Is the Planning Center MCP read-only?

Mostly. It can read all products you allow. The only write abilities are in People, where it can add notes and fill out forms. We keep our use read-only.

Which AI tools work with Planning Center?

Any tool that supports MCP. Planning Center's help article has instructions for ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), and Raycast. We use Grok Bot.

Can the AI see data I can't?

No. It only sees what your Planning Center login can see.

Does Planning Center train AI on our data?

Planning Center says no. Your AI tool's own training settings are a separate question, so check those before you connect.

How do admins control access?

In Account settings, go to Integrations, then the External connections tab, then Planning Center MCP. You can see who's connected, revoke access, and limit who can connect.

Guide

How to connect Planning Center to an AI assistant with MCP

In August 2026 Planning Center released an MCP connector. It lets an AI assistant read your Planning Center data when you ask it a question. We use it every week with Grok Bot. Here's how to set it up carefully.

Everything below comes from Planning Center's announcement post and its help article on connecting AI tools. Screens change, so check those pages if something looks different.

What MCP is, in plain words

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way for AI assistants to talk to other software. Planning Center calls it a bridge between your AI tool and your Planning Center data. Once it's connected, you can ask things like "Who visited for the first time this month?" or "Who hasn't confirmed for this Sunday's service yet?"

What it can and can't do

It can read data in Services, Giving, People, Registrations, Calendar, Groups, Publishing, and Check-Ins. You pick which products to allow when you connect.
The only things it can change are in People: it can add notes to profiles and fill out forms for you.
It only sees what your own Planning Center login can see. It doesn't give anyone new access.
It reads your data live while you're talking to it. Planning Center says it doesn't use your church's data to train AI models.

Why we keep it read-only

We use it to look things up, not to change records. Our assistants read service plans, events, and people so they can draft things for staff to check. They don't write notes or submit forms. If you're starting out, I'd suggest the same approach: only allow the products you actually need, and get used to it reading before you let it change anything.

Before you connect: turn off model training

Planning Center warns that unless your church has a commercial plan with OpenAI or Anthropic, those companies can use your conversations to train their models by default, and that could include personal information from Planning Center. Both ChatGPT and Claude have a setting to turn this off. Planning Center strongly recommends turning it off before you start and asking every admin to do the same. If you use a different assistant, look up its data and training settings first.

Step by step

Choose an assistant that supports MCP. Planning Center's help article has instructions for ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), and Raycast. Any tool that supports MCP should work. We use Grok Bot.
Add the Planning Center server. Most tools ask for a URL: https://mcp.planningcenteronline.com/mcp. Some want JSON settings instead, and the help article has those.
Sign in and authorize. You'll sign in to Planning Center with the usual login. On the authorization screen, choose the products the assistant can use. Only pick what you need.
Test it. Ask something simple, like "Using Planning Center, how many people are in my database?" or "Show me the most recent form submissions." If it answers with your church's data, you're connected.
Check the admin controls. Org admins get a notice when someone connects for the first time. To see who's connected, open the product switcher in the top-left corner, choose Account settings, then Integrations, then the External connections tab, and scroll to Planning Center MCP. From there you can see who connected and when, remove anyone's access, and change who's allowed to connect: all users (the default), specific users, or organization admins only.

If something goes wrong

Sign-in fails: disconnect, start over, and check that the URL is exactly https://mcp.planningcenteronline.com/mcp.
It stopped working: your sign-in probably expired. Disconnect and connect again.
"Product not authorized": you skipped that product on the authorization screen. Reconnect and select it.
Permission errors: ask your org admin to check your permissions for that product.
Wrong answers: AI tools can misread data. Be specific, and check anything important in Planning Center yourself.

How we use it

A few of our blueprints depend on this connection. The church phone and text line looks up a likely caller for the staff summary, and that match is never said back to the caller. The Sunday YouTube blueprint reads the week's Services plan to line up song chapters. In both cases a person reviews the result before it goes anywhere.

Questions pastors ask

Is the Planning Center MCP read-only?: Mostly. It can read all products you allow. The only write abilities are in People, where it can add notes and fill out forms. We keep our use read-only.
Which AI tools work with Planning Center?: Any tool that supports MCP. Planning Center's help article has instructions for ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), and Raycast. We use Grok Bot.
Can the AI see data I can't?: No. It only sees what your Planning Center login can see.
Does Planning Center train AI on our data?: Planning Center says no. Your AI tool's own training settings are a separate question, so check those before you connect.
How do admins control access?: In Account settings, go to Integrations, then the External connections tab, then Planning Center MCP. You can see who's connected, revoke access, and limit who can connect.

Browse all the blueprints →