Trellis

Trellis is a campus-ministry app for coordinating groups, events, communication, attendance, and leader care. It is best suited to ministries that want those tools in one place without limiting features by plan. Its breadth and free tier stand out, but messaging security and age requirements deserve careful consideration.

Overview

Trellis brings study guides, events, announcements, group chat, and attendance into a shared workspace built primarily for campus ministries. The maker says groups of other kinds may also fit, though teams seeking a general-purpose church management system may want to compare alternatives.

Events connect RSVPs, recurring series, and attendance tracking, while group-based chats and direct messages support day-to-day coordination. Announcements can be directed to leaders, a single group, or the whole ministry and sent as push notifications. That combination can keep planning and communication together rather than split across separate tools.

Key features

Events and communication

Recurring events and RSVPs give leaders a way to organize gatherings and track participation in the same app. Group-specific messaging and targeted announcements help avoid sending every update to everyone, which is useful for ministries with several teams or groups.

Leadership care

The leadership-only pastoral inbox ranks concerns such as students who stopped attending, groups that stopped meeting, and leaders who missed debriefs. Leaders can record study debriefs and complete periodic soul-care check-ins; users can privately raise a hand to request a conversation. These tools make care and follow-up part of the ministry workflow, but the messaging caveat matters when conversations are sensitive: messages are not end-to-end encrypted, connections use TLS, and Trellis's at-rest encryption posture is unconfirmed.

Privacy and account terms

Trellis says it does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and currently does not use third-party analytics or crash-reporting tools. Users must be at least 14; those aged 14–17 need parent or guardian consent. After account deletion, messages and group and attendance records may remain disconnected from the account for up to three years. Ministries should weigh those terms against their own safeguarding and record-retention needs.

Pricing

Trellis uses a freemium model, with a free plan and paid service from $35/mo. Free costs $0/month and allows unlimited members, groups, and staff, with no features locked. Paid costs $35 a month, billed $35/month + $10/month per additional staff account; it also allows unlimited members, groups, and staff, with no locked features.

Because both plans include the same features and unlimited access to members, groups, and staff, the free plan is an unusually complete starting point for a ministry comparing options. The paid plan's stated distinction is its price and additional-staff charge, rather than access to a different feature set. The free plan has no listed price beyond its $0/month billing, and Trellis has no free trial; there is no reason to start a trial before choosing between the plans.

Platforms

Trellis is available on Android, iOS, and the web, giving students and leaders mobile and browser access. The maker links to the Apple App Store and Google Play and names Firebase for push notifications, Supabase and Railway for hosting and database, and Vercel for web hosting.

Who it's for

Trellis is a strong fit for campus ministries that want events, attendance, group communication, and leadership-care workflows together, especially if unlimited members and groups on the free plan matter. Ministries with users younger than 14 cannot use it for those users, and groups that need end-to-end encrypted messaging should look elsewhere. The maker says each ministry is set up by hand and that support replies within one business day, a relevant consideration for teams planning onboarding.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Free and paid plans have the same features, including the pastoral inbox, and both allow unlimited members, groups, and staff.
• Pros: Event RSVPs, recurring series, attendance, targeted announcements, and group-based messaging bring common coordination tasks together.
• Pros: The pastoral inbox and care tools give leaders a structured way to notice missed participation and record follow-up.
• Cons: Messages are not end-to-end encrypted, and Trellis's at-rest encryption posture is unconfirmed, which can be a concern for sensitive pastoral communication.
• Cons: Users aged 14–17 require parent or guardian consent, and users younger than 14 are not allowed.
• Cons: Paid service starts at $35 a month, with an added $10/month per additional staff account.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse Small Group Management Software.

Church Central Cloud is worth considering for ministries that want a freemium church-management option with a free trial and a free plan capped at 10 members, one branch, 500 one-time emails, and 2 GB of storage.

Planning Center may suit organizations comparing a freemium option with a free trial and separate free tools for calendar, people, and services.

RollCall is another freemium option with a free trial; its free plan supports up to 30 members and one group, with check-in and kiosk mode.

TimelyChurch may be a better fit for a group that wants a free plan for up to 100 people or a paid Growth plan at $49 a month for up to 500 people.

ACTS is a free, open-source church management option for teams that prefer Linux, Windows, or web access.

Arbor is a mobile alternative for individuals or groups interested in daily walk, Bible, prayer journal, challenges, and invite-based groups.

ChurchCMS may suit teams looking for self-hosted church management, with a free self-hosted plan covering its six core modules and no usage limits.

ChurchSoftware.com Groups is another freemium alternative for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations seeking core church management tools.

Verdict

Choose Trellis if you lead a campus ministry that wants event coordination, attendance, messaging, and pastoral-care tools together, with the same features available on free and paid plans. Look elsewhere if end-to-end encrypted messages or use by people under 14 is essential; for groups that proceed, the consent and retention terms deserve attention alongside the app's practical breadth.