Rollout Plan

Whether your church reached this point after a live demo or after exploring Holy Resource on your own, the next step is not to turn on every module at once. The next step is to move from interest to a calm, practical rollout.

This page gives churches a simple answer to the question: “We are ready to start. What do we do next?”

The Goal

Your goal for the next stage is to do four things well:

decide who will own the rollout
set up the church workspace correctly
load the first round of real data
start using a few core modules consistently before expanding further

Keep the first rollout small

The fastest way to lose momentum is to launch too much at once. Start with the parts your church will use every week, then expand after your team is comfortable.

Recommended Rollout Order

Choose Your Church Rollout Team

Before setup begins, choose the people who will own the first phase.

Most churches should identify:

one main decision-maker or project owner
one main admin who will manage setup inside the app
one backup admin in case the main admin is unavailable
one or two ministry leads who will help test the real workflow

Confirm What You Want To Launch First

Do not start by asking, “What can the app do?” Start by asking, “What do we want to use first?”

For most churches, the best first-phase launch is:

members
families
ministries
events
volunteers
announcements or basic communication

If your church already has a reliable finance process, you can add donations and expenses shortly after. If not, those can wait until the team is steady with the core people-and-events workflow.

Book The Setup Session

Set aside focused time to complete setup properly. This should not be squeezed in between other ministry tasks.

During this session, you should:

complete onboarding
create the first admin account
confirm the church name, branding, and core settings
create the main working branch your team will use
test sign-in on more than one account if possible

Prepare The First Real Data

Before your team starts entering records, gather the information you actually want to load first.

This usually includes:

member list
family relationships
ministry list
upcoming events
volunteer list if you already schedule teams formally

Clean data before import will save time later. Remove duplicates, agree on naming, and decide which records are current enough to bring in now.

Add Users And Set Permissions

Once the workspace is ready, add the people who will use the app day to day.

Do this carefully:

only give admin access to people who truly need it
assign branch access intentionally
give each user the permissions they need for their actual role
test at least one non-admin user account before go-live

Run A Small Pilot Before Full Go-Live

Pick one or two real weekly workflows and test them with your team.

Good pilot examples:

add and update members
create an event and record attendance
build a volunteer role list and assign volunteers for one service
send one internal announcement or test message

The goal is not perfection. The goal is to make sure the team can complete real tasks without confusion.

Suggested Timeline

Week 0: Decision And Planning

Within a few days of deciding to move ahead, your church should:

decide whether you are moving ahead now
appoint the rollout lead and main admin
agree on which modules you are launching first
book the setup session

Week 1: Setup And Core Data

In the first working week, focus on:

onboarding and branch setup
user creation and permissions
importing or entering the first round of real records
testing backups and basic recovery readiness

For a practical week-one plan, continue with First-Week Checklist.

Week 2: Start Real Use

By the second week, your church should start using Holy Resource for real work in a limited but consistent way.

That may include:

keeping the member list up to date
tracking upcoming events
using volunteer assignments for the next service
sending simple announcements through the app

Week 3 And Beyond: Expand Slowly

Once the team is stable, add the next layer:

donations and expense tracking
automations and follow-up journeys
visitor workflows
kids ministry workflows
reporting and deeper operational reviews

What To Prepare Before Setup Day

Ask the church team to have these ready before the first real setup session:

church name and branding details
list of the first users to add
a decision on who should be admin vs regular user
the first spreadsheet or source file for member data if you plan to import
a short list of current ministries
a short list of upcoming events

If your church has multiple campuses, teams, or operational groups, also decide whether you need multiple branches from the start or whether one branch is enough for the first phase.

Practical Advice For Churches

Start with the modules your church will use weekly, not the ones that felt most exciting at first glance.
Do not wait for every historical record to be perfect before you begin. Start with current, useful data.
Give the team a short written process for common tasks like adding members, creating events, and assigning volunteers.
Test one backup early so you know recovery is not just theoretical.
Review permissions early instead of cleaning up access later.

Do not launch with unclear ownership

If nobody clearly owns setup, permissions, data quality, and basic support questions, rollout usually stalls. Name the responsible people before go-live.

A Good First-Phase Success Result

Your church is ready to say the rollout has started well when:

the app is set up and the church workspace is correct
the right people can sign in successfully
the first real records are in the system
one or two weekly workflows are already happening inside Holy Resource
the team knows what the next module will be, but is not rushing into everything at once

Where To Go Next

Start with First Launch & Onboarding
Review Create Your First Branch
Continue with First-Week Checklist
Review Permissions before inviting more users

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