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A Wait step pauses an automation before the next step runs. Use it to space out emails in a series, hold a message until a specific day, or give an auto-refreshing list time to settle before sending. Waits come in two modes.

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Wait for a Duration

Delay the next step by a number of hours or days. For example, wait 3 days after the welcome email before sending a follow-up.
  • A duration wait can be at most 31 days.

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Wait Until a Day of the Week

Pause until the next time it’s a chosen weekday and hour, like Friday at 8:00 PM, in a timezone you pick.
  • If that moment has already passed when a person reaches the step, they wait until the following week — so this wait is always somewhere between an instant and seven days.
  • The step’s panel shows when the next occurrence would be.
For example, you could wait until the next Saturday to remind new people about church the following morning.

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Rules

  • You cannot end an automation (or a path) with a wait — though a path may end with one when it rejoins into more steps afterwards.
  • You cannot place two waits back-to-back.
Because auto-refreshing Planning Center lists refresh at 2:00 AM, we recommend adding a wait before sending your first email when using a list trigger — or setting a start offset.