Care Action Center: Your Mission Control for Pastoral Care
The Care Action Center is your command center for pastoral care—designed to surface what needs your attention right now and help you identify people who might be slipping through the cracks. Instead of scrolling through activity feeds or applying filters to find what matters, the Care Action Center presents actionable information at a glance.
Think of it as your radar screen for care ministry: showing you who needs a runway, who's circling in a holding pattern, and which parts of your congregation have gone quiet.
Accessing the Care Action Center
Navigate to the Care Action Center from your main sidebar menu. It's positioned prominently because it's designed to be your starting point each day.
Understanding the Dashboard
System Pulse
At the top of the Care Action Center, you'll find four key metrics that give you an instant snapshot of your care ministry's health:
- Unassigned Requests: Care requests waiting for someone to take ownership
- Pending Response: Group blast assignments awaiting team member acceptance
- Overdue: Care that should have been delivered but hasn't been reported
- Care Delivered: Total care actions completed this week
These numbers tell you at a glance whether your ministry is keeping up with incoming needs.
Core Sections
Inbox: Needs Assignment
Purpose: Shows every care request that hasn't been assigned to anyone yet.
What you'll see: A clean list of unassigned requests—no hunting through filters required.
Action: Click on any request to assign it to a team member or group.
Why it matters: This ensures no incoming need sits unnoticed. If someone reaches out for care, you'll see it here until it's been triaged and assigned.
Waiting Room: Group Blasts
Purpose: Tracks care requests sent to groups that haven't been accepted by anyone yet.
What you'll see: Requests you've delegated to teams or groups, waiting for someone to step up.
Action: Follow up with your groups or reassign if needed.
Why it matters: Group assignments can create diffusion of responsibility. This section makes it visible when a group blast hasn't been picked up, so you can intervene before the need falls through the cracks.
Chaser List: Missing Reports
Purpose: Identifies care that should have happened but hasn't been documented yet.
What you'll see: Assignments with past due dates that don't have visit reports.
Action: Gently follow up with your team members to submit their reports.
Why it matters: Without reports, you don't know if care actually happened or what was learned. This creates accountability while helping you understand the complete picture of each person's care journey.
Risk Radar
Purpose: Proactively identifies people who haven't had meaningful contact in over 90 days.
What you'll see: Congregation members who may be drifting away—not because anyone forgot them, but because they've quietly gone off the radar.
Action: Review the list and create intentional touchpoints.
Why it matters: This is your early warning system for disengagement. Instead of realizing six months later that someone hasn't been around, you get a gentle nudge to reach out before they feel forgotten.
Additional Widgets
Birthdays This Week
Shows upcoming birthdays to help you celebrate and connect with congregation members on their special day.
Pro tip: A simple text message saying "I'm glad you were born" can make someone feel deeply seen and valued.
Milestones This Week
Displays significant life events and anniversaries happening this week, giving you opportunities for meaningful outreach.
Best Practices
Start Your Day Here
Make the Care Action Center your first stop each morning. Spend five minutes reviewing:
- Are there unassigned requests?
- Do any group blasts need my attention?
- Are there missing reports I should follow up on?
- Has anyone appeared on the Risk Radar?
Create Daily Rhythms
The Care Action Center works best when integrated into your daily workflow. Consider:
- Checking unassigned requests every morning
- Reviewing missing reports on Fridays
- Looking at the Risk Radar monthly during leadership meetings
Use It With Your Team
Share your screen during staff meetings to review the System Pulse together. It creates shared ownership and helps everyone understand where care is flowing smoothly and where bottlenecks exist.
Don't Ignore the Risk Radar
It's easy to focus only on urgent requests. But the Risk Radar shows you the quiet needs—people who aren't asking for help but might benefit from a check-in. Set a reminder to review this section monthly.
What Makes This Different
Traditional church management tools show you activity feeds—what happened recently. The Care Action Center shows you what needs to happen now and who might need you soon.
It's the difference between a chronological list of flights and an air traffic control radar screen. Both contain information, but only one helps you see the full picture and take action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why don't I see any data in some sections?
A: Empty sections are good news! If "Inbox: Needs Assignment" is empty, it means all requests have been triaged. If "Chaser List" is empty, all your care is documented and up to date.
Q: How is the Risk Radar calculated?
A: The Risk Radar looks for people who haven't had any documented contact in over 90 days. This includes care visits, notes, attendance records, and other meaningful interactions tracked in CareNote.
Q: Can I customize what appears on the Care Action Center?
A: The sections are designed to surface the most critical information for care ministry. However, you can click through to detailed views and apply additional filters as needed.
Q: How often does the data update?
A: The Care Action Center updates in real-time. When a request is assigned, it immediately disappears from "Inbox: Needs Assignment." When a report is submitted, it clears from "Chaser List."
Getting Started
- Navigate to the Care Action Center from your sidebar
- Review your System Pulse numbers
- Clear your Inbox by assigning any unassigned requests
- Check for group blasts that need attention
- Follow up on any missing reports
- Note anyone on the Risk Radar for future outreach
The Care Action Center is designed to help you work smarter, not harder—ensuring that care flows smoothly and no one slips through the cracks.
Built by a Pastor, for Pastors
I built the Care Action Center because I lived with the same fear every care leader carries: that someone might slip through the cracks not because we didn't care, but because we couldn't see them.
If you're already using CareNote, the Care Action Center is waiting for you in your sidebar. Start your day there tomorrow and see what surfaces.
Not using CareNote yet? This radar screen for pastoral care is just one of many features designed to help you stop managing spreadsheets and start shepherding people. CareNote is built for the real work of ministry—helping you care with confidence and clarity.