Frequently asked questions
Still have a question? See a live church running on Shepherd, or reach out.
How long does setup take?
Most churches are live within one to two weeks of sending us their content — service times, staff, ministries, and any sermon or event info you want on the site. The $1,200 setup fee covers our team configuring everything by hand; you're not handed a blank dashboard.
Do you process our giving or hold our money?
No. Shepherd never touches donor payment details or funds — your Give page links out to whatever processor your church already uses (Tithe.ly and similar are supported). Zero PCI scope for you, zero liability you didn't ask for.
Is this a church management system (ChMS)?
No — Shepherd is a public website plus a lightweight admin dashboard for the site itself: content, forms, and staff notifications. It's not a member database, giving ledger, or check-in system. If your church already runs a ChMS, Shepherd sits alongside it.
Do we need a developer to update the site?
No. That's the whole point. Sermons, events, ministries, staff, and page content are all edited from the admin dashboard by whoever on your team you give a login to — no code, no ticket to a developer, no waiting on one busy person.
What happens to prayer requests and connect-card submissions?
They land in a private admin inbox and kanban board only your staff can see, and they trigger an email to whoever you've set up to receive them. Pastoral details — prayer requests, health or family information — are never sent to analytics tools or logged anywhere outside the app.
Can we use our own domain?
Yes. Every church gets a website on a Shepherd subdomain to start, and can connect its own domain (yourchurch.org) once it's ready — we walk you through the DNS setup.
Can we leave, and do we get our data?
Yes, and yes. If you cancel, we'll export everything you've put into Shepherd — sermons, events, ministries, page content, and submitted form data — in a plain format you can hand to whoever builds what's next. Nothing about your church is locked in.
What does the $59/mo actually cover?
Hosting, backups, uptime monitoring, and unlimited content edits from the admin dashboard — plus email support. There's no per-visitor or per-submission charge on top of it.
We're not very technical — is that a problem?
It's who Shepherd is built for. Setup is white-glove (we do the configuring), and day-to-day use is a small set of forms and toggles in the dashboard — not a website builder with a learning curve.