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List permissions let you control which members of your organization can view and send to specific Planning Center lists. This is especially important for churches with sensitive lists or multiple ministry teams that each manage their own communications.
Only organization owners can manage list permissions.

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Default List Permissions

Every list synced from Planning Center is assigned a default permission level. Organization owners can set this default from the People > Lists page using the bulk action. There are three default levels:
LevelDescription
Visible to AllAll members with email access can see the list and send to it.
Owners OnlyOnly organization owners can see and send to the list.
HiddenThe list is hidden from all views, the list selector, emails, and automations. Useful for internal or sensitive lists.
Setting a default gives you a baseline for all lists, which you can then override on individual lists or categories as needed.

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Per-Category Permissions

You can set default permissions based on a list’s category in Planning Center. This is helpful when you want all lists in a certain category to share the same visibility level. For example, you might set all lists in your “Staff” category to Owners Only, while lists in your “Ministry Teams” category remain Visible to All. Category-level permissions override the organization default for all lists within that category.

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Per-List Permissions (Custom Sharing)

Individual lists can have custom permissions that override both the organization default and any category-level setting. To set permissions on a specific list:
  1. Go to People > Lists.
  2. Click on a list to open its details page.
  3. Go to the Permissions section.
You can choose from the following options:
  • Keep the organization default - the list follows whatever default is set at the organization or category level.
  • Visible to All - all members with email access can see and send to the list.
  • Owners Only - only organization owners can see and send to the list.
  • Hidden - the list is completely hidden from all views and selectors.
  • Custom - add specific people or teams who can access the list.
When set to Custom, you can search and add individual members or teams. Only those people (and all organization owners) will be able to see and send to the list.
Owners always have full access to every list and cannot be removed from a list’s permissions.

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Sharing Lists with Teams

Instead of adding individual members one at a time, you can share a list with an entire team. Everyone on that team will be able to see the list and send to it. This makes it easier to manage access over time. As team membership changes, list access updates automatically. You do not need to go back and update individual list permissions when someone joins or leaves a team. To share a list with a team:
  1. Open the list’s details page.
  2. Set the permission to Custom.
  3. Search for and add the team.

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Bulk Updating Permissions

From the People > Lists page, owners can bulk update all list permissions at once. This is useful when you first set up Flowforth or when you want to reset all lists to a consistent permission level.
A confirmation dialog appears before applying bulk changes. Review the changes carefully, as this will override any per-list custom permissions you have set.

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How Permissions Affect the App

List permissions control visibility across Flowforth. When a member does not have access to a list:
  • The list will not appear in the list selector when creating or editing an email.
  • The list will not appear as an option in automation triggers.
  • The list will not appear on the Lists table. Owners can enable the “Include Hidden” filter to view hidden lists.
  • The list will not appear in any list-related search results.
  • Emails sent to that list will not be visible to the member.
Email templates are not tied to list permissions. All members with email access can use any template regardless of which lists they can see.
List sync settings and refresh schedules can only be managed by organization owners.

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Suggested Reading

Need help with list permissions? Contact support@flowforth.co.