Quick Start Guide

Get your church up and running on PastorApp. This guide walks you through everything from provisioning your tenant to signing in for the first time.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

  • An active MinistryPlatform instance with API access enabled. PastorApp connects to your MP instance to pull contacts, events, groups, and other church data.
  • Administrator access in MinistryPlatform, so you can create an OAuth API Client and configure redirect URIs.
  • Your MP base URL — the root URL of your MinistryPlatform instance (e.g., https://my.churchdomain.com).

Step 1: Request Your Tenant

Contact the PastorApp team to provision your church's tenant. You'll be assigned a dedicated subdomain based on your church name, such as yourchurch.pastorapp.app.

The PastorApp team will need:

  • Your church name
  • Your preferred subdomain slug (e.g., gracechurch)
  • Your MinistryPlatform base URL
  • Whether your church is Catholic or Protestant (adjusts terminology in the app)

Step 2: Create an OAuth API Client in MinistryPlatform

PastorApp uses OAuth 2.0 / OIDC to authenticate your staff through MinistryPlatform's Single Sign-On. You'll need to create an API Client in your MP instance:

  1. Sign in to your MinistryPlatform administration portal.
  2. Navigate to Administration > API Clients.
  3. Create a new API Client (or use an existing one, such as MP.Sky).
  4. Note the Client ID and Client Secret.
  5. Add the following Redirect URI:
    https://yourchurch.pastorapp.app/api/auth/oauth2/callback/ministry-platform
  6. Add the following Post-Logout Redirect URI:
    https://yourchurch.pastorapp.app

Replace yourchurch with your actual subdomain slug. These URIs tell MinistryPlatform where to send users after they sign in or sign out.

Step 3: Provide Your Credentials

Share the following with the PastorApp team so they can finalize your tenant configuration:

  • Client ID — The API Client identifier from Step 2
  • Client Secret — The secret associated with your API Client
  • OIDC Scopes (optional) — The default scopes work for most churches. Only provide custom scopes if your MP instance requires them.

Your credentials are stored securely and are never exposed to end users or transmitted to the browser.

Step 4: Sign In for the First Time

  1. Open your browser and navigate to your subdomain (e.g., https://yourchurch.pastorapp.app).
  2. Click Sign in with MinistryPlatform.
  3. You'll be redirected to your MinistryPlatform sign-in page. Enter your existing MP username and password.
  4. After authenticating, you'll be redirected back to PastorApp and land on your dashboard.

No separate account is created — PastorApp uses your existing MinistryPlatform identity. Your session is maintained automatically and tokens are refreshed in the background.

Step 5: Initial Setup Checklist

Once you're signed in as an administrator, complete these steps to customize PastorApp for your church:

  • Upload your logo— Go to Admin > Settings and upload your church logo. It appears in the header and on the sign-in page.
  • Set your brand color — Choose your primary brand color and PastorApp will auto-generate a full light and dark theme to match.
  • Configure security roles — Select which MinistryPlatform security roles are allowed to access PastorApp. Only users with a matching role (or the Administrators role) can sign in.
  • Enable or disable AI features — AI-powered tools like contact summaries and message drafting can be toggled on or off for your entire tenant.
  • Configure communications — Choose whether to enable SMS via the MinistryPlatform platform, native device texting, or both.
  • Set up dashboards — Create dashboards with widgets that display the data your team uses most. You can build stat cards, data tables, and custom templates powered by MP queries.

Troubleshooting

“Sign in” button doesn't appear

This usually means the tenant's MinistryPlatform credentials haven't been configured yet. Contact the PastorApp team to verify your tenant setup.

Redirect error after signing in

Check that the Redirect URI in your MP API Client exactly matches:
https://yourchurch.pastorapp.app/api/auth/oauth2/callback/ministry-platform
Even a trailing slash or typo will cause the redirect to fail.

Access denied after signing in

Your MinistryPlatform user may not have one of the security roles configured in PastorApp. Ask your PastorApp administrator to check which roles are allowed under Admin > Settings > Security Roles.

Data not loading or showing errors

Verify that your MP instance's API is accessible and that the OAuth client credentials are correct. If your MP instance was recently updated or restarted, try clearing the PastorApp cache from Admin > Settings.