Requests
Overview
Requests helps your church collect structured requests, route them to the right people, and track each one to a clear outcome.
Instead of chasing forms across WhatsApp chats, paper notes, and scattered follow-up messages, Shepherd gives you one place to:
- publish request templates
- collect internal or public submissions
- review and assign requests
- track status changes and comments
- keep an audit trail of what happened
Go to Requests in the sidebar to open the module.
📸 [Screenshot: Requests inbox showing summary cards, filters, and request rows]
Who can use Requests?
Requests access depends on your church's setup and your permissions.
Submit-only users
Some users can:
- open published internal templates
- submit a request
- see which request types are available
They cannot see the full inbox unless they have review access.
Reviewers and admins
Users with Requests review access can:
- open the full Requests Inbox
- filter and search submissions
- assign requests
- move requests through the workflow
- view comments and, when allowed, the full timeline/audit trail
- export request data
Starter templates in Shepherd
Shepherd starts with church-friendly templates that can be adapted for your church:
- Financial Request
- Monthly Ministry Report
- Announcement Request
- Follow-Up Report
- Baptism Request
- Volunteer Sign-up
- Wedding Request
These templates help you launch faster than starting from a blank form.
1. Open the template catalog
Go to Requests → Templates.
Here you can:
- preview Shepherd's starter templates
- clone a template into your church workspace
- open an existing church-owned template
- review whether a template is in draft, published, or archived state
Good to know: Starter templates live in Shepherd's catalog, but the version your church edits belongs to your church only.
2. Configure and publish a template
After cloning a starter template, open it to review the template details.
Depending on your permissions, you can update things like:
- the template name and description
- form fields and help text
- suggested assignee role
- visibility state
Template lifecycle
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | Still being prepared, not available for live submission |
| Published | Live and available for new submissions |
| Archived | No new submissions allowed, but old records stay available |
Important publishing rule
When you publish a template, Shepherd creates a versioned snapshot for live use. This protects historical submissions from changing when you edit the template later.
3. Submit an internal request
Go to Requests → Submit.
This page only shows published internal templates. Draft and archived templates stay hidden.
To submit a request:
- Open Requests → Submit
- Choose the template you want
- Fill in the required fields
- Add any supporting notes or files if the template allows them
- Submit the form
If no templates appear, your church has not published an internal Requests template yet.
If your team says "the form is missing," check whether the template is still in draft or has been archived.
4. Share a public request form
Requests can also power public request forms for workflows your church wants to receive from outside the dashboard.
A public request form is only available when the template is live and published. If it is unpublished or archived, the public page stops accepting new submissions.
Use public forms when you want people to submit a request through a church-facing link instead of logging into Shepherd first.
5. Work from the Requests Inbox
Go to Requests to open the inbox.
The inbox brings everything into one queue so reviewers can:
- see new, in-review, approved, rejected, and completed requests
- search by requester, template, or keywords
- filter by template, status, assignee, and date range
- spot overdue work
- export request data when needed
Shepherd also shows summary cards at the top so leaders can quickly understand the current workload.
📸 [Screenshot: Requests inbox filters and summary cards]
6. Open a request and take action
When you open a request from the inbox, Shepherd shows the full submission detail.
A reviewer can work with:
- the submitted data
- comments and internal discussion
- assignment details
- due dates
- workflow actions
- request timeline / audit history (when permitted)
This makes it easier to answer questions like:
- Who submitted this?
- Who is handling it now?
- What changed?
- Has it already been approved or completed?
Request statuses
Requests move through a simple workflow:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New | Recently submitted and not yet under active review |
| In Review | Someone is actively reviewing or processing it |
| Approved | Approved and ready for final fulfilment or close-out |
| Rejected | Declined and closed to further workflow steps |
| Completed | Fully resolved |
Your team can use these statuses to keep the process visible instead of relying on memory or chat follow-up.
Common use cases
Churches can use Requests for things like:
- ministry report submission
- finance approvals
- communications and announcement intake
- wedding or baptism workflow intake
- volunteer collection and routing
- internal follow-up reporting
Tips for a smoother rollout
- Start with one or two high-frequency templates first
- Publish only the forms your team is ready to review consistently
- Assign each request type to the most natural role, not "everyone"
- Review the inbox regularly so Requests becomes trusted, not ignored
- Archive outdated templates instead of deleting history