How Do I TrackPastoral Care?
Every pastor knows the feeling: someone mentions a hospital visit from three weeks ago, and you can't remember if anyone followed up. Without a system to track care, things fall through the cracks. This guide covers how to track pastoral care effectively—whether you're a solo pastor with a notebook or a large church with a dedicated care team.
Quick Answer
Track pastoral care by recording who received care, what type of need it was, when it happened, who provided care, what occurred, and what follow-up is needed. Solo pastors can use spreadsheets or notebooks; churches with care teams benefit from dedicated software like CareNote that automates reminders and coordinates volunteers.
In This Guide
Why Track Pastoral Care at All?
Some pastors resist tracking. It feels clinical. Bureaucratic. Unspiritual. But tracking isn't about surveillance—it's about faithfulness.
People don't get forgotten
The widow who lost her husband six months ago still needs check-ins. Without a system, she fades from attention.
Teams can coordinate
When multiple people are involved in care, everyone needs to know what's already happened.
Follow-up actually happens
Good intentions don't close the loop. A system does.
You can see patterns
Is your care team overwhelmed? Are certain needs being neglected? Data reveals what intuition misses.
The goal isn't documentation for its own sake. The goal is making sure people feel seen and cared for consistently.
What to Track in Pastoral Care
Before choosing a tool, decide what information matters. At minimum, most churches track:
| Field | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Who | The person receiving care (and family connections) |
| What | Type of need: hospital visit, grief, financial hardship, spiritual crisis |
| When | Date of the interaction or visit |
| Who provided care | Which staff member or volunteer made contact |
| What happened | Brief notes on the conversation or visit |
| Next steps | Follow-up needed? By when? By whom? |
| Status | Active need, resolved, ongoing, etc. |
Some churches also track: Prayer requests (public and private), milestones (birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms), benevolence requests and financial assistance given, counseling sessions, and small group leader reports.
Start simple. You can always add complexity later.
5 Methods for Tracking Pastoral Care
From simple paper systems to powerful dedicated software—here are your options for managing care ministry.
1. Paper Systems
Notebooks, Index Cards, Folders
Pastor keeps a notebook or card file with names and notes. Some churches use physical folders for each family.
Pros
- • No technology required
- • Familiar and comfortable for some pastors
- • Private—no data security concerns
Cons
- • Can't be shared with a team
- • No reminders or follow-up prompts
- • Information lives in one person's head (or desk)
- • Difficult to search or see patterns
Best for: Solo pastors in very small churches who prefer analog methods and don't need to coordinate with others.
2. Spreadsheets
Google Sheets, Excel
Create a spreadsheet with columns for name, date, type of care, notes, follow-up needed, and status. Team members can add rows as care happens.
Pros
- • Free or low-cost
- • Shareable with team (Google Sheets)
- • Sortable and searchable
- • Familiar interface for most people
Cons
- • Gets unwieldy as it grows
- • No automatic reminders
- • Easy to forget to update
- • Limited privacy controls (everyone sees everything)
- • No mobile-friendly data entry
Best for: Small churches just starting to formalize tracking, or as a temporary solution while evaluating software.
3. Project Management Tools
Notion, Trello, Asana
Use a Kanban board or database to track care needs as "tasks" or "cards." Move cards through stages like "New," "In Progress," and "Completed."
Pros
- • Visual workflow
- • Good collaboration features
- • Flexible and customizable
- • Many pastors already use these tools
Cons
- • Not built for pastoral care—requires setup
- • No church-specific features (prayer lists, ChMS integration)
- • Privacy/permissions can be tricky
- • Volunteers may find it confusing
Best for: Tech-savvy pastors who already use Notion or Trello and want to centralize everything in one tool.
4. Church Management System Add-Ons
Planning Center, Breeze, CCB, Rock RMS
Many church management systems like Planning Center, Breeze, Church Community Builder, and Rock RMS have built-in care or "interactions" features.
Pros
- • Already integrated with your member database
- • No additional software to learn
- • Single source of truth for people data
Cons
- • Care features are often basic or afterthoughts
- • Limited workflow automation
- • May lack volunteer coordination features
- • Reporting is often minimal
Best for: Churches deeply embedded in a ChMS who want to minimize tools, and whose care tracking needs are simple.
5. Dedicated Pastoral Care Software
CareNote, Notebird, Undershepherd
Purpose-built platforms designed specifically for tracking pastoral care visits, managing care teams, and ensuring follow-up.
Pros
- • Built for exactly this purpose
- • Features like care requests, assignments, reminders, and reports
- • Volunteer-friendly (some allow email-only participation)
- • ChMS integrations keep people data in sync
- • Privacy controls for sensitive information
Cons
- • Additional cost
- • Another tool for staff to learn
- • Requires buy-in from care team
Best for: Churches with care teams, multiple staff involved in care, or anyone who wants follow-up automation and accountability.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare all five methods at a glance to find the right fit for your church.
| Method | Cost | Scalability | Team-Friendly | Automation | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper Systems | Free | Solo pastors | |||
| Spreadsheets | Free | Small churches starting out | |||
| Project Management | $0-15/mo | Tech-savvy teams | |||
| ChMS Add-Ons | Included | Basic care needs | |||
| Dedicated Software | $25-99/mo | Care teams & growing churches |
Note on Planning Center: If you use Planning Center, you can log interactions and use custom fields for care tracking—but it lacks assignment workflows and follow-up automation. Many churches use PCO for people data and a separate tool like CareNote for care coordination.
Choosing the Right Tracking Method
| If you are... | Consider... |
|---|---|
| Solo pastor, small church, simple needs | Spreadsheet or notebook |
| Small team, want visual workflow | Trello or Notion |
| Already deep in a ChMS, basic needs | Your ChMS's built-in features |
| Care team with volunteers, need coordination | Dedicated pastoral care software |
| Growing church, people falling through cracks | Dedicated software with automation |
The honest truth: most churches outgrow spreadsheets faster than they expect. The pain of switching is worth it when you realize how much is being missed.
Making It Stick: Implementation Tips
Whatever method you choose, these principles help:
Start with the pain
Don't implement tracking because you "should." Identify a specific failure: "Mrs. Johnson was in the hospital for two weeks and no one knew." Build your system to prevent that exact thing from happening again.
Keep the barrier low for caregivers
If volunteers have to log into a complicated system, they won't. The best systems let volunteers report via email, text, or a simple form. Save the dashboard for coordinators.
Build the habit
Tracking only works if people do it. Schedule a weekly "care review" where the team looks at what's open, what's overdue, and who needs attention. The system keeps you honest.
Don't over-engineer
Start with the minimum: who, what, when, what's next. You can add fields and complexity later. A simple system people actually use beats a comprehensive system that gets abandoned.
Assign everything
A care need without an owner is a care need that won't happen. Every request or need should have a name attached—even if that name is the pastor.
What Good Looks Like
When pastoral care tracking is working well:
- You know who needs attention this week—without having to remember.
- Volunteers know exactly what they're responsible for—and report back without being chased.
- Follow-ups happen—because the system reminds someone.
- Leadership can see the health of care ministry—requests completed, average response time, team capacity.
- People feel cared for—because they are.
The system fades into the background. What remains is people being seen, known, and loved by their church.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about tracking pastoral care in churches.
What's the fastest way to start tracking pastoral care?
The fastest way to start is with a simple Google Sheet with columns for name, date, care type, notes, and follow-up needed. You can be up and running in 10 minutes. However, for long-term success with a care team, dedicated pastoral care software provides automation and accountability features that spreadsheets lack.
Can spreadsheets scale for pastoral care tracking?
Spreadsheets work well for solo pastors in small churches, but most churches outgrow them faster than expected. Common problems include: no automatic reminders, difficulty coordinating multiple caregivers, limited privacy controls (everyone sees everything), and no mobile-friendly data entry. When you start missing follow-ups or can't find information quickly, it's time to consider dedicated software.
Is tracking pastoral care unspiritual?
Some pastors resist tracking because it feels clinical or bureaucratic. But tracking isn't about surveillance—it's about faithfulness. Without a system, people get forgotten: the widow who lost her husband six months ago fades from attention, follow-ups don't happen, and teams can't coordinate. Tracking ensures people feel seen and cared for consistently.
What should I track in pastoral care?
At minimum, track: (1) Who—the person receiving care, (2) What—type of need (hospital, grief, crisis), (3) When—date of interaction, (4) Who provided care—which staff or volunteer, (5) What happened—brief notes, (6) Next steps—follow-up needed and by whom, (7) Status—active, resolved, or ongoing.
How do I organize a care team for tracking?
Effective care team organization requires: (1) Clear assignment—every care need has an owner, (2) Low barriers for volunteers—let them report via email or simple forms rather than complex systems, (3) Regular review meetings—weekly check-ins on open and overdue items, (4) Defined workflows—who handles what types of care, (5) Privacy controls—sensitive information visible only to appropriate team members.
Next Steps
- 1Audit your current state. How is care being tracked now? What's falling through the cracks?
- 2Decide what you need to track. Start with the minimum viable list.
- 3Choose a method based on your team size and complexity.
- 4Start small. Track one type of care (hospital visits, perhaps) before expanding.
- 5Review weekly. Build the habit before adding features.
Ready to try dedicated pastoral care software?
CareNote offers a 14-day free trial with full features—including Planning Center integration and volunteer coordination via email.
Related Resources
Continue learning about pastoral care with these guides:
This guide is part of CareNote's commitment to helping churches care for their people well—whether or not they use our software.