Setting Up Your Church

Church Profile

Go to Settings → General to set your church name and upload your logo. The logo appears in the mobile app, so volunteers see your branding when they open Scout.

Teams

Go to Settings → Teams to create your ministry teams. These are the serving areas volunteers will choose from when they check in — Worship, Kids, Hospitality, Tech, Greeting, etc.

You can add, rename, or remove teams at any time. Volunteers can belong to multiple teams.

Services

Go to Settings → Services to add your service labels. These are the options volunteers see when they check in — things like “9:00 AM,” “11:00 AM,” or “Wednesday Night.” They’re free-text labels, so you can name them whatever makes sense for your church.

Inviting Volunteers

Go to Settings → Invite to find your church’s invite tools. Scout gives you three ways to get volunteers connected:

• Invite link — A shareable URL (scout.church/join/your-church) that volunteers visit to download the app and join your church. Copy it and send it via text, email, or group chat.
• QR code — A downloadable PNG that volunteers can scan with their phone camera. Print it on a card, put it on a table, or add it to a handout.
• Service loop slide — A ready-made 1920×1080 slide you can download and drop into your pre-service announcement loop. No design work needed.

Connecting Planning Center

If your church uses Planning Center Online (PCO), you can connect it to Scout and import your existing volunteer roster. Go to Settings → Integrations → Planning Center.

Setting Up the Connection

1. Click “Connect Planning Center”
2. You’ll be redirected to Planning Center to authorize Scout
3. Once connected, you’ll see your PCO organization name, connection date, and token status

Importing Volunteers

After connecting, you have three import options:

• Import All — Pull in volunteers and teams together
• Import Volunteers Only — Add people without changing your team setup
• Import Teams Only — Pull in team structure without importing people

After each import, Scout shows you a results breakdown — how many volunteers and teams were created, updated, or skipped. Existing volunteers are matched by email and updated automatically.

You can re-run the import anytime to pull in new people or updated information. Your data in Planning Center is never modified — Scout only reads from PCO, never writes to it.

What Syncs

• Volunteer names and contact info — Pulled from PCO People
• Team structure — Created from PCO Services
• Team assignments — Volunteers are linked to the correct teams

Imported volunteers still need to download the mobile app and log in to complete their profiles and start checking in. The import gives you a head start on your roster — they fill in the rest.

Scout is designed to complement Planning Center, not replace it. PCO handles scheduling and service planning; Scout handles expertise discovery and volunteer wellness.

Tips for Rollout

• Start with one team. Roll Scout out to a single ministry team first (e.g., your worship team or kids ministry). Let them get comfortable before expanding.
• Use the slide. Download the service loop slide from your Invite page and add it to your Sunday announcements. It’s the easiest way to reach everyone at once.
• Text the link to team leads. Copy your invite link and send it directly. Team leads can forward it to their volunteers.
• Encourage profile completion. The more volunteers fill out their profiles, the more useful Scout becomes. The profile takes about 2 minutes.