The Digital and Spiritual Transformation (DST) Process
We’re transforming church
This transformation isn't just about using digital tools and platforms. It's about:
- Empowering all of us to grow closer to God and one another in new and meaningful ways.
- Supporting congregations - especially small ones - to grow in ministry with less organizational overhead.
- Building new paths for ministers - lay and ordained - to serve with faith communities in sustainable and creative ways.
- Creating spiritually and financially sustainable paths to new ministry practices.
The Digital and Spiritual Transformation (DST) Process
The DST Process will introduce you to - and help you become experts in - two parts of one powerful digital tool:
- Planning Center is a church management software that helps you create the groundwork for streamlined administrative and organizational tasks.
It helps you do the same for the congregations in your diocese.
From this groundwork you’ll build new systems for knowing and caring for your members, and engaging them in their relationship with God, each other, and their community.
Planning Center is where we plan. Users are ‘administrators’, and they set up the systems, processes, and records to support ministry throughout the diocese.
It’s the ‘stuff’ of church - and our goal is to make it less burdensome and more effective.
- Church Center is ****a product of Planning Center. It’s an app and website experience that allows members to explore, get involved, and stay updated on everything that’s going on in the diocese, and in their own congregation.
Church Center is where we church. Users are everyone! Congregation members, diocesan staff, and potential new members - digital and in-person members - use Church Center to communicate, plan, connect, and grow in faith together.
It’s the ‘Good Stuff’ of church - and our goal is to make more of it, and share it as widely as possible.
We believe that everyone has a role to play in this transformation, regardless of technical expertise. In fact, this process is geared towards the ‘less than savvy’ tech person, and we consider it pastoral care to sit with those who are overwhelmed, afraid, or frustrated with technology - or change in general! - and be their guide towards greater understanding - and ultimately - more ministry joy.
The work we will do
The DST process will take approximately 24 months, and in this time we will:
- Select and train Planning Center Administrators and Church Center Ambassadors
- Set up a Planning Center account for your community. Planning Center charges its own sliding-scale subscription, and costs between $15 and $35 per month for small congregations. Using just the Planning Center database product is free, regardless of church size.