Church Space uses both Lists and Categories to manage how emails are sent and how recipients receive them. Each plays a unique role in organizing and delivering your communications.

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What Are Lists?

Lists come directly from Planning Center. They determine who will actually receive an email.

  • Think of them like tags or groups in other mailing platforms.
  • You build and manage them inside Planning Center, not Church Space.
  • Church Space syncs these lists and lets you send emails to the people in them.

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Example:

A list might be:

  • “Volunteers”
  • “First-Time Guests in the Last 30 Days”
  • “Kids Ministry Parents”

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What Are Categories?

Categories are created within Church Space. They help describe what kind of email you’re sending—not who it’s going to.

  • Think of them like audiences or email topics in other tools.
  • Recipients can opt in or out of specific categories based on their preferences.
  • Categories help organize your emails and give recipients more control. This leads to less full-unsubscribes.

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Example:

Categories might be:

  • “General Updates”
  • “Youth Ministry”
  • “Event Announcements”
  • “Volunteer Reminders”

These categories show up in the unsubscribe/preferences form at the bottom of emails, so recipients can stay subscribed to what matters most to them.

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How They Work Together

When you send an email:

  • You choose a List (who the email goes to)
  • You assign a Category (what type of email it is)

Church Space will only deliver the email to people on the list who are subscribed to that category.

This helps reduce unwanted emails and protect your deliverability by ensuring people only receive emails they want.

Need help organizing your lists or categories? Contact support@churchspace.co.