Introducing Church Center
Restoration is in the midst of transitioning to a new church management system, Church Center. By the end of this transition, we will no longer be using Church Community Builder (CCB). A key part of this transition is online giving: going forward, all online gifts will be processed on the new platform. We asked that all parishioners with repeating gifts create new repeating gifts in Church Center no later than June 30, 2024. Thank you for the overwhelming positive response! We are 95% of the way there. If you have not yet set up a new gift in Church Center, please do so as soon as possible. This will allow us to meet our meet our operating budget and continue church operations at full capacity.
Executive Director Kat Downs wrote to the congregation about this change. Read her letter below.
Repeating Gifts
Many parishioners have automatic repeating gifts set up in CCB. New copies of these repeating gifts need to be created in Church Center. Any repeating gifts not transferred to Church Center by December 1, 2024 will bounce, and Restoration will not receive the funds.
Please set your first gift in Church Center for the date you expect your card or account to be charged next via CCB. This is crucial and will ensure we can continue meet our operating budget in the midst of this transition. Our team will ensure you aren’t double charged by stoping your CCB gift once we see that your new gift has been created.
When creating a new gift in Church Center, make sure to create an account—this will allow you to easily edit your gift in the future. Please also ensure your gifts is designated to the Operating Fund.
One-Time Gifts
All one-time gifts will now be processed through Church Center, which can be accessed by clicking “Give” in our website’s menu. Please log in the first time you make an online gift. This will allow you to save your payment method(s).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: This is confusing! Where can I go for help?
A: Thank you for bearing with us as we navigate this transition. Please reach out to Callie Goyer.
Q: Why are you making this switch?
A: Church Community Builder (CCB) is making some changes that would reduce its functionality for both our staff team and the congregation. We currently use Planning Center to plan our services and schedule Sunday volunteers. For some time, we’ve known that moving everything over to Planning Center would be a positive change, and the changes at CCB made us realize that now is the time to do it. Church Center is the congregation-facing side of Planning Center.
Q: Do I have to create a Church Center account?
A: No, but we recommend that you do. Having an account will allow you to give via ACH transfer, save payment methods, and easily access your giving history. Over the next few months, we will continue rolling out additional Church Center features for which it will also be helpful to have an account.
Q: Why am I being asked to cover the processing fee for my transaction?
A: Credit card processing fees are a significant expense for Restoration. For example, in our last fiscal year, we spent more on these fees than we did on running our children’s ministry. By covering your processing fees, you are helping us free up some of the money that we currently spend on processing fees for use in other areas.
Q: Why can I only see my giving history through the end of 2023?
A: We have not yet imported any giving history from 2024. Once we have fully transitioned all one-time and recurring gifts to Church Center from CCB, we will do a final import of all 2024 giving history. This will happen in December 2024, and all giving statements for 2024 will be distributed via Church Center.
Q: I don’t currently have a recurring gift to Restoration set up. Should I?
A: While this is a matter of personal preference, we heartily recommend it if you give online regularly. Because we don’t have an annual pledge drive, we rely heavily on recurring gift data to help us project our income.
Q: I currently give by check or donor-advised fund. Do I need to do anything?
A: Giving by check and donor-advised fund will not be affected. However, we recommend that you create a Church Center account. This will allow you to access to your giving history and be helpful over the next few months as we roll out additional Church Center features.
Q: I already have a Planning Center Services account because I’m a volunteer. How is this different?
A: Services and Church Center are two distinct parts of the Planning Center ecosystem. However, Church Center incorporates some Service features by enabling volunteers to see their schedule and sign up to serve. Most liturgical volunteers will find that Church Center and scheduling emails from our team are all they need, but musicians may find that they need more information about the service than they can find in Church Center. If this is you, you will want to continue using Services as you have been.