Why Groups: A message on our first major update

The heart of church community

When we set out to reimagine Pushpay’s church management software (ChMS), we had to answer a fundamental question: Where does life change actually happen in a church?

The answer, again and again, was the same: in groups.

Not in a Sunday service alone. Not through a single pastoral message, however transformative. But in the smaller circles where people show up consistently, where vulnerability becomes possible, where someone notices when you’re missing and asks why. Where a teenager finds their people. Where a new parent finds their tribe. Where grief is held and joy is celebrated. Where the gospel moves from sermon notes to lived reality.

Groups aren’t a feature in church software. They’re the heartbeat of the local church.

Why Groups first

As we launch the new ChurchStaq experience—with a refreshed visual identity and rebuilt foundation—we made a deliberate choice to begin with Groups. Not because it was the easiest feature to rebuild. But because it’s the most important one to get right.

Here’s what we heard from churches: your Group leaders are stretched thin. They’re managing spreadsheets when they should be shepherding people. They’re spending too much energy on your software to do basic things: find a participant, send a message, understand who’s drifting. They’re working against the system instead of with it.

That shouldn’t be the case.

What we’re building

Over the next months, we’re redesigning Groups from the ground up—with a modern interface, cleaner navigation, and workflows built around how you actually lead. A group leader will be able to:

• Find and understand their participants without clicking through five screens
• Communicate with their group through a more streamlined and intuitive experience
• See at a glance who’s present, who’s absent, and who might need a conversation
• Spend less time navigating tools and more time investing in people

These might sound like small things. But when a group leader stops wrestling with software and starts focusing on people, discipleship takes priority again. Attendance stabilizes. Participation deepens. Discipleship moves from a goal to a lived experience.

A foundation for what’s next

This is just the beginning. There are bigger innovations ahead—real-time group communication, seamless attendance tracking, deeper connection between groups and your broader ministry. But we’re not rushing there. We’re building on solid ground.

Because Groups matter. Not as a product category, but as the place where churches actually change lives. And if we’re going to invest in rebuilding your ChMS, we’re going to start by honoring the real work that happens in those circles—and making your life as a leader measurably better.

That’s why Groups. That’s why now.