Shepherding Connections

Input—per 1M tokens

Output—per 1M tokens

Context—tokens

WeightsClosed

About

Shepherding Connections is the text-messaging part of Shepherding Tools, built for following up with visitors and others outside a church’s rolls. It supports SMS announcements, two-way texting, call forwarding, keyword replies, and automated visitor welcome sequences. Public connect pages collect visitor details and can start follow-up, while digital welcome cards are also described. Automations can send SMS or email, create tasks, assign team members, branch on replies, and run repeatedly. Contacts can be grouped into segments, and links in messages can be shortened and tracked. The service requires recorded consent for announcements and automated messages, and handles STOP, START, and HELP. It runs on Android, iOS, and the web. Connections is labeled Beta; its sent status means the carrier accepted a message, not that delivery to a handset was confirmed. Messaging is limited to U.S. and Canadian numbers. The free plan allows up to five user accounts but excludes phone numbers and texting; the Small Church plan is 29.00 USD per month.

Who it is for

It suits pastors, elders, and deacons who need to coordinate visitor follow-up and church messaging. Teams should note the North American texting limit and the free plan’s lack of SMS.

What is good

Automations can branch based on replies.
Contacts can be grouped into segments.
Available on Android, iOS, and the web.
Recorded consent and keyword handling are supported.

What to know first

Texting is limited to U.S. and Canadian numbers.
Free plan excludes phone numbers and texting.
Delivery to handsets is not confirmed.
Contact spreadsheet import is unavailable.

Verdict

Connections combines visitor intake with messaging and follow-up workflows. Its Beta status and lack of delivery confirmation matter for teams that need to know whether a message reached a handset.

Compared on church text messaging software

Free plan: Yesshepherdingtools.com
Paid from: $29/moshepherdingtools.com
Two-way messaging: Yesshepherdingtools.com
Scheduled messages: Yesshepherdingtools.com
Recurring messages: Yesshepherdingtools.com
Audience segmentation: Yesshepherdingtools.com
Church software integrations: Yesshepherdingtools.com
Mobile app: Yesshepherdingtools.com

Facts

Purpose: Connections is the text messaging side of Shepherding Tools for following up with visitors and other people who are not on the church's rolls.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Messaging: It supports SMS announcements, two-way texting, automated visitor welcome sequences, call forwarding, and keyword auto-responses.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Visitor forms: Public connect pages collect visitor details and can trigger automated follow-up; the maker also describes digital visitor welcome cards.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Automations: Automations can send SMS or email, create follow-up tasks, assign team members, branch based on replies, and run on a repeating cadence.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Segmentation and links: Contacts can be grouped into segments, and links in hand-sent or automated messages can be shortened and tracked.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Consent controls: The product requires recorded consent for announcements and automated messages, and handles STOP, START, and HELP keywords.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
SMS availability: Phone numbers and texting are not included on the free plan; any paid Tracker plan enables them, and custom arrangements may also enable them.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Geographic limit: Connections sends messages to United States and Canada numbers only.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Notable limitations: The documentation says contact spreadsheet import and self-service merging of duplicate contacts are not available.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Beta status: Connections is labeled Beta, and the documentation says delivery confirmation is unavailable, so “sent” means the carrier accepted the message rather than confirming handset delivery.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Security: The maker says data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS, encrypted at rest with AES-256, and isolated by church at the database layer.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Support: The documentation says support messages receive a reply within one business day.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026
Who it is for: Shepherding Tools describes its applications as designed by a pastor for pastors, elders, and deacons.shepherdingtools.com · 2 Oct 2026