Shepherding Connections

Shepherding Connections is the messaging component of Shepherding Tools, for churches following up with visitors and others who are not on church rolls. It supports SMS announcements, two-way texting, automated welcome sequences, call forwarding, and keyword replies. Public connect pages collect visitor details and can start automated follow-up; digital welcome cards are also described. Automations can send SMS or email, create tasks, assign team members, branch according to replies, and repeat on a cadence. Contacts can be grouped into segments, and message links can be shortened and tracked. Recorded consent is required for announcements and automated messages, with STOP, START, and HELP keyword handling. The service runs on Android, iOS, and the web. Its free plan supports up to five user accounts but excludes phone numbers and texting; paid plans that enable SMS start at $29 a month. Connections sends only to United States and Canada numbers. It is labeled Beta, and a sent status means the carrier accepted a message, not that delivery to a handset was confirmed.

Connections offers texting, visitor follow-up, and configurable automations for church teams. Its free tier does not include SMS, and the product is labeled Beta.

It is aimed at pastors, elders, and deacons following up with visitors and other people outside church rolls. Churches needing SMS should note that texting requires a paid plan.

Overview

Shepherding Connections is a church follow-up tool for teams that want to turn visitor responses into ongoing conversations and assigned tasks. It is best suited to pastors, elders, and deacons coordinating outreach; churches that need confirmed message delivery or texting outside the United States and Canada should look elsewhere.

Connections is labeled Beta, and a sent status confirms carrier acceptance, not delivery to a recipient’s phone. That distinction matters when teams rely on texts for time-sensitive follow-up.

Key features

Visitor outreach

Public connect pages collect visitor details and can trigger welcome sequences, while digital visitor welcome cards offer another way to gather responses. SMS announcements, two-way texting, call forwarding, and keyword auto-responses cover both one-to-one follow-up and broader outreach. But importing a contact spreadsheet and merging duplicate contacts yourself are not supported, so teams moving an existing contact base may face extra cleanup work.

Automations and targeting

Workflows can send SMS or email, create follow-up tasks, assign team members, branch according to replies, and repeat on a cadence. Scheduled and recurring messages, audience segments, and shortened, tracked links help teams tailor outreach and monitor link activity. Recorded consent is required for announcements and automated messages; STOP, START, and HELP keywords are handled. That consent control is important for responsible outreach, though it does not expand the service’s reach beyond U.S. and Canadian numbers.

Security and support

The maker says data travels over HTTPS/TLS, is encrypted at rest with AES-256, and is isolated by church at the database layer. Support messages receive a reply within one business day, a useful response window for teams relying on the system to coordinate follow-up.

Pricing

The Free Forever plan costs nothing, billed forever, with no credit card or time limit. It allows up to 5 user accounts but excludes SMS messaging, making it suitable for trying the broader church tools rather than running text-based outreach.

Small Church costs $29 a month, or $290/yr billed annually (save $58). It supports up to 10 users, full SMS messaging via Connections, and priority email support. This is the entry point for a small team that needs texting. Medium Church is $49 a month, or $490/yr billed annually (save $98), for up to 25 users and phone and email support. Large Church costs $99 a month, or $990/yr billed annually (save $198), for up to 75 users and dedicated onboarding support. Unlimited costs $199 a month, or $1,990/yr billed annually (save $398), with unlimited users and custom onboarding and training. The higher tiers primarily raise account capacity and support or onboarding provisions, so smaller teams should weigh those additions against their seat needs.

Platforms

Connections is available on Android, iOS, and the web. A mobile app suits teams following up away from a desk, while web access supports broader coordination.

Who it's for

Connections fits churches that want visitor forms, messaging, and assigned follow-up in one workflow, especially teams with several people sharing outreach. Its free plan can suit a small team exploring the wider tools, but the five-account cap and lack of SMS mean it is not a free texting option. Churches with contacts to import, a need to merge duplicates, or a requirement for delivery confirmation should consider alternatives.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Visitor forms can start automated follow-up, with reply-based branching and task assignment helping teams carry it through.
• Pros: Segmentation, scheduled and recurring messages, and tracked links support more targeted outreach.
• Pros: Consent requirements and STOP, START, and HELP handling provide defined controls for messaging.
• Cons: The free plan excludes SMS, so texting requires a paid Tracker plan or a custom arrangement.
• Cons: Beta status and the absence of delivery confirmation make “sent” an incomplete measure of whether a message reached its recipient.
• Cons: U.S. and Canada-only messaging, no spreadsheet import, and no self-service duplicate merging constrain reach and contact administration.

Alternatives

Gloo Communications is worth considering for a free starting point that includes 500 SMS credits and 500 email credits per month, plus three groups and one workflow; Connections’ free plan does not include texting.

Clearstream may suit teams seeking a paid messaging service with Android, iOS, web, and API platforms, a free trial with 100 credits, 1,000 emails, and one local number, or a $35 a month plan with 1,000 credits.

Text In Church is another paid option with a free trial and a PLUS plan that includes 1.25K credits and four local phone numbers; its price is custom pricing.

DialMyCalls offers a free church trial with an automatic call to up to 25 members, a 30-second message, and weekly use, so it is an option when a limited call is more useful than Connections’ texting-oriented visitor workflows.

Textiful has a free web-based On Demand plan with one keyword on a 10-digit number and message credits that can be purchased as needed and never expire; its Essential plan costs $19 a month.

Quick Send is an iOS-only alternative with a Quick Send Pro yearly plan at $49.99 a year, including unlimited messages and automatic sending via iOS Shortcut.

TextSpot offers a web-based 14-day trial with 50 outgoing message credits, up to 10 contacts, and all features, useful for a short evaluation before choosing a paid service.

Connect With My Church is an alternative church communications platform.

For more options, see Church Text Messaging Software.

Verdict

Choose Shepherding Connections if your church wants visitor forms, text conversations, and automated, assigned follow-up coordinated across a team. Its strongest case is the connection between outreach workflows and messaging; the main reasons to look elsewhere are the lack of SMS on the free plan, limited geographic reach, contact-management gaps, and unconfirmed delivery.