If you’re migrating from another email provider (like Mailchimp), you can upload your contact lists directly into Church Space using CSV files. This helps ensure your existing email preferences and tags carry over accurately.

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How to Upload a CSV

You can import contacts in two ways:

On the import page, you’ll see three upload sections:

  • Subscribed
  • Unsubscribed
  • Cleaned

If you’re coming from Mailchimp, you can upload the three CSVs they provide when you export your audience.

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Why Include Unsubscribed and Cleaned Lists?

Even if people exist in Planning Center, you may not want to email them.

  • Some may have unsubscribed on your old platform.
  • Others may have been cleaned due to invalid or bouncing email addresses.

Uploading these lists ensures they are excluded from your emails moving forward.

Sending emails to people who previously unsubscribed or bounced can cause them to mark you as spam. This increases the chance your emails will land in spam folders for others. Respecting unsubscribes is also required by anti-spam laws.

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Field Matching Requirements

After uploading a CSV, you’ll be prompted to match fields in your document to Church Space fields.

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For Unsubscribed or Cleaned Files:

  • Only one field is required: Email Address

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For Subscribed Files:

You’ll need to match the following:

  • Email Address
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Tags (optional)

Tags is expected to be a comma separated list of tags in one cell.

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What Happens After Upload

  • If a contact already exists in Planning Center with that email address:

    • They will be marked as subscribed
    • Any tags you map will be added to them
    • Their name will not be updated

  • If a contact does not exist in Planning Center:

    • We will create them for you
    • If First Name is missing, we will use "Friend"
    • If Last Name is missing, we will use "Name"
      (Planning Center requires a first and last name)

We recommend cleaning your spreadsheet before uploading to ensure the highest data quality in your system.

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Where to View Imported Data

  • People who were marked as subscribed on your former platform will show "Yes" in the
    Subscribed on Former Platform field under the Church Space custom tab in Planning Center.

  • Tags you assigned will appear in the Tags checkbox field under the Church Space custom tab.

You can use these fields to build lists in Planning Center and segment your audience effectively.

If you need help cleaning your CSV or importing your list, contact support@churchspace.co.