Connecting Your ChMS

Bellwether connects to your church management system to read people, groups, attendance, and service data. This is a read-only connection — Bellwether never modifies your ChMS data.

Currently supported systems:

• Planning Center — Connected via OAuth (you sign in with your PCO account)
• Rock RMS — Connected via API key

Connecting Planning Center

1. Go to Settings → Integrations (or click “Connect” during onboarding).
2. Click Connect next to Planning Center.
3. You’ll be redirected to Planning Center’s authorization page. Sign in with an account that has administrator access to your PCO organization.
4. Review the permissions and click Allow.
5. You’ll be redirected back to Bellwether with a “Connected” confirmation.

That’s it. Bellwether can now read your PCO data. The connection uses OAuth tokens that refresh automatically, so you won’t need to reconnect unless you explicitly revoke access from Planning Center’s side.

Connecting Rock RMS

1. Go to Settings → Integrations (or click “Connect” during onboarding).
2. Click Connect next to Rock RMS.
3. Enter your Rock RMS API key and your Rock RMS base URL (the URL you use to access your Rock instance, like https://rock.yourchurch.com).
4. Click Connect.

To generate an API key in Rock RMS, go to Admin Tools → Security → REST Controllers and create a new REST key. The key needs read access to People, Groups, Attendance, and related entities.

What Data Does Bellwether Access?

Once connected, Bellwether can read:

• People — Names, contact info, membership status, tags
• Groups — Group rosters, types, and meeting schedules
• Attendance — Check-in records, service attendance, group attendance
• Services — Service types, schedules, and team assignments

Bellwether never writes to your ChMS. It’s read-only access, always.

Troubleshooting

“Connection failed” after authorizing Planning Center — Make sure the account you used has administrator permissions in PCO. Standard user accounts can’t authorize third-party integrations.

Rock RMS API key rejected — Double-check that the API key has REST access enabled and that your base URL includes the protocol (https://).

Data seems incomplete — Bellwether syncs data from your ChMS on each request. If you just added records, give it a moment and try again.

Next Step

With your ChMS connected, you’re ready to start your first conversation.