Church leader quick start
A practical guide to helping your leaders, small groups, and church community pray together, celebrate God’s faithfulness, and reflect on how He is moving.
The rhythm
We celebrate Pray for what God will do.
Celebrate what He has done.
Reflect on His faithfulness.
01 / The Practices
Living Stones helps Christians pray, celebrate, and reflect together—not only during a weekly gathering, but throughout ordinary life.
Share a request privately, with selected Tribes, or with the church. Others can add it to a Prayer List, pray through updates, and offer encouragement. When God answers, the request can become a Stone.
Philippians 4:6 · James 5:16 · Galatians 6:2 · Acts 2:42
A Stone in Living Stones is what Ebenezers are in the Bible—monuments to God’s provision, an answered prayer, a changed heart, or peace in a difficult season. Over time, these captured moments become a personal and communal record of what God has done, fueling the faith and hope of many.
Joshua 4 · 1 Samuel 7:12 · 1 Peter 2:5 · Psalm 78:4–7
Daily Rewind brings one of your Stones back into view and guides you through Scripture and personal reflection. Month in Review gathers the prayers, people, themes, and Stones that shaped the month so individuals and communities can reflect on the larger story of how God is moving.
Psalm 77:11–12 · Luke 2:19 · Psalm 139:23–24 · James 1:22–25
02 / Overview
Start with the vision, then move through four guided tours. Watch straight through or choose the chapter that is most useful right now.
Welcome2:22
Begin with the vision behind this guide and the role leaders play in helping a new spiritual rhythm take root.
03 / Set up
Start with the leadership structure, then invite people into the communities where day-to-day discipleship already happens.
Church setup1:10
A short introduction to the church setup process and the decisions you will make as a leader.
Download Living Stones and create an account. The person whose claim is approved (see step 2) becomes the church Owner, though ownership can be transferred later.
Leader first: Before you invite anyone, share one Prayer Request, place one Stone, and spend a few minutes reflecting on it yourself. This ensures the community doesn’t land on a blank page and models all three practices for your team.
Open Communities → Organizations → Find your church. Join the church, open its page, tap Claim, and submit the request. We personally verify each claim before unlocking leadership tools.
Good to know: Not listed? Choose “Request an organization” from the search screen.
From the church page, open Manage → Manage Access. Choose Open for instant joining, or Approval required when an Owner or Admin should approve each request.
Good to know: Most churches begin with Open, but choose what best fits your community.
Tribes are your small groups, Bible studies, ministry teams, student groups, and staff circles. Create several at once with Create Linked Tribes in Bulk, create them manually, or link Tribes that already exist.
Good to know: In bulk setup, add a leader email after each group name to invite that leader as a Tribe Admin.
Open Members, select a trusted leader, and choose Make Admin. Church Admins can manage members, announcements, integrations, hidden content, and Insights. Tribe Owners can appoint Tribe Admins the same way.
Good to know: Only the Owner can transfer ownership or change the Admin roster.
04 / Lead
Church Owners and Admins can access these organization-level features. Tribe Owners and Admins can also create announcements within their Tribes.
Church tools9:12
See the organization-level tools that help church leaders communicate, listen, moderate, and understand participation.
Hide a Stone or Prayer Request from the church feed without deleting the author’s content. Review or restore it from Manage → Hidden Content.
See participation, Stones, prayer activity, active requests, and Tribe-level activity. Monthly Trends adds themes, Scripture references, and potential teaching opportunities.
Send a prominent update to the whole church or selected Tribes. Use it for prayer gatherings, serving opportunities, reminders, and ministry updates.
Create a focused community for a retreat, mission trip, conference, or prayer night. Invite by link or QR code, then preserve a recap of prayers, themes, and stories.
Match existing members and add new people to Planning Center. Preview the sync first and optionally route new members into a follow-up Workflow.
A note on Insights: use them as a listening aid, not a complete picture of the congregation. Patterns can prompt better questions; they never replace pastoral judgment or personal care.
05 / Launch
Keep the first month focused. One small practice each week is enough to help the rhythm take hold.
30-day launch5:26
A practical approach to the first month that keeps the invitation clear, simple, and sustainable.
Before launch
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Keep going
The goal is a church that becomes more attentive to God, more faithful in prayer, more ready to celebrate His work, and more practiced at reflecting on His faithfulness together.
Start small. Let leaders model the way. Keep returning to the prayers, Stones, and reflections your community shares.
Questions? Email JohnA final word0:35
A brief encouragement as your community begins to pray, celebrate, and reflect together.
