Custom Forms: Your Church’s All-in-One Form Solution
Why Churches Need Custom Forms
Every church faces countless moments when they need to collect information quickly and reliably. A first-time visitor fills out a connection card. A family registers for vacation Bible school. A volunteer signs up for a ministry team. A member submits a prayer request. Without a flexible, integrated form solution, churches often juggle paper forms, scattered spreadsheets, or multiple disconnected tools that don’t talk to their church management system. The result? Lost data, duplicate entry, and staff spending hours on manual follow-up instead of ministry.
One Platform for Every Form Need
OnlineGiving.org’s Custom Forms feature gives churches a single, powerful ecosystem to create, manage, and analyze forms for virtually any scenario. From simple contact forms and prayer requests to complex event registrations with payment collection and ChMS integrations, Custom Forms adapts to your church’s needs. Whether you’re collecting baptism sign-ups, mission trip applications, volunteer interest forms, small group registrations, feedback surveys, or building fund pledges, you can build it in one place. The drag-and-drop Form Builder requires no coding, and when your church uses ChMS integrations like Ministry Platform, Rock RMS, Church Community Builder, Planning Center, or Aegis, form submissions can automatically sync into your database.
From Submission to Insight
Custom Forms isn’t just about collecting data—it’s about turning that data into ministry action. The Form Submissions area lets you view, search, filter, and export every response. You can see exactly what each person submitted, view their donor profile, check linked transactions, and track ChMS actions performed. A heatmap visualization shows where submissions are coming from geographically. And the Custom Form Reports Hub brings together six dedicated reports with AI-powered insights: Forms Overview, People & Connections, Submissions by Form, Single Form Detail, Who Submitted, and Form Transactions. Each report helps you understand engagement trends, identify first-time submitters, spot at-risk connections, and track form-related revenue.
Built for Church Staff
Custom Forms is designed for church administrators and staff who may not have technical backgrounds. The Form Builder offers 20+ field types, content blocks for text and media, AI Compose to help generate section descriptions, and a device preview so you can see how your form looks on mobile and desktop before publishing. The Forms Management page provides bulk editing, inline updates, drag-and-drop sorting, and per-form actions like viewing sessions, transactions, links, QR codes, and submissions. Multi-campus churches can assign forms to specific campuses. Guest access options let you control whether anonymous visitors can submit. And when you need help, OnlineGiving.org provides courtesy setup assistance.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Custom Forms feature.
Custom Forms User Guide:
The Custom Forms feature is your central ecosystem for creating, managing, and analyzing forms across your church. It includes the Form Builder for designing forms, the Forms Management page for organizing and editing forms, Form Submissions for viewing and exporting responses, and the Custom Form Reports Hub for AI-powered analytics. Custom Forms supports payment collection, ChMS integrations with CCB, Rock RMS, Ministry Platform, Planning Center, and Aegis, multi-campus configuration, guest access, and comprehensive reporting.
Key Takeaways
- Form Builder: Drag-and-drop visual designer with 20+ field types, payment collection, ChMS integrations, AI Compose, and device preview.
- Forms Management: Central list of all forms with bulk editing, inline updates, drag-and-drop sorting, and per-form actions (sessions, transactions, links, QR codes, submissions, edit, copy, delete).
- Form Submissions: View, search, filter, and export all responses with detail view, donor profile, linked transactions, ChMS actions, and heatmap visualization.
- Custom Form Reports Hub: Six dedicated reports—Forms Overview, People & Connections, Submissions by Form, Single Form Detail, Who Submitted, Form Transactions—with AI insights, campus filtering, and CSV/PDF exports.
- ChMS Integrations: CCB, Rock RMS, Ministry Platform, Planning Center, and Aegis integrations sync form data into your church management system.
- Access Control: Requires Donor Admin or Custom Form Admin role. Form Builder plan required.
Table of Contents
- What Are Custom Forms
- Getting Started
- The Form Builder
- Managing Your Forms
- Form Submissions
- Custom Form Reports
- ChMS Integrations Overview
- Multi-Campus Support
- Payment Collection
- Guest Access & Security
- Best Practices & Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Custom Forms
Custom Forms are flexible, church-specific forms you create and manage within OnlineGiving.org. Unlike generic contact forms or third-party form tools, Custom Forms are built into your giving platform. They share the same payment processing, donor profiles, and ChMS integrations as your donations. A connection card form can capture a visitor’s name and interests and automatically add them to a Ministry Platform group. A mission trip registration form can collect payment and sync the participant to Rock RMS. A volunteer sign-up form can trigger a Planning Center workflow. Every form you build becomes part of your church’s unified data ecosystem.
Custom Forms support a wide range of use cases:
- Connection cards and first-time visitor cards
- Baptism and membership sign-ups
- Event registrations (VBS, camps, conferences)
- Mission trip applications
- Volunteer interest and ministry team sign-ups
- Small group and Bible study registrations
- Prayer requests
- Feedback and satisfaction surveys
- Building fund pledges
- Resource requests (Bibles, materials)
Getting Started
Navigation Structure
Custom Forms lives in its own section of the control panel sidebar. To access it:
- Log in to the control panel.
- In the left navigation, expand “Custom Forms”.
- You’ll see three main options:
- Reports — Opens the Custom Form Reports Hub at /admin/formreports
- Custom Forms (BETA) — Opens the Forms Management page at /admin/customforms
- Submissions — Opens the Form Submissions list at /admin/formsubmissions
From the Forms Management page, you create new forms, edit existing ones, and access the Form Builder. From Submissions, you view and export all form responses. From Reports, you access the six analytics reports.
Roles and Plan Requirements
To use Custom Forms, you need one of these roles: Donor Admin or Custom Form Admin. The Form Builder product must be included in your church’s plan. If you don’t see the Custom Forms section in the sidebar, contact your domain administrator or OnlineGiving.org support to verify your role and plan.
The Form Builder
Form Builder Overview
The Form Builder is a visual, drag-and-drop designer for creating custom forms. You add sections, drag in fields from a sidebar, and configure each element without writing code. The Form Builder supports:
- 20+ field types: Short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, date picker, email, phone, mailing address, money input, number input, fill-in-the-blank, and more
- Content blocks: Text, images, and video to add instructions or branding
- Payment block: Full payment/donation collection with fund selection
- AI Compose: Generate section descriptions and content with AI assistance
- Device preview: See how your form looks on mobile, tablet, and desktop
- Conditional logic: Show or require fields based on other field values
- ChMS integrations: Configure form submissions to sync with CCB, Rock RMS, Ministry Platform, Planning Center, or Aegis
When you create or edit a form from the Forms Management page, the Form Builder opens with tabs for Form Builder, Actions, and Page Layout. The Actions tab lets you configure email notifications, confirmation messages, webhooks, and ChMS integration settings. The Page Layout tab controls how the form appears when embedded or shared.
Full Form Builder Guide
For a complete walkthrough of the Form Builder, including every field type, content blocks, payment setup, ChMS configuration, and device preview, see the Form Builder User Guide.
Managing Your Forms
Forms Management Overview
The Forms Management page is your central list of all custom forms. From here you can:
- View all forms in a sortable, filterable table
- Bulk edit title, label, status, visibility, and guest access
- Bulk configure email notifications and confirmation messages
- Bulk delete forms (with confirmation)
- Inline edit individual form properties
- Drag-and-drop sort to reorder forms
- Per-form actions: View form, Sessions, Transactions, Links, QR codes, Submissions, Edit, Copy, Delete
- Every field submitted
- Donor profile link (when the submitter is a known user)
- Linked transactions (payments made with the form)
- ChMS actions performed (e.g., added to group, created record)
- Webhook delivery status
- Church Community Builder (CCB): Process queues, add to groups
- Rock RMS: Add to groups, assign roles, create accounts
- Ministry Platform: 30+ integration points including groups, households, individuals, and custom tables
- Planning Center: Trigger workflows, pledge campaigns
- Aegis: Sync to funds and related records
- Use clear section titles: Group related questions into sections with descriptive titles. This improves completion rates and makes submissions easier to review.
- Keep forms focused: Shorter forms tend to get more completions. If you need a lot of information, consider splitting into multiple forms or using conditional logic to show only relevant fields.
- Test before publishing: Use the device preview to check mobile layout. Submit a test response to verify email notifications, confirmation messages, and ChMS actions.
- Set up email notifications: Configure who receives an email when a form is submitted so staff can follow up quickly.
- Review reports regularly: The Forms Overview and People & Connections reports help you spot trends and identify people who need follow-up.
- Use QR codes and links: From the Forms Management page, generate QR codes and shareable links for each form. Place them on bulletins, signage, and digital displays.
Each form has a status (Active, Draft, Archived) and visibility settings. You can control whether the form is visible on your giving website and whether guests (non-logged-in users) can submit. Forms can be assigned to specific campuses in multi-campus setups.
Full Forms Management Guide
For detailed instructions on bulk editing, inline updates, sorting, and all per-form actions, see the Custom Forms Management User Guide.
Form Submissions
Submissions Overview
The Form Submissions area lets you view, search, filter, and export every form response. You can narrow results by form, date range, campus, and search terms. The list shows submission date, form name, submitter (when identified), and key fields. Click any row to open the submission detail view, which displays:
Export to CSV to get a spreadsheet of submissions with field values as columns. A heatmap visualization shows the geographic distribution of submission locations when address data is available.
Full Form Submissions Guide
For step-by-step instructions on searching, filtering, viewing details, and exporting, see the Form Submissions User Guide.
Custom Form Reports
Reports Hub Overview
The Custom Form Reports Hub at /admin/formreports is your central access point for form analytics. It displays six report cards in a responsive grid. Each report has its own date range picker, campus selector (for multi-campus churches), quick date links (Last Week, Last Month, Last 90 Days, Year to Date), and an AI summary panel that distills key wins, trends, and actionable insights into plain language. Every report supports CSV export, and several support PDF export and email scheduling.
Forms Overview Report
The Forms Overview report is a dashboard with submission trends, top forms by volume, first-time submitters, multi-form people, returning members, stale forms (no activity in 30+ days), geo summary, and AI ministry pulse. Use it to get a high-level picture of form engagement across your church. For full details, see the Forms Overview Report User Guide.
People & Connections Report
The People & Connections report focuses on engagement and pastoral care. It includes an engagement funnel, pastoral care spotlight, silent supporters, at-risk submitters, first-timer trend, and re-engagement velocity. Use it to identify who needs follow-up and prioritize outreach. For full details, see the People & Connections Report User Guide.
Submissions by Form Report
The Submissions by Form report shows all forms ranked by submission volume with side-by-side comparison, sparklines, duplicate detection, and stale form flags. Click a form to drill into its Single Form Detail report. For full details, see the Submissions by Form Report User Guide.
Single Form Detail Report
The Single Form Detail report is a deep dive into one form. It shows field distributions, text spotlight, capacity tracking, payment summary, pipeline health, period comparison, and activity feed. Use it when you need to understand how a specific form is performing. For full details, see the Single Form Detail Report User Guide.
Who Submitted Report
The Who Submitted report is person-centric. It lists submitters with engagement scores, at-risk tiers, content peek, activity digest, and submission trajectory. Use it to build follow-up lists and prioritize outreach. For full details, see the Who Submitted Report User Guide.
Form Transactions Report
The Form Transactions report focuses on revenue. It shows revenue by form, payment method breakdown, revenue trend chart, and a full transaction list with export. Use it to track form-related payments and giving trends. For full details, see the Form Transactions Report User Guide.
Full Custom Form Reports Guide
For a comprehensive overview of all six reports, campus filtering, AI panels, and export options, see the Custom Form Reports User Guide.
ChMS Integrations Overview
Custom Forms integrates with five major church management systems. When you configure a ChMS integration for a form, submissions can automatically trigger actions in your ChMS:
ChMS integration is configured per form in the Form Builder’s Actions tab. The exact options depend on your ChMS and your domain’s integration setup. Form submissions that include payment can also sync donation records to your ChMS alongside the form data.
Multi-Campus Support
For multi-campus churches, Custom Forms respects your campus structure. You can assign forms to specific campuses so that only the relevant campus sees or uses a form. The Forms Management page lets you filter by campus. Form Submissions and all six reports support campus filtering, so you can view submissions and analytics for a single campus or aggregate across all campuses. Quick date links preserve your campus selection when you switch periods.
Payment Collection
Forms can include a Payment block that collects credit card, eCheck, or other payment methods. When you add a Payment block to a form, you configure which funds are available, whether to allow custom amounts, and optional processing fee coverage. Form payments flow through the same gateway as your donations and appear in the Donations list. They also appear in the Form Transactions report and can be viewed from the Form Submissions detail when a submission includes a payment. ChMS integrations can sync form payments to your church management system.
Guest Access & Security
By default, forms can be configured to allow guest access—meaning visitors who aren’t logged in can still submit. This is useful for connection cards, event registrations, and other forms where you want to capture first-time visitors. You can disable guest access for forms that should only be completed by logged-in users (e.g., member-only surveys). Guest submissions are stored with whatever contact information the form collects; if the person later creates an account, their submissions can be linked to their profile.
Custom Forms uses the same security mechanisms as the rest of OnlineGiving.org: authentication, role-based access, and secure payment processing. Form data is stored securely and only accessible to users with the appropriate roles.
Best Practices & Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Custom Forms and a standard contact form?
Custom Forms are built into OnlineGiving.org and integrate with your giving platform. They share donor profiles, payment processing, and ChMS integrations. A generic contact form from a third-party tool typically doesn’t connect to your ChMS or donor database. Custom Forms let you capture a visitor on a connection card and automatically add them to a Ministry Platform group, or collect a mission trip payment and sync it to Rock RMS.
Do I need a separate plan for Custom Forms?
Yes. The Form Builder product must be included in your church’s plan. Contact your account representative or support@onlinegiving.org to add the Form Builder plan if you don’t have it.
Can I use Custom Forms with my church management system?
Custom Forms integrates with Church Community Builder (CCB), Rock RMS, Ministry Platform, Planning Center, and Aegis. If your church uses one of these ChMS platforms and has the integration configured in OnlineGiving.org, you can set up form submissions to sync automatically. The exact options depend on your ChMS and integration setup.
How do I share a form with my congregation?
Each form has a unique URL you can share via email, social media, or your website. From the Forms Management page, use the Links or QR codes action to generate a shareable link and a QR code image. You can also embed forms on your website using the embed code provided in the form settings.
Can guests (non-logged-in visitors) submit forms?
Yes, if you enable guest access for the form. This is useful for connection cards, event registrations, and other forms where you want to capture first-time visitors. You can disable guest access for forms that should only be completed by logged-in users.
Where do form submissions appear?
All submissions appear in the Form Submissions list at /admin/formsubmissions. You can filter by form, date range, campus, and search terms. Click any submission to view the full detail, including every field, donor profile link, linked transactions, and ChMS actions. You can also export to CSV.
What reports are available for Custom Forms?
The Custom Form Reports Hub includes six reports: Forms Overview (activity dashboard), People & Connections (engagement and pastoral care), Submissions by Form (side-by-side comparison), Single Form Detail (deep dive per form), Who Submitted (person-centric list), and Form Transactions (revenue and payments). Each report has an AI summary panel, campus filtering, and export options.
Can I collect payments with a form?
Yes. Add a Payment block to your form in the Form Builder. Configure which funds are available and whether to allow custom amounts. Form payments use the same gateway as your donations and appear in the Donations list. They also appear in the Form Transactions report and in the Form Submissions detail when a submission includes a payment.
Need help setting up Custom Forms?
OnlineGiving.org provides courtesy setup assistance. Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000.