Kirchenwerk - Church Management as a SaaS Platform

rocket_launchStatus: Live with pilot church. Kirchenwerk is currently in production use by Herzfabrik as the first church. The platform is being continuously developed and prepared for public launch.

Project Overview

Most churches in Germany manage their members in Excel spreadsheets, coordinate events through WhatsApp groups, and distribute sermons via email. That works - until it doesn’t. Beyond a certain size, the chaos becomes a real problem: Who is in which small group? When is the next service at the Erzgebirge location? Has someone uploaded the podcast to Spotify yet?

Kirchenwerk solves this with a central platform that combines administration and community in a single solution. Member management, event planning, podcast management, communication, and finances - all in one place. And as a SaaS, so any church can start immediately without running their own servers.

The project was born from a real need: Herzfabrik, a free church with multiple locations in the Vogtland and Erzgebirge regions of Germany, needed a system that could grow with them. Not a rigid off-the-shelf tool, but a platform that adapts to how modern churches actually work. Kirchenwerk is the result.

Challenges

Multi-Tenant Architecture

Each church needs isolated data, but all share the same platform - with different subscription tiers and feature sets

GDPR + Church Data Protection

Beyond GDPR, churches in Germany are subject to specific data protection laws (DSG-EKD/KDG) - both must be satisfied

Real-time Synchronization

Changes in the CRM need to be immediately visible on the website and mobile app - across three different tech stacks

Modular Permission System

Pastors, volunteers, and members need different access rights per module and location

SaaS Monetization

Three subscription tiers with different feature sets, Stripe integration, and automated billing

Solutions

Technical Solutions

Innovative Approaches for Your Success

computer

Web Platform

Dashboard for church leadership and volunteers

React with TypeScript

Tailwind CSS for consistent UI

Role-based dashboard per location

Stripe integration for subscriptions

database

Convex Backend

Serverless real-time database

TypeScript end-to-end

Automatic optimistic updates

File storage for media

Cron jobs for podcast sync

smartphone

Mobile App

React Native app for the community

Expo with React Native

Events, locations, small groups

Push notifications

Offline-capable with Zustand

calendar_month

Calendar & Media

Synchronization and file management

iCal sync with Google, Outlook, Apple

CalDAV/WebDAV support

Media management with versioning

Image optimization with Sharp

Platform Features

Members

Member Management

Profiles, roles, groups, contact data

Events

Event Management

Services, courses, small groups, iCal sync

Podcasts

Spotify Sync

Multi-podcast, RSS feeds, series management

Locations

Multi-Location

Manage multiple church locations

Billing

Stripe Billing

Subscription management, webhooks, invoices

API

HTTP Endpoints

REST API for website and mobile app

Technology Highlights

Convex Real-time

Instead of REST APIs with manual refetches: Convex synchronizes data in real-time across all connected clients. Changes in the dashboard are instantly visible in the app.

Spotify Podcast Sync

New sermons are automatically synchronized with Spotify. Series, categories, and metadata are managed in the CRM and published as RSS feeds.

OAuth & SSO

Modular RBAC

Every feature is a module with its own permissions. Volunteers only see what they need. Pastors have access to everything. Configurable per location.

Project Gallery

Dashboard with overview of events, members, and locations

Event planning with calendar sync and location filter

Why Kirchenwerk?

The market for church software in Germany is limited. Existing solutions are either pure administration tools (great for management, poor for community) or pure community apps (great for communication, no admin features). Kirchenwerk combines both in a single platform.

* Admin + Community: Not either-or, but both in one system
* Made in Germany: GDPR-compliant, German hosting, church-specific data protection laws considered
* Fair Pricing: Starting at EUR 29/month for small churches, no hidden costs
* Ecosystem: CRM, website, and mobile app work seamlessly together

Find more details about the technical implementation in our blog post.

Next Step

Interested in a SaaS Platform?

Planning a SaaS solution or need a complex management system? Let's talk.

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