Shepherding Connections review
A broad church texting toolkit with a free entry point and automation features.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Shepherding Connections is the SMS-focused application in Shepherding Tools, designed for pastors, elders, outreach teams, and churches managing announcements and follow-up. Its feature set covers SMS announcements, a two-way texting inbox, automated multi-step sequences, keyword auto-responses, visitor connect pages, welcome cards, targeted contact segments, scheduled announcements, repeating-cadence automations, and trackable shortened links. Churches can also manage SMS consent and opt-outs through a church phone number. The product is available on web, iOS, and Android.
Pricing is structured for churches at several sizes. Free Forever provides limited Connections access without SMS messaging and does not require a credit card. Small Church costs $29 per month or $290 per year and adds full SMS messaging through Connections plus priority email support. Medium Church costs $49 per month or $490 per year, with full access to every application and phone and email support. Large Church costs $99 per month or $990 per year and adds dedicated onboarding support. Unlimited costs $199 per month and includes full access to every application with custom onboarding and training.
The strongest fit is a church that wants more than one-off announcements: sequences, recurring messages, visitor follow-up, keyword replies, and audience segmentation support ongoing communication workflows. Planning Center People, Breeze ChMS, and other ChMS platforms with an open API provide integration options. The free tier is useful for exploring limited Connections access, but churches that need SMS must choose a paid plan. Connections is in beta, and messaging is currently limited to United States and Canada numbers, so churches outside those regions or seeking a non-beta messaging tool should consider an alternative.
Shepherding Connections pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Two-way texting, sequences, keyword replies, and scheduled sends
- Visitor connect pages, segmentation, consent, and opt-out tools
- Web, iOS, Android, and integrations with church software
- Where it doesn't
- Free Forever excludes SMS messaging
- Messaging is limited to United States and Canada numbers
- Connections is currently in beta
Shepherding Connections fact sheet, pricing and score →
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