On any given week in San Antonio, a 87-year old walks into Grace Community Church and starts stretching. 

She is one of 46 seniors—including five others in their 80s—who show up to the church every week for a strength class. 

Terri, the church’s admin, has watched the whole class come together. And that was two years ago.

“We have a thriving community of seniors,” she said, “and Planning Center has really helped us to connect them better.”

A city rooted in military community

San Antonio, Texas is a hub of active military and retired veterans. Grace Community Church provides a place of worship and community for both. Terri is part of that story, too. Stationed in San Antonio 26 years ago, Terri discovered Grace—and never left. 

While many of Grace’s ministries grew over the years—family, recovery, grief, PTSD, outreach, and others—their only senior-focused event, a monthly mid-week lunch potluck, dwindled in size.

That was until one church member, Jim, had an idea.

A 3-month mobility class experiment is now a weekly community

Jim, a retired physical therapist and member of Grace Community Church, noticed an increase in the number of members who’d taken a fall and were struggling physically. So he suggested a weekly strength class aimed at helping seniors find their footing, increase their stability, and strengthen their core.

Terri made an event signup in Planning Center Registrations to gauge interest. “The group really exploded!” she said.

Suddenly, they had a packed class: People brought friends and neighbors, and even former members started showing up as well.

After the 3-month experiment finished, everyone wanted to keep going!

The class had been a success, and its members wanted even more: a way to reach out and check in on each other in-between classes.

So Terri set up a group in Church Center!

A helping hand: the Church Center app

Grace Community Church has a strong community culture. Over 50% of attending adults are signed up for a regular small group, so many of the class members had already used Church Center for a group signup or online giving.

For those who hadn’t, Jim and his wife stayed before and after class to help people download the app and get set up.

Now all 46 group members use Church Center to share prayer requests, ask for rides, coordinate lawn maintenance, and help with other chores. 

When someone misses class, they “razz” each other in the chat.

Today, class members coordinate lunches, Bible breakfasts, and share prayer requests in Church Center

Before this class, the only thing Grace Community Church had for their seniors was the slimly-attended monthly potluck—now it’s packed with people staying after the exercise class. 

In the two years since the group started, new groups have sprung up—like a small band of 6-7 older gentlemen who now meet up for breakfast and support one another throughout the week.

And, “If anybody needs a ride,” Terri said, “they just put a little note out there in the Church Center chat, and somebody will go pick them up.”

You can learn more about Church Center and all the ways it can connect your community at planningcenter.com/church-center.

We found out about Grace Community Church’s story through the Planning Center community. The community is a great place to share ministry successes, ask questions, and get ideas on how to use Planning Center in ministry. We’d love to have you join us.