Planning Center Blog

COVID-19

No spam. Privacy guaranteed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Blog

May 21, 2020

Invite Your Congregation to the Conversation

Many churches are struggling with the tension between desperately wanting to be together in person and wanting to be responsible and safe. As with our initial response to COVID-19, we are not suggesting any specific course of action for your church beyond following the recommendations of health and government officials. But we want to help. In each phase of transitioning back to meeting in person, there are a few key Planning Center tools you can leverage. This post is about connecting with y

Jeff Berg

2 min read

Apr 22, 2020

Spring Update 2020

We know ministry looks a little different right now...and so does this update. We have a few exciting new things to share, but mainly we want to focus on features uniquely helpful for doing ministry during the pandemic. You can watch the video to learn more or just to see if we managed to pull it off with webcams and no studio! Connect your church with group messaging! No more group texts and email strings! Groups now have a central place to keep in touch. Make onl

Planning Center

3 min read

Apr 16, 2020

Make Online Giving Easy for Your Church

Online giving might be unfamiliar territory for some of your congregants, and the unfamiliar is always a little intimidating—no matter how many times you promise people it’s easy. We want to help you make this transition smoothly by providing a guide on how to make the world of online giving more approachable to your congregation. Get the Word Out Although you may have already shared details about online giving on social media or during announcements, it’s a good idea to reach out to the peo

Jeff Berg

4 min read

Apr 15, 2020

Virtual Locations for Events

When being in person is out of the question, some events have to be canceled—but others can be reclaimed and enjoyed online. Your middle schoolers may not be able to gather together to celebrate your youth pastor's birthday, but they can still sing her Happy Birthday over Zoom. To help facilitate these kinds of online experiences, we added virtual locations for Registrations events. The event page on the web and in the Church Center app will denote that the event location is online, and anyon

Allie Rice

Product Manager

1 min read

Apr 13, 2020

Create New Opportunities for Community

I haven’t seen my small group friends in over a month. I miss them. Thankfully, we have our weekly video calls to catch up, pray, and talk about the sermon. It isn't the same, but it's good to have something. You and your church might be in the same boat—missing your people, and trying to figure out how to stay in touch as best you can. Nothing can replace being face-to-face, but community is still possible, and we want to show you how to lean on Groups to help your church find it. First, we’

Jeff Berg

4 min read

Mar 25, 2020

Coronavirus: Connecting with the needs of your congregation

The ripple effects of COVID-19 are relentless, and we are all feeling it as the days pass and we work our way toward a new normal alongside the rest of the world. Still others (like you) are figuring out how to continue carrying the unique burdens of your entire congregation. You are in the business of caring for the well-being of souls—challenging work in the most normal of times. But in this abnormal time, when you can’t be physically present with your community, the task can feel overwhelmin

Jeff Berg

4 min read

Mar 19, 2020

Coronavirus: Product Updates to Get You Through

Things move fast—understatement of the week! After receiving feedback from customers and some brainstorming, our product teams fast-tracked a few updates to help you and your church adjust your plans in this rapidly changing environment. Services: Reschedule Plans Last week we released a new feature in Services that allows you to shift entire plans—including people—back by as many weeks as you need. This week we released an option allowing you to reschedule the content of your plan, the orde

Planning Center

3 min read

Mar 16, 2020

Coronavirus: What has (and has not) changed at Planning Center

Things have changed rapidly for many of us here at Planning Center, and we know they have for many of you as well. Since schools are closing, many of our employees are now homeschooling their children; and with the arrival of COVID-19 to San Diego County, we've officially closed our Carlsbad office for the foreseeable future. We have been a remote company for a long time, so we can continue to do our jobs from anywhere we have the internet. This has helped us make some adjustments to our sched

Planning Center

3 min read

Mar 13, 2020

Coordinating Community during the Coronavirus

If your week was anything like ours, you might be feeling a little whiplash from so many major life changes in such a short period of time. Events canceled, schools closing, travel plans postponed—all because of the spread of COVID-19. Many health officials and city, county, and state governments across the country are making recommendations for how people should handle large gatherings of people, which we know impacts you, the church. We are not here to advocate for any kind of action apart f

Planning Center

6 min read