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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.flowforth.co/llms.txt

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Flowforth requires a connection to Planning Center in order to function. It’s how we know who your people are and how you send and automate emails using lists you’ve already created in Planning Center.
You must be at least a People Manager in Planning Center to connect your account to Flowforth. Once connected, access to Flowforth content will depend on their Flowforth permissions, not their Planning Center permissions.

What We Sync

During setup, you can choose which Planning Center apps to connect. Flowforth always syncs the following from People:
  • All people and their primary email addresses
  • Lists
  • List categories
You can also connect Groups, Registrations, and Calendar to import Planning Center content directly into your emails. This allows you to send targeted messages, track engagement, and automate communications in Flowforth.

Real-Time Syncing

When you connect to Planning Center, Flowforth creates webhooks in your Planning Center account. This means:
  • Any changes you make in Planning Center, such as adding or removing people from lists, are reflected in Flowforth within minutes
  • Your data stays accurate and up-to-date, without needing manual imports
If you make a change in Planning Center and it doesn’t show in Flowforth within 5 minutes, contact support@flowforth.co.

Who Can Connect to Planning Center

To connect your Planning Center account to Flowforth, you must be a People Manager or higher in Planning Center.
  • Anyone you invite to Flowforth can use the platform.
  • However, only users with People Manager access in Planning Center can connect your account.
If a list is not visible to the person who connected your Planning Center account, it may not appear in Flowforth. Visibility is determined by that user’s permissions in Planning Center.

Connecting to Planning Center

You’ll be prompted to connect to Planning Center during onboarding, so we can sync your data before you start emailing. During this process, you can choose which Planning Center apps to connect:
  • People (required)
  • Groups
  • Registrations
  • Calendar
Connecting all apps at once gives you full access to import Planning Center content into your emails right away. If your organization is not connected (or the connection is lost), you’ll be prompted to reconnect. Reasons you might lose your connection:
  • The person who connected had their permissions changed within Planning Center
  • It’s been 90+ days since you last used Flowforth
  • The original connector deleted their Flowforth account or Planning Center account

Expanding Your Connection

If you didn’t connect all Planning Center apps during setup, you can expand your connection later to include Groups, Registrations, and Calendar data. This enables importing Planning Center content directly into emails. To expand your connection:
  1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
  2. Click Expand Planning Center Connection
  3. Authorize the additional scopes using the same account that originally connected
Required permissions:
  • Manager access to People
  • Administrator access to Groups
  • Administrator access to Registrations
  • Viewer access to Calendar

List Syncing

When you connect to Planning Center, Flowforth syncs your lists so you can use them to send emails. You can check for new lists at any time from the People > Lists page by clicking Actions > Check for New Lists. New lists are assigned a default visibility level when they sync. You can control this default—and override it per category—from the Planning Center settings page.

Default List Permissions

The Default List Permissions setting controls the visibility assigned to new lists when they first sync from Planning Center. To change the default:
  1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
  2. Under List Sync Settings, find Default List Permissions
  3. Choose a visibility level:
PermissionDescription
Visible to AllAll Flowforth team members can see and use the list
Owners OnlyOnly organization owners can see and use the list
HiddenThe list is hidden from Flowforth entirely
When you change the default, you’ll be asked whether to:
  • Apply to All Lists — updates all existing lists to the new default
  • Only New Lists — keeps existing lists unchanged; only future synced lists use the new default

Per-Category Defaults

You can override the global default for specific Planning Center list categories. This is useful if you want most lists visible but certain categories restricted.
  1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
  2. Under List Sync Settings, click Customize per category to expand the category list
  3. For each category, choose a visibility level or leave it as Inherited to use the global default
When you change a category’s default, you’ll be asked whether to apply the change to all existing lists in that category or only to newly synced lists.
If no categories appear, click Sync Categories to pull them from Planning Center. Categories are created automatically when lists are synced, but you can also sync them independently.

Per-List Permissions

You can also set visibility on individual lists from the People > Lists page. Owners can click on any list to open its settings and choose from:
  • Visible to All — all team members can see the list
  • Owners Only — only owners can see the list
  • Hidden — the list doesn’t appear in Flowforth
  • Custom — hand-pick which team members can access the list

Custom Refresh Schedules

By default, lists are refreshed automatically via webhooks. If you need a list refreshed on a specific schedule, you can set a custom refresh for individual lists:
  1. Go to People > Lists
  2. Click on a list to open its settings
  3. Enable Custom Refresh Schedule
  4. Choose a day of the week and time
The list will be refreshed at the selected time in your browser’s timezone.

Disconnecting from Planning Center

To disconnect your Flowforth organization from Planning Center:
  1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
  2. Click Disconnect, then confirm
After disconnecting:
  • You will only be able to manage billing or reconnect your Planning Center account
  • You will not be able to send emails or manage links
Disconnecting Planning Center disables all core features of Flowforth until you reconnect.

Importing Content into Emails

You can import groups, registrations, and calendar events from Planning Center directly into the Flowforth email editor. This lets you quickly build emails featuring your Planning Center content without manually creating each block. Learn more in Importing Content from Planning Center.

Linking to Planning Center Content

You can also link directly to Planning Center content from buttons, images, cards, list buttons, and footer text links using the Planning Center link type. When selected, a picker lets you browse Forms, Registrations, Groups, Calendar Events, and common Church Center links without leaving the editor. Learn more in Linking to Planning Center Content.

Additional Notes

  • You can see who connected your Planning Center account and when from Settings > Planning Center.
  • A single Planning Center organization can only be connected to one Flowforth organization.
  • If a list isn’t showing up, see Planning Center List Not Showing for troubleshooting steps.

Need help syncing or managing your Planning Center connection? Contact support@flowforth.co.