Planning Center Change Log

Improved: Easier setup for station templates

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 23:29:43 GMT

Did you know station templates let you change all your station settings at once with one button or on a set schedule? And now, creating these templates is a whole lot easier!

Previously, the only way to build a station template was to set up your live stations exactly how you wanted them, then save a snapshot from the Templates page. Every tweak meant bouncing back and forth between your stations and your template.

But not anymore! When you create or edit a template, you can now choose each station’s settings right in the template, without changing the stations you’re using today.

Once saved, applying a template is as easy as selecting the Apply now button, or you can put it on a schedule to automatically use it every week.

As always, if you have any questions, reach out to us by hitting the question mark (?) in the top right corner of any page in Planning Center. We love hearing your feedback!

Happy Checking In!

Team Check-Ins

New: Search chat messages and conversations

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:44:40 GMT

The longer your church uses chat, the more useful it gets, and the harder it is to find things in it. Until now, tracking down an old message meant remembering which conversation it was in and scrolling until you found it.

Now you can search. Tap the search icon at the top of chat and type a word, phrase, or name. Search looks across your groups, teams, plans, and direct messages, matching conversation names and message text.

Results are split into two sections:

Conversations with names that match what you typed
Messages that match, showing who sent them, when, and in which conversation

Tap a message to jump straight to it in the conversation, then tap back to return to your results. You’ll only see results from conversations you’re part of, and for leaders, that includes archived conversations.

Search is available now on the web and in the latest versions of the Church Center app and the Services mobile app.

The Chat Team

New: Unread filter and a cleaner chat header

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:44:19 GMT

As chat grows to include more groups, teams, and direct messages, the conversations that need your attention can get buried. We’ve released two improvements make them easier to find.

Catch up with Unread

A new Unread filter shows only conversations with messages you haven’t read. As you catch up on each one, it drops off the list. If you like to keep a tidy inbox, it’s an easy way to see what still needs your attention and clear it out.

Filters move into a dropdown

You’ll find Unread in the new filter dropdown at the top of chat. It replaces the row of filter buttons (All, Groups, Teams, DMs), and the header icons now sit on the same row, freeing up space for your conversations.

The new header and Unread filter are available now on the web and in the latest versions of the Church Center app and the Services mobile app.

The Chat Team

Improved: Filter, dismiss, and track moderation reports

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:58:24 GMT

The moderation dashboard used to show every report in one long list, whether someone had handled it or not. Reports that didn’t need any action had no way to be marked done, so they stayed in the list too.

Now the dashboard opens to Needs review, showing only the reports that still need attention, with a count of how many are open.

Filter by status

Use the dropdown at the top of the dashboard to switch between:

Needs review (default)
Message deleted, Conversation disabled, or Dismissed for resolved reports
All reports

Dismiss reports that don’t need action

Not every report calls for deleting a message or disabling a conversation. You can now dismiss a report to mark it resolved. If you need to revisit it later, select Reopen report to move it back to Needs review.

See who handled it

Each report now shows who resolved it and when. When more than one person is moderating, everyone can see what’s already been taken care of.

The Chat Team

New: Link-only groups

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:07:30 GMT

You can now share a group by link without listing it in the Church Center group finder. The new Link only option lets anyone with the link view your group's Church Center page, while keeping it out of browse and search.

This option let's you share a sensitive group or short-term study with specific people, send a group link after a conversation, or review a group's page before making it publicly discoverable. You can share the link through an email, message, or QR code without adding the group to the group finder.

Choose how people find your group

In your group's settings, you'll now see three options:

Private (formerly Unlisted): Hidden from the group finder. Existing members, leaders, and applicants can still access the group when logged in.
Link only (new): Hidden from the group finder, but viewable by anyone with the link.
Public (formerly Listed): Discoverable in the group finder and viewable by link.

More ways to see and manage visibility

Church Center (web and app version 2026.10.5 or newer) displays a Direct link only banner on link-only group pages.
Link only is also included in group filtering and bulk editing, so admins can find and update link-only groups alongside Public and Private groups.
Calendar-connected event cards can also show the link-only status.
Developers can assign group visibility through the API.

A little link goes a long way.

Team Groups

Improved: Print or save payout reports as PDF

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:06:33 GMT

You can now print your payout reports for payments made in Giving and Registrations in Accounts or save it as a PDF.

A summary you can file with your deposit

The printout follows the layout of Giving's payout print view.
Donor names aren't included by default, so you can file it with the bank deposit or hand it to whoever posts to your books without needing to hide any information about individual donors.

Add detail when you need it

Include transactions adds every transaction on its own pages. Only people who can already see transaction details will see this option.
Include individual payouts lists each individual deposit when you print a larger timeframe at once.

🩷 The Payments Team

Improved: Filter your signups list by time frame

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 23:20:08 GMT

You can now filter the signups list in Registrations to show future, past, ongoing, or all signups. Click the signup count at the top of the list and pick a view.

Why this matters

Find last year’s VBS or fall retreat in a couple of clicks when you’re ready to copy it, without scrolling through everything else.
See only your ongoing signups, like baptisms or volunteer interest forms, when you’re checking which ones still need attention.
Keep the busy season focused on what’s coming up next.

The Registrations Team

New: Apply multiple filters in Giving reports

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 22:48:46 GMT

You can now combine several filters in Giving, making it easy to find the exact report you need. Choose a fund, label, payment method, payment source, or anything else on the list and keep adding until you’ve narrowed things down.

Each filter can also hold several values, so a quick report like “All recurring credit card donations to the New Building fund from the Atlanta campus in 2026" is a few clicks away. No more having to download a CSV and sort it out in a spreadsheet.

Note: For multi-campus churches, the existing campus filter has moved into this new "Add filter" control.

Your filters are saved in the page’s web address, so each combination has its own link. This makes it easy to bookmark any view you use often. Give it a try!

The Giving Team

Improved: List conditions for signup questions

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 21:57:17 GMT

Signup questions are where you collect useful attendee details: allergies, meal choices, or whether someone wants a follow-up. Until now, those answers stayed in Registrations, so acting on them meant exporting to a CSV and manually building lists.

People Lists can now filter by answers to your signup questions. Pick a signup, choose a question, and set the answer you’re looking for. Then email, report on, or automate from that list.

Choose who lands on the list

Named attendee for returns the attendees whose answers match.
Registration contact for returns the people who registered them, which is handy when you need to reach parents instead of kids.

Why it matters

With signup answers available in People Lists conditions, you can find exactly the people you need and take the next step from there. For example:

Email the parents of every student who needs transportation.
Hand the kitchen team a list of everyone who needs a vegetarian meal.
Add guests who checked “I’d like to learn more” to a follow-up workflow.
Combine answers with conditions from other products, like Groups or Check-Ins.

Where to find it

In People, go to Lists and add a Registrations condition. Pick a specific signup, then select with an answer to.

The People and Registrations Teams

Improved: Consistent block headings on custom pages

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 18:55:26 GMT

On custom pages, headings across your blocks now share one size. Before, a text block heading and an event schedule heading on the same page might have looked noticeably different. Now text, grid, event schedule, Registrations, Calendar, Giving, and sermons blocks all use the same heading style, so your pages read as one cohesive design.

You don’t need to make any changes to your pages; they will pick up the new sizes automatically. The adjusted sizes will roll out across app and web in the coming week as the next app version rolls out to the stores.

🩶 The Publishing Team