Search for a participating church
Church Center begins with a simple discovery step. Enter a church name, address, city, state, or postal code, or use Current Location to look for nearby congregations. The separate fields make it easy to start with the information you know, whether you are a long-time member returning to the app or a visitor searching for a church on the move.
After choosing a result, the app becomes a church-specific home rather than a generic directory. Setup links and QR codes can open the correct organization directly, while the selected church determines which Planning Center services and pages appear. This keeps the first visit focused and helps households avoid mixing information from different congregations.
Keep up with events and groups
The church's calendar can bring upcoming events, schedules, registrations, and forms into one place. Members can read an event's details, complete a signup, and follow the next step without hunting through separate websites. When a congregation uses Groups, people can browse options by stage of life, day, location, or support need, then open a group page to learn what participation involves.
Group spaces can include conversations, shared resources, attendance tools, and team updates when those services are enabled. The experience is intentionally church-specific: one congregation may show a full event and group menu, while another may publish only the areas it uses. That flexibility helps regular members and newcomers find the activities that actually belong to their church.
Prepare family check-in before arrival
For churches using Planning Center Check-Ins, families can select household members, choose an available service time or location, and save a pre-check from the phone. The check-in page can show live household status, security codes, and separate barcodes when members arrive at different times. This makes a busy Sunday or event arrival easier to coordinate before reaching a station.
Some churches complete the process in the app, while others require the household to scan a QR code at a staffed or self-service station. A pre-check can be edited when plans change, and the page can show who has already checked in. Availability depends on the church's setup and the household's membership or event registration.
Give, manage profiles, and follow church content
Church Center can combine member actions that otherwise live across several church services. Where Giving is enabled, people can make one-time or recurring donations, choose a fund, review statements, and manage payment details through their profile. Profile tools can also keep contact information, household details, directory visibility, and privacy choices up to date.
A church using Publishing may add custom pages, sermon notes, audio, video, or livestream access, while volunteers can see schedules and connect with teams through supported services. The menu is shaped by each congregation's Planning Center subscriptions and choices, so Church Center works best as a personalized doorway to the information and tasks that a participating church makes available.
