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Import members

Summary

There is more than one way to get your people into Safe Pathways: import from Planning Center, import from Rock RMS, or add people one at a time. This article walks through the Planning Center import in full, points you to the right places for the others, and explains the principle behind every import: bring in the valid rows, report the rest, and never let a few problems block the batch.

Who this is for

  • Church Administrators setting up or growing their volunteer list
  • Account Owners

What you’ll need

Make sure you have:

Before you start

Every import in Safe Pathways follows the same principle: it imports everyone it can, skips who it cannot, and tells you exactly why. A typo in one record or one person below the age limit never blocks the rest of the batch. You import, read the summary, and fix the stragglers afterward.

Importing also does not email anyone. Invitations go out when you assign pathways, so you can import freely and tidy the list before a single volunteer hears from Safe Pathways.

Steps to import members from Planning Center

1. Open Planning Center Import

Select Planning Center Import in the left menu of the Admin Dashboard. The menu item appears once the integration is connected.

2. Choose your people source

Pick one of the three source types: Filter People (build a search from fields like status or campus), From List (import a saved Planning Center list), or From Group (import a Planning Center group).

[Screenshot: Planning Center Import page showing the Select People Source options: Filter People, From List, and From Group]

3. Build the search

For Filter People, add one or more filters by picking a field and a value; campuses load straight from your Planning Center account. For lists and groups, choose from the dropdown, which shows each one’s people count.

4. Select Search People

The results grid shows each person’s name, email, status, and age. Two coloured dots tell you who is already known: green means the person exists in this church already (importing updates them), and orange means they exist in another church and will be skipped. People below your minimum import age cannot be ticked.

[Screenshot: Import results grid showing the selection checkboxes, the green and orange match dots, and the age column]

5. Select the people to import

Tick individuals, or use Select All and Clear. The selected count updates as you go.

6. Select Import Selected

A progress bar tracks the import as it fetches people from Planning Center and saves them in batches. Stay on the page until it finishes.

7. Review any duplicates

If the import spots people who look like records you already have, it pauses and asks you to review the potential duplicates before it continues. Decide each one and the import carries on.

8. Read the results summary

When the import completes, a summary shows three numbers: Added, Updated, and Skipped, with the reasons for every skip listed underneath. That skip list is your tidy-up checklist.

What happens next

Imported people appear on your Community page right away. The natural next step is assigning pathways, which is also what sends each person their invitation email: see Getting Started: Assigning Pathways.

If your church uses Rock RMS instead, the Rock import follows the same select-and-import pattern from the Rock Import menu item. The connection and the Rock-specific details live in Rock RMS: how to connect.

And for one person at a time, you do not need an import at all: the Assign Pathways screen has an Add Person Manually button, and the add-member form takes a name and email directly.

Troubleshooting

The import menu item is missing

Someone’s checkbox is greyed out

  • They are below your minimum import age. The age column flags them.
  • If the age looks wrong, correct their birthdate in Planning Center and search again.

A person was skipped and I expected them to import

  • Read the Skipped reasons under the summary; every skip is listed with its cause.
  • An orange dot means they already belong to another church’s Safe Pathways account. Contact Safe Pathways support to arrange a transfer.

My lists or groups are not showing

  • Confirm the Planning Center connection test passes in Church Settings.
  • The Personal Access Token needs permission to read People, Lists, and Groups in Planning Center.

I imported people but nobody received an email

  • That is by design. Invitations send when pathways are assigned, not at import.

Notes

  • Imports bring in the valid rows and report the rest; a few problem records never block the batch.
  • Green dot: already in this church, record gets updated. Orange dot: belongs to another church, skipped.
  • People below your minimum import age cannot be selected.
  • Importing does not send invitations. Assigning a pathway does.
  • The Added / Updated / Skipped summary, with skip reasons, is your after-import checklist.
  • Rock RMS has its own article covering connection and import.

Last reviewed

June 11, 2026