to update info before statement season |
| Texts keep bouncing | Secure link → member corrects phone themselves |
Cleaner people data also makes communications, follow-up, and directory opt-in more reliable — because the record members confirm is the same record your staff use.
Final thoughts
Paper envelopes are not going away overnight, and neither is the need for accurate member contact info. What can go away is the busywork: guessing the next envelope number, and retyping phone numbers members already know.
Automatic Envelope IDs and Ask to update info are small workflow upgrades with outsized weekly impact — especially for churches that still live between the offering plate and the inbox.
Create a free ChurchRaise account and try both from People and Church Hub.