Automated Church Prayer Request Routing
When a prayer request is submitted through Planning Center, WebRun reads the request content, identifies the appropriate care team member based on request type and the member's small group or ministry connection, routes the request privately to that person in Slack, and logs it in a confidential care tracker in Google Sheets.
How do I automatically route church prayer requests to the right care team member?
When a prayer request is submitted through Planning Center, WebRun reads the request, identifies the right care team member based on the submitter's small group or ministry connection, and sends it privately via Slack direct message. Every request is also logged in a confidential Google Sheets care tracker for follow-up accountability.
- Every prayer request reaches the right care team member within minutes of submission
- Crisis requests are escalated to pastoral leadership immediately and automatically
- No prayer request sits unassigned or untracked in a shared inbox
Built for church care team directors · small group pastors · pastoral care coordinators · church administrators
What does WebRun do on every run?
The exact actions WebRun takes, in order - in plain language, so you can adjust anything.
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WebRun signs in and gets to work
Opens
people.planningcenter.comin a real browser with your saved login - no setup, no API keys. -
1
Planning Center - receive and read new prayer request
planningcenter.com
WebRun opens Planning Center to receive and read new prayer request. - Open Planning Center and check for newly submitted prayer requests
- Read the request content and note the submitter's name, contact details, and small group or ministry connection
- Identify whether the request is general, urgent, or requires pastoral-level care
- Flag any request that indicates a crisis, safety concern, or immediate pastoral need for priority routing
Done when Every new prayer request is read and categorized with routing information noted.
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2
Slack - route to appropriate care team member
slack.com
WebRun opens Slack to route to appropriate care team member. - Send the prayer request as a private direct message to the appropriate care team member
- For urgent or crisis requests, notify the lead pastor and care team director simultaneously
- Include the member's name, contact details, their small group leader's name, and the full request text
- Ask the care team member to confirm receipt and note their planned follow-up in the thread
Done when Every prayer request has been privately routed to the right care team member in Slack.
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3
Google Sheets - log in confidential care tracker
google.com
WebRun opens Google Sheets to log in confidential care tracker. - Log each request in the confidential care tracker with the date received, requester name, category, and assigned care team member
- Set the follow-up status to Pending
- Flag crisis or urgent requests with a separate color so leadership can monitor them
Done when All requests are logged in the care tracker with status and assignment recorded.
How is each run configured?
Secure by default
Connect once, stays signed in
WebRun signs in once and keeps each session in a persistent environment, so every run picks up right where it left off.
Every action is checked against this policy before it runs.
Questions, answered
Who can see the prayer request content?
Only the specific care team member it is routed to receives the full request content via a private Slack direct message. The Google Sheets tracker stores records in a restricted spreadsheet accessible only to care team leadership.
How does it decide which care team member to route a request to?
WebRun checks the submitter's small group, ministry connection, and any prior care team assignments in Planning Center. You configure the routing rules during setup, such as routing all hospital requests to the hospital care team and small group requests to the member's small group leader.
What happens if a request indicates a crisis or safety concern?
Crisis and urgent requests are flagged immediately and routed to both the assigned care team member and the lead pastor or care team director at the same time. The Google Sheets tracker marks them for priority follow-up.
Related templates
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