Getting Started
Overview
Shepherd is a church management system built for African churches. It helps you manage your congregation, track attendance, care for new converts, handle giving, and communicate with members — all from one dashboard, with WhatsApp at the centre.
This guide walks you through setting up Shepherd from scratch.
📸 [Screenshot: Shepherd dashboard overview showing all widgets]
Step 1: Create Your Account
- Go to get-shepherd.net
- Click Get Started or Sign Up
- Enter your name, email address, and create a password
- Verify your email address
- You'll be taken to the Onboarding Wizard automatically
💡 Tip: Use your official church email (e.g. pastor@mychurch.org) — this becomes your primary login.
Step 2: The Onboarding Wizard
When you first sign in, Shepherd walks you through a 4-step setup wizard:
Step 1 of 4 — Tell Us About Your Church
Fill in your church details:
- Church Name — e.g. "Mount Zion Baptist Church"
- Email — church contact email
- Phone — church phone number
- Country — determines your currency and region options
- Address / City / Region — your church location
- Website — optional
Step 2 of 4 — Invite Your Team
Add your pastors, admins, or staff:
- Enter their email addresses
- They'll receive an invitation email with a link to join
- You can skip this and invite team members later from Settings → Roles
Step 3 of 4 — Add Your First Member
- Add one member to get started
- This helps Shepherd confirm your setup is working
- You can add more members in bulk later
Step 4 of 4 — You're All Set! 🎉
- Your dashboard is ready
- Shepherd will show you what to explore next
📸 [Screenshot: Onboarding wizard Step 1 — Church details form]
Step 3: Explore Your Dashboard
After setup, you'll land on your Dashboard — a quick overview of your church's activity:
| Widget | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Total Members | Count of all active members |
| Attendance This Week | Services recorded recently |
| New Converts | People in the Journey pipeline |
| Pending Tasks | Follow-up tasks awaiting action |
| Recent Giving | Latest offering records |
| Upcoming Events | Events in the next 7 days |
Step 4: Configure Your Church Profile
Before going further, complete your church profile at Settings → Church Profile:
- Receipt Prefix — e.g. "GCI" (appears on giving receipts)
- Currency — GHS, NGN, XAF, USD, etc.
- WhatsApp Number — your church's Twilio WhatsApp number (if configured)
- Branding — upload your church logo at Settings → Branding
Step 5: Invite Your Team
Go to Settings → Roles & Permissions to invite staff and assign roles.
Available Roles
| Role | What They Can Do |
|---|---|
| Super Admin | Full access to everything |
| Admin | Manage members, attendance, giving, events |
| Pastor | Pastoral care, prayer requests, tasks |
| Staff | View members, record attendance |
| Branch Admin | Admin access limited to their branch |
How to Invite Someone
- Go to Settings → Roles
- Click Invite User
- Enter their email and select their role
- They receive an email invitation
- Once they accept, they appear in your team
⚠️ Important: Invited users must have a Shepherd account. If they don't have one, they'll be prompted to create one when they accept the invitation.
Step 6: Set Up Branches (Multi-Branch Churches)
If your church has multiple branches or campuses:
- Go to Settings → Church Profile
- Scroll to the Branches section
- Click Add Branch
- Enter the branch name and location
- Assign a Branch Admin to each branch
Members, attendance, and giving can then be tracked per branch.
Step 7: Choose Your Plan
Shepherd has 5 plans based on your church size:
| Plan | Members | Monthly (GHS) | Annual (GHS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedling | Up to 50 | Free | Free |
| Rooted | Up to 200 | 99 | 990 |
| Growing | Up to 500 | 199 | 1,990 |
| Flourishing | Up to 2,000 | 399 | 3,990 |
| Movement | Unlimited | 799 | 7,990 |
- Upgrade anytime at Settings → Billing
- Annual plans save ~17% compared to monthly
- Payment via Paystack (card or Mobile Money)
Quick Navigation Reference
| Where you want to go | How to get there |
|---|---|
| Add a member | Members → + Add Member |
| Record attendance | Attendance → New Service |
| Send a broadcast | Messages → Broadcasts |
| Track giving | Giving → Record Offering |
| Manage new converts | Converts → Pipeline |
| Pastoral care | Pastoral Care |
| Configure notifications | Settings → Journey |
| Invite staff | Settings → Roles |
| View reports | Reports |
| Billing & plan | Settings → Billing |