ShepTools is in closed beta. Access is by request.View pricing and beta details →
ShepTools — Equip well
One account for your ministry

Bring your ministry work together.

Care for people, train your team, manage projects, write sermons, and plan services in one place.

Create your free account

ShepWord is always free.

The ministry software problem

Your church should not have to think like a corporation to use its tools.

Most software is built for sales teams, classrooms, agencies, or generic project work. Churches end up forcing ministry into systems that were never designed for it.

People fall through cracks.Care notes, prayer needs, follow-up, and attendance live in different places or nowhere reliable.
Training gets reinvented.Departments repeat the same onboarding and leaders struggle to see who is actually ready.
Ministry work gets buried.Events, approvals, purchasing, projects, and volunteer work disappear into texts and scattered spreadsheets.
Sermons become files, not a library.Years of preaching, graphics, notes, events, and research become difficult to organize and reuse.
One platform. Five focused tools.

One account.
Five focused ministry tools.

Start with the ministry need in front of you. Each tool has a focused purpose, with a shared commitment to helping your church serve well.

Select a tool below to learn more and explore its interactive demo.

Not sure where to start?

Where does your church need a clearer next step?

Choose the problem you most want to solve first. ShepTools can grow with you later.

A ministry rhythm, not another software project

Start with one need.
Build a stronger rhythm.

One example: welcome a new family, equip the team that serves them, coordinate an outreach event, prepare the message, and bring the Sunday service plan together.

01

Care intentionally

Give a new guest a place in ShepCare. Assign a welcome follow-up so the next conversation has an owner.

See ShepCare →
02

Equip consistently

Give welcome-team volunteers a repeatable training path in ShepLearn, with lessons, assessment, and completion.

See ShepLearn →
03

Develop together

Coordinate outreach preparation in ShepDev. Put work items, milestones, and review steps where the team can see them.

See ShepDev →
04

Prepare faithfully

Develop the message in ShepWord, study alongside the manuscript, and keep the sermon in your preaching library.

See ShepWord →
05

Serve confidently

Build the service order in ShepServe, schedule the team, and put the setlist and chord charts within reach.

See ShepServe →

A shared ministry rhythm across five focused areas of one ShepTools platform. Your team can move between them with one account; records are shared only through supported connections.

Adopt at your church’s pace

A practical first step.
A manageable next one.

You do not have to rebuild every church process at once. Choose a small pilot and grow from what your team learns.

  1. 1

    Choose the work that needs clarity

    Start with care follow-up, volunteer onboarding, one ministry project, your sermon library, or an upcoming service.

  2. 2

    Bring a small team along

    Set up the workspace, confirm roles, and use sample content before introducing sensitive records.

  3. 3

    Bring existing work in thoughtfully

    ShepCare supports directory CSV imports. ShepWord includes sermon import tools. Review supported formats and permissions in the app before migrating.

  4. 4

    Establish one repeatable rhythm

    Agree on who owns the next step, then expand when that rhythm is working for your church.

David Kennedy, creator of ShepTools
David KennedyCreator of ShepTools

Built from real church needs.
Shared for the work of the Church.

The heart behind ShepTools

Why I Made
These Tools

ShepTools did not begin as an idea for a software company. It began with needs I could see in my own church.

There were real ministry problems I wanted to solve: better ways to care for people, train and equip volunteers, keep ministry work organized, and make the everyday work of serving the church a little easier. I started building tools simply because I wanted something that fit the way ministry actually works, rather than trying to force church needs into software designed for businesses, sales teams, or corporations.

As the tools began to take shape, I realized the challenges we were trying to solve were not unique to our church. Pastors, ministry leaders, volunteers, and churches everywhere are carrying much of the same responsibility, often with limited time, limited staff, and a collection of systems that were never really built for them.

That changed the vision for ShepTools.

What began as an attempt to serve my own church became an opportunity to serve others as well. I decided that if these tools could help us care for people more intentionally, develop leaders more effectively, organize ministry more clearly, and spend less time fighting our software, then I wanted to make them available to other churches too.

I am not trying to replace ministry with technology. The goal is exactly the opposite: to build better tools so the people doing ministry can spend more of their time actually doing it.

That is the heart behind ShepTools: tools built out of a real church need, developed with ministry in mind, and made available in the hope that they can help strengthen churches beyond my own.

Closed beta · access by request

Help shape the platform while we build.

ShepTools is in a closed beta. Approved church workspaces can use the platform at no cost while it is tested, refined, and improved in real ministry environments.

The planned suite subscription is $39/month or $390 upfront for early adopters’ first year, then $49/month or $490/year, covering ShepCare, ShepLearn, ShepDev, and ShepServe. Yearly billing includes 12 months for the price of 10. It is intended to support hosting, security, development, maintenance, integrations, and support. ShepWord will remain free, with no subscription required. The goal is sustainability, not creating another expensive burden for churches.

See launch pricing and compare costs →
Free for approved beta churchesUse the platform while it is being refined and help shape what it becomes.
ShepWord stays freeSermon preparation remains free, whether or not your church has a paid subscription.
Clear before anything changesPricing and timing will be communicated before paid plans begin.
Ministry budgets matterIf future pricing creates a genuine barrier for your church, I want you to feel comfortable reaching out so we can talk about what may be possible.
Why one platform?

Less duct tape. More ministry context.

ShepTools brings five focused ministry areas together in one platform and account. Each area has tools designed around its work, with supported connections for specific workflows. Records are not automatically shared across every area.

NeedGeneric business stackShepTools
Pastoral care contextRequires CRM customizationBuilt for ministry care
Church training pathsAdapt a corporate LMSMember and ministry training
Event and ministry executionGeneric task boardsChurch project workflows
Sermon library and preaching workflowDocs, folders, and notesDedicated preaching workspace
Service planning and team schedulingSpreadsheets, chats, and song filesService orders, teams, and setlists
Shared ministry languageDifferent systems and modelsOne growing ecosystem
Questions

Built to be adopted one step at a time.

Do we have to use every tool?
No. ShepTools is one platform with focused tools for different ministry needs. Start with the workflow that matters most and use the others when they are helpful—all from the same account.
Is ShepTools only for large churches?
No. The goal is to reduce operational complexity, not add it. The tools are being designed so smaller and growing churches can establish strong systems without enterprise sized overhead.
Is ShepTools free?
Approved churches can use all five tools at no cost during the closed beta. ShepWord will always be free. The planned church subscription covers ShepCare, ShepLearn, ShepDev, and ShepServe; pricing and timing will be communicated before paid plans begin.
What if our church cannot afford the future price?
Ministry budgets vary widely. If the eventual cost would create a genuine barrier, I want churches to feel comfortable reaching out so we can have a conversation about their situation and what may be possible.
Are these generic tools with church branding?
No. ShepTools is one platform designed around church-specific workflows: pastoral care, ministry training, church projects and approvals, sermon preparation, and service planning.

Equip well. Together.

Start with the ministry problem that needs a better system today.

Explore the ShepTools platform →
People & pastoral care

More about ShepCare

See the person behind the profile, recognize what needs attention, and give care a clear next step.

Know your people

  • People & households

    Keep family connections, contact details, and ministry context alongside each person.

  • Engagement filters

    Find people by relationship, campus, and engagement level when deciding who needs a touchpoint.

  • Thoughtful imports

    Map CSV columns, review possible duplicates, and match existing people before bringing a directory across.

See what needs attention

  • Pastoral briefing

    Bring urgent needs, today’s priorities, and follow-ups into one practical daily view.

  • Shepherd workspace

    See the people assigned to your care, with indicators that help you choose the next conversation.

  • Action Center

    Work through care and follow-up queues without hunting through individual profiles.

Follow through on care

  • Assigned follow-ups

    Give the next step an owner, a due date, and a priority.

  • Due & overdue views

    Separate what is late, what is due today, and what is coming next.

  • Interaction history

    Keep the context of previous conversations and completed follow-ups close to the person.

Handle sensitive needs with care

  • Prayer needs

    Track requests by category, status, and priority, with intentional sharing controls.

  • Pastoral care cases

    Record an ongoing need, assign responsibility, and keep resolution notes with the case.

  • Permission-aware views

    Sensitive care details remain subject to the person’s access and explicit sharing settings.

Recognize connection & absence

  • Named attendance

    Record present or absent for guests, members, and regular attenders.

  • Headcounts alongside names

    Keep anonymous guest counts and total attendance with each service.

  • Groups & ministry context

    See group connections, leaders, and serving involvement when planning personal follow-up.

Make room for better conversations

  • Shepherd AI

    Ask questions about the pastoral context available to you and use the response as a starting point.

  • Briefing conversations

    Move from a briefing item into a focused conversation about what it might mean.

  • Pastoral assignments

    Make the relationship between a shepherd and the people they care for visible to the team.

Care and prayer information is shown according to your role and sharing permissions. Shepherd AI uses the context available to the signed-in user; review its suggestions before acting.

Part of the ShepTools platform. Included for approved beta churches.

Try ShepCare (opens in a new tab)
Courses & ministry training

More about ShepLearn

Turn what your church knows into training people can actually work through, revisit, and complete.

Build your church’s own training

  • Guided course creation

    Shape a course outline, arrange modules and lessons, then open it in the builder.

  • Flexible lesson blocks

    Combine teaching text, video, resources, and interactive blocks in a single lesson.

  • Draft & publish controls

    Keep unfinished material in draft and decide when learners can see it.

Help the lesson become learning

  • Reflections & acknowledgments

    Ask learners to respond to what they have read and confirm important expectations.

  • Assessments

    Add questions with a passing score and configurable attempt limits.

  • A clear next step

    Keep lesson responses and completion together so learners can continue through the course.

Give every department a path

  • Department learning paths

    Bring the courses for a ministry team into one guided journey.

  • Course sequencing

    Put required courses in a useful order while allowing learners to work at their own pace.

  • Enrollment tools

    Assign selected church members to the courses they need instead of relying on a shared link alone.

Put people behind the teaching

  • Instructor profiles

    Introduce the people teaching a course with photos, biographies, titles, and chosen contact details.

  • Department leadership

    Show ministry leaders and reuse their profiles across the department’s courses.

  • Role-based responsibilities

    Give owners, administrators, directors, instructors, and learners the appropriate workspace.

See progress & celebrate completion

  • My Learning

    Give each learner a personal place to find enrolled courses and pick up their training.

  • Leadership reports

    See course progress, completions, and an overall view of training across the church.

  • Branded certificates

    Customize completion wording, logo, signature name, and colors, with a PDF preview before publishing.

Get a useful first draft

  • Outline assistance

    Suggest a course structure from your topic and guidance, then review it before applying.

  • Lesson drafting

    Use source material and instructions to prepare teaching drafts inside the course workflow.

  • Your choice of assistant

    Use prepared prompts with a chat assistant, or configure a supported API connection for in-app generation.

Course visibility and management tools depend on your role. AI assistance is optional; supported API connections use your chosen provider and its limits. Review teaching content before publishing.

Part of the ShepTools platform. Included for approved beta churches.

Try ShepLearn (opens in a new tab)
Projects, proofs & approvals

More about ShepDev

Keep the work, the conversation, the creative files, and the decision in the same place.

Turn a plan into accountable work

  • Projects & work items

    Break ministry plans into work with owners, priorities, due dates, and milestones.

  • My Work & board views

    See personal assignments or follow the wider work in list and board layouts.

  • Meetings & conversations

    Keep project meeting notes, comments, and activity with the work they belong to.

Make a good process repeatable

  • Workflow Builder

    Create reusable stages that describe how a job moves from request to completion.

  • Approval requirements

    Set the points where work needs a decision before it moves forward.

  • Proof requirements

    Make supporting files and evidence part of the process rather than an afterthought.

Review the actual creative work

  • Multi-file proofs

    Submit the related files together so a reviewer can consider the complete set.

  • Feedback in the preview

    Review files and record comments and approval decisions from the proofing view.

  • Version history

    Submit a revised proof while keeping earlier versions and their feedback available.

Bring the right person into a decision

  • Reusable approval paths

    Define an ordered route for the people who need to review a piece of work.

  • External reviewers by email

    Invite a pastor or other reviewer through a personal review link, without requiring an app account.

  • One-off proof reviewers

    Choose an external recipient while submitting a proof, without building a permanent approval path first.

Keep the church’s brand close

  • A shared brand system

    Keep approved artwork, palettes, typography guidance, and reference examples together.

  • Ministry sub-brands

    Organize related ministry identities and their resources inside the wider brand system.

  • Brand checks on proofs

    Review supported checks against saved brand rules and attach the findings to the proof.

Keep relationships connected to the job

  • Client profiles

    Store the contact information and context for the people requesting work.

  • Client job history

    See open and completed jobs from the client’s profile instead of piecing together past requests.

  • Teams & shared ownership

    Organize the people carrying the work and keep their assignments visible.

Approval routes, external review links, and brand checks need the relevant setup and permissions. Brand findings support human review; they do not replace a designer’s judgment.

Part of the ShepTools platform. Included for approved beta churches.

Try ShepDev (opens in a new tab)
Study, writing & preaching

More about ShepWord

Give the message a life beyond the document—from an early note to the pulpit and the conversation after Sunday.

Keep Scripture beside the manuscript

  • A focused sermon editor

    Develop a manuscript and outline in a workspace built around sermon preparation.

  • Bible study alongside writing

    Search passages, compare available translations, and choose your preferred Bible resource.

  • Scripture insertion

    Bring a passage into the message with its reference and translation rather than retyping the text.

Give ideas somewhere to grow

  • A separate notes workspace

    Capture thoughts before they are ready to become a sermon, or open notes while writing.

  • Folders, tags & pins

    Organize research, find note content, and keep useful ideas within reach.

  • Preserved sermon versions

    Create a new editable version while keeping earlier manuscripts intact for reference.

Prepare for the moment you preach

  • Preaching mode

    Read the message in a focused view with adjustable presentation and reading controls.

  • A sermon timer

    Start and pause elapsed time, then confirm the preaching record when saving the duration.

  • Preaching history

    Record when and where a message was preached, with notes you can revisit later.

Plan the messages ahead

  • Preaching planner

    See upcoming engagements and connect the right sermon to the right date.

  • Calendar, timeline & compact views

    Choose a planning layout that fits the way you think about the year.

  • Calendar export

    Take planned engagements and recorded preaching dates into another calendar with an .ics export.

Let Sunday carry into the week

  • Follow-up drafts

    Draft text messages, email devotionals, and social captions from the message.

  • Suggested video scripts

    Prepare a 5–10 minute starting script with reflection, application, and optional group discussion suggestions.

  • Shared follow-up resources

    Make reviewed drafts available alongside a sermon explicitly shared with your church organization.

Build a resource the church can use

  • Sermon & series library

    Find past work by title, Scripture, status, and series instead of searching through scattered documents.

  • Sermon artwork

    Attach and manage the graphic that represents a message in the catalog and sharing views.

  • Intentional organization sharing

    Share selected sermons into a read-only church repository or a paired ShepServe catalog.

Always free with a ShepTools account; no paid church subscription required. Bible availability depends on the configured providers. Review generated follow-ups for Scripture accuracy, tone, and the needs of your congregation before sharing.

Always free. No paid church subscription required.

Try ShepWord free (opens in a new tab)
Services, volunteers & connection

More about ShepServe

Bring the plan for Sunday, the people serving, and the resources they need into one practical workspace.

Build the service once, use it well

  • A flexible service order

    Arrange songs, messages, prayer, announcements, and section headers in the plan.

  • Reusable service templates

    Build a repeatable starting point and apply a template when creating or preparing a service.

  • A focused service runner

    Keep the running order and the resources for the service close when it is time to lead.

Give volunteers a clear next step

  • Teams & assignments

    Schedule people into the roles and shifts that make a service possible.

  • Serving requests

    Let volunteers see and respond to requests, with a personal schedule for what is ahead.

  • Availability

    Record unavailable dates so scheduling can take a person’s availability into account.

Make the music usable in the room

  • Song library & ChordPro

    Keep songs and arrangements together, build setlists, and transpose supported chord charts.

  • Chart layout controls

    Adjust font, size, columns, spacing, and margins, then print a chart in the layout you need.

  • Saved music for rehearsal

    Download a service pack while online, open its saved charts offline, and keep personal annotations.

Make it easier to take a first step

  • Form builder & templates

    Start with guest cards, connection cards, event registration, volunteer interest, group interest, or prayer requests.

  • Website embeds & public links

    Share a published form directly or copy an embed for the church’s website.

  • Submissions by form

    See submissions grouped by form, filter by status, and review individual responses in a dedicated area.

Keep people & attendance connected

  • A useful people directory

    Import people, review duplicates, link volunteer profiles, and manage eligibility to serve.

  • Service attendance

    Keep named attendance and anonymous headcounts with the gathering they belong to.

  • A paired ShepCare connection

    Send people, households, and attendance to the explicitly connected ShepCare church.

Connect the work behind the service

  • ShepLearn preparation

    Bring supported training and readiness information into a paired service-preparation workflow.

  • ShepDev service tasks

    Create linked preparation work in ShepDev with a route back to the service.

  • ShepWord messages

    Choose a sermon explicitly shared to the church’s catalog and add the message to the service plan.

Help the church stay informed

  • Volunteer updates

    Give eligible volunteers an inbox for staffing and ready-setlist notifications, with optional mobile push.

  • Church profile & visitor information

    Present leadership titles, service times, location, and the details someone needs for a visit.

  • Your preferred giving platform

    Add the church’s giving link so people can reach the provider you already use.

Cross-app workflows require an explicitly paired church organization and the right permissions. Push notifications depend on device support and opt-in. Giving links open your provider; payment processing remains with that provider.

Part of the ShepTools platform. Included for approved beta churches.

Try ShepServe (opens in a new tab)