What's new in FlockConnect, and what Collie does

FlockConnect has changed a great deal since its Starter plan opened on August 31. Home now starts with the people who need someone this week, care is shared across a team instead of resting on one person, and Collie is the assistant on the Collie plans. This is a plain tour of what changed and what Collie does and does not do.

Key takeaways

• Home starts with this week. Owners and admins with Care access see a "This week" list of people who may need attention, each with a next step they can take or set aside.
• Care is shared. Owners and admins with Care access assign people to care partners, and each care partner opens FlockConnect to a Home of their own people.
• Small group leaders have what they need on a Sunday. When a church takes service attendance, leaders see their groups on Home and take attendance from a phone.
• Collie drafts; a person approves. On a person's page, Collie can show how they are doing and prepare a check-in, a care plan or a follow-up. Nothing Collie drafts reaches a member or a connected system, and no care record is created, until a person approves it.
• It works alongside the church management system a church already uses. FlockConnect is an Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration, and every other system comes in through a spreadsheet import.

Quick answer: what is new in FlockConnect, and what is Collie?

FlockConnect is a Church Relationship Manager built for pastoral care. Since August it has added a "This week" Home for owners and admins with Care access, a Home of their own people for care partners, Home and phone tools for small group leaders, and faster updates from Planning Center. Collie is its assistant on the Collie plans. Collie prepares check-ins, care plans, follow-ups and a weekly brief, and a person approves anything before it reaches a member.

Home starts with the people who need someone this week

An owner or an admin with Care access now opens FlockConnect on a "This week" list. It names the people who may need attention this week and gives each one a next step. Each row carries two choices: Do it, which takes the next step, or Not this week, which sets it aside without losing it.

Recording the ordinary moments got faster too. On a row asking for contact, tap Do it and then We spoke at church to log a conversation in the lobby.

Care is shared, not carried alone

A pastor cannot hold every name in a church, and FlockConnect is built so no one has to. Owners and admins with Care access assign people to care partners. Care partners are trusted members, often lay volunteers, who look after a few people each.

A care partner opens FlockConnect to Your people: the people entrusted to them, a few at a time, with the rest kept for later. When a phone number or email is missing, the person's card tells the care partner which teammate to ask, or points them to their pastor. Care partners do not have access to the whole church directory, and they do not use Collie.

Small group leaders have what they need on a Sunday

When a church takes service attendance, a small group leader sees their groups on Home every day and can take attendance from a phone, with names in first-name order and a Save button that stays in reach. Care partners, owners and admins with both Care and People access who hold care assignments also have a weekly service-attendance list of the people in their care, so someone who knows the person can notice a missed Sunday.

Planning Center changes can arrive before the nightly refresh

FlockConnect is an Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration. Changes to groups, group memberships and households can arrive through Planning Center webhooks without waiting for the nightly refresh. A separate catch-up job runs every fifteen minutes for people changes. Every other church management system reaches FlockConnect through a spreadsheet import. Either way, FlockConnect works alongside the system a church already runs; it does not replace it.

What Collie does

Collie is the assistant on the Collie plans. Michael Tribett, FlockConnect's founder, described it in his August founder letter as a sheepdog: "It is not the shepherd. That is you."

Here is what Collie does today:

• On a person's page, Collie can show how that person is doing from what the church has recorded, and prepare a next step: a check-in message, a care plan, or a follow-up plan.
• Every week, Collie prepares a short brief for the owner and the admins the church gives Collie, People and Care access. Each of them can turn the email off.
• In the reader's language. Collie works in English and Spanish.

What Collie does not do

• It does not message members on its own. Nothing Collie drafts reaches a member or a connected system, and no care record is created, until a person approves it.
• It does not watch the whole church. Collie reads the person in front of you, not every member at once.
• It does not handle danger by itself. When recorded facts indicate immediate danger, Collie does not offer a drafted message, and its care-plan instructions put getting the person help first.
• It can be switched off. A church can turn Collie off entirely, and anyone with Collie can hide it for themselves.

More on how Collie is held to account is on the Collie ethics page.

Who it is for

FlockConnect Starter, from $9 a month, covers logging care, care partners, follow-ups and the Planning Center connection. Collie comes with the Collie plans, which are priced by church size. A new church can try its chosen available plan free for 14 days, with no credit card required.

Why it is built this way

FlockConnect began with one friendship. In the founder letter, Michael Tribett tells of a close friend at his church who felt completely isolated: "He looked fine on paper. He was showing up. He was in small group. He even served. But nobody knew he felt alone."

The product is built around that gap. Software does not make disciples; people do. FlockConnect exists so pastors, small group leaders and care partners can know their people well enough to care for them and walk with them, and so the work of noticing is shared across a church instead of resting on one tired pastor. As the letter puts it: "FlockConnect is prayerfully and intentionally built."

About the editor

Michael Tribett is the founder of FlockConnect, a Church Relationship Manager (ChRM) built for pastoral care. He holds a Master of Divinity in Christian Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he focused on missions and discipleship, and he serves as a small group leader at his church in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. FlockConnect participated in the Missional Labs Faith & AI Accelerator during Winter and Spring of 2026 and is an Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration.

Frequently asked questions

What is Collie in FlockConnect?

Collie is the assistant on FlockConnect's Collie plans. On a person's page it can show how that person is doing from what the church has recorded and prepare a check-in, a care plan or a follow-up. It also prepares a weekly brief for the owner and the admins the church chooses.

Does Collie send messages to church members on its own?

No. Nothing Collie drafts reaches a member or a connected system, and no care record is created, until a person approves it. Collie prepares the words; a pastor or leader decides whether they are sent.

Who receives Collie's weekly brief?

The weekly brief goes to the church's owner and to the admins the church gives Collie, People and Care access. Each of them can turn the email off. Care partners do not receive it and do not use Collie.

What changed for care partners in FlockConnect?

A care partner now opens FlockConnect to Your people, the people entrusted to them, a few at a time. When a phone number or email is missing, the person's card names the teammate to ask or points them to their pastor. Care partners do not have access to the whole church directory.

Does FlockConnect replace Planning Center?

No. FlockConnect works alongside the church management system a church already uses. It is an Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration, and every other system comes in through a spreadsheet import.

Can a church turn Collie off?

Yes. A church can switch Collie off for everyone, and anyone with Collie can hide it for themselves. The rest of FlockConnect keeps working either way.

How this was written: drafted with AI from Michael Tribett's ideas and research, then fact-checked and edited by him. How FlockConnect uses AI