Community Playbook helps you move from scattered charity to coordinated impact—by quietly pulling your people, partners, and stories into one clear picture of what God is already doing in your neighborhood.
It was shaped with pastors in real communities, not in a lab.
In partnership with
Independently developed by Leslie B. James together with leaders serving real neighborhoods.
When there’s no simple way to organize what’s already happening, ministry starts to feel like this:
Every playbook walks you through the same simple, relational framework.
Put ZIP-level data on education, health, housing, and food access next to real stories from your people, so the numbers feel like neighbors.
→ Know your neighborhood with real data and real voices
Spot aligned partners and map Collaboration Pathways that make mission mutual, not one-sided, so everyone knows their role.
→ Love people well through real, shared work
Gather testimonies and simple metrics into stories that make sense to boards, funders, and your congregation—without a grant writer on staff.
→ Invite others into what God is already doing
Under the hood, Community Playbook gives you a small, boutique way to organize people, data, and stories—so you’re always building a living playbook for your place.
Two easy ways to jump in:
Start by seeing what’s possible
22 proven playbooks from real churches (Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta), with actual budgets ($650–$12K) and 90-day launch plans you can run with simple spreadsheets.
When you’re ready to move faster
Stop drowning in spreadsheets. Use a small, focused platform that keeps partners, 90-day projects, and stories in one place—often saving 10+ hours of coordination time each month.
Ready to know your neighborhood and love them well?
Start with Free PlaybooksNo signup required · 22 proven playbooks · Real church examples
Not sure where to start?
Schedule a 30-minute strategy callImagine six months from now:
Churches like yours are already helping families stay housed, opening doors to work, and strengthening everyday life—mostly with volunteers and budgets they already have. The library lets you browse those projects and pick the playbook that feels closest to your calling and your community’s moment.
For individual churches
Start where you are. Grow as you go. These playbooks help you respond to clear neighborhood needs—with budgets as low as $650/year and a volunteer core you already know by name.
For denominations & networks
Steward scale for the sake of the neighborhood. These playbooks show you how to braid corporate partners, public dollars, and bulk purchasing so local churches can say “yes” to more mission—without putting new weight on tithes.
Your neighborhood already has strengths. These 22 playbooks help you organize them.
Each playbook comes with real church case studies, actual budgets ($650–$12K), and simple 90-day launch plans. Use them with basic spreadsheets, or pair them with the platform when you’re ready for shared dashboards and reporting.
Free to access and implement · No login required · Built from real churches’ experiments and learnings
Hear how pastors used Community Playbook to see their neighborhoods with fresh eyes—and finally found a clear place to begin.
Dr. Thomas
Lead Pastor
“I don't know how many times I've said, even being here—where do I start? This gives me that clarity.”
What changed for him
He saw neighborhood data and trends in minutes, not months.
He walked away with a simple, clear starting point for outreach.
Scott Grey
Lead Pastor
“People often know they need to help but don't know where to start. When you can direct them to specific areas, it's much more effective.”
What changed for him
He could point volunteers to specific needs, not just “help somewhere.”
Ideas in the room turned into practical next steps on the ground.
How the tools work together
Community Snapshot · PartnerWell · ServeWell · StoryWell
Watch how Community Snapshot helps you see your neighborhood, PartnerWell organizes key relationships, ServeWell keeps projects on track, and StoryWell gathers the impact stories your board and funders keep asking for.
What you’ll see
• How your ZIP turns into a clear neighborhood snapshot in a few clicks.
• How partners, projects, and volunteers stay organized instead of scattered.
• How stories move from “we know God is at work” to shareable evidence.
These are unscripted reactions from leaders seeing the Playbook for the first time—and a quick look at the tools that helped them. You might be next.
All playbooks are free to look through. When you're ready to move from “good ideas” to “we actually did it”, pick the option that fits your church or network right now.
Step 1 · Explore
Browse 22 proven neighborhood playbooks with real budgets and 90‑day launch plans.
$0
Always free to preview online.
Explore the LibraryStep 2 · Download & Plan
Get full PDFs, editable templates, and checklists you can print, share, and tweak with your team.
$37
per playbook · or $497 for all 22.
Great if you want to try one playbook deeply before you commit to the full platform.
Step 3 · Tailored to Your ZIP
We tune a playbook to your ZIP code, neighborhood data, and church context—so it’s ready to run where you are.
$147
per customized playbook · $297 for any 3.
Add a 30‑minute strategy call for $347 total if you’d like help with your first 90 days.
When your churches are ready to move but time and capacity are tight, a Playmaker Season pairs your Playbook tier with hands-on implementation support.
What's a Playmaker?
Think of Playmakers as implementation coaches who work with you (not for you) to turn your Playbook into live projects. Different from cohorts: Cohorts are peer learning experiences; Playmakers are hands-on execution support helping 1–3 priority churches move from plan to launch (and more churches as you scale).
You don't need another consultant telling you what to do. You need a Playmaker who helps you do it—alongside your team, in real time, until the project is live and the story is captured.
Per 90-day Season · Market-rate range based on sessions and number of churches.
Most partners invest $3,600–$7,500 per Season to support 1–3 priority churches alongside their Playbook tier.
Who it's for:
Churches and networks running a Starter or Network Playbook who want help going from “on paper” to “on the ground”—starting with a single church, then adding more as momentum builds.
Not included in subscriptions—this is a separate, add-on service you purchase when you're ready for intensive implementation support.
What's included per Season (90 days):
Strategy + accountability calls
2–4 calls over 90 days with your leadership to set direction, unblock obstacles, and keep momentum. We help you prioritize which churches and projects to focus on first.
Hands-on help for 1–3 priority churches
We help draft outreach emails, facilitate partner meetings, build project plans, and troubleshoot obstacles in real time. This is active, in-the-work support—not just advice.
Weekly office hours
All churches in your Playbook tier get access to weekly drop-in office hours so no one gets stuck waiting for help between calls.
Implementation checklists + templates
Pre-built guides, checklists, and email templates so you're not starting from scratch—you're adapting proven frameworks to your context.
How this fits with your Playbook
Start with a Playbook tier (Starter for one church, or Network for many). Add a Playmaker Season when you're ready to move faster—typically after you've mapped your context and identified 1–3 priority churches. Most networks run 2–3 Seasons per year: Spring (launch projects), Fall (scale + refine), Winter (capture stories and line up funding.
Cohorts vs. Playmaker Seasons
Cohorts (Learning)
Peer-based learning with faculty. You learn frameworks, see case studies, and leave with a plan.
Playmaker Seasons (Doing)
Hands-on implementation support. We work alongside you to execute the plan—emails, meetings, projects.
Use this short readiness check to see whether your church or network is a high, medium, or low fit for Community Playbook and which tier makes the most sense right now.
Choose whether you lead a single church or a church network. Answer a few quick questions and get a recommendation: Starter, Network, pilot with downloads, or “build foundations first.”
Data-informed
Checks readiness, capacity, and pain before you invest in a tier.
Board-friendly
Use results with your board or superintendent to frame the decision.
Quick
5–10 questions · about 8–12 minutes to complete.
Fit summary
Use this as a discernment tool with your board or network leadership to decide between Starter, Network, Playmaker Seasons, or pausing until foundations are stronger.
Whether you’re talking with a church board, senior pastor, bishop, or network superintendent, this page is built to be easy to share. Download a 1-page PDF overview or email this page directly with a short note.
Get a printable PDF that summarizes how Community Playbook works, what’s included, and pricing for churches, networks, and implementation support.
Download PDFSend this pricing page and 1-page overview directly to your pastor, board chair, or network leader with a ready-made note you can tweak.
Open email draftSample messages you can use:
For church boards / pastors:
"I found Community Playbook—a tool that helps us map our neighborhood, track community partnerships and projects, and capture stories we can share with the congregation and board. The Starter tier is $249/month (or $2,688/year) and is designed for churches serious about neighborhood impact. We can also add short-term implementation coaching (Playmaker Seasons) if we want extra help getting our first project off the ground. Can we explore this as part of our outreach strategy? Here’s the link: communityplaybook.org/pricing."
For network leaders / superintendents:
"I came across Community Playbook and think it could help us activate 10–20 of our churches around neighborhood transformation. The Network platform starts around $999/month (for up to 10 churches) and can scale higher as more churches are added. We can also layer in Playmaker Seasons (implementation coaching, typically $1,200–$2,500/month for 90 days) or a full Accelerator partnership ($45,000–$60,000/year) to drive implementation and reporting across the network. Can we explore this for our upcoming priorities? Here’s the link: communityplaybook.org/pricing."
Questions? Email us at hello@communityplaybook.org or schedule a call.
We're not for everyone—and that's okay. Here's how to know if Community Playbook and the new tiers are a good fit.
If this sounds like you, Community Playbook helps you turn scattered neighborhood efforts into a clear plan, tangible projects, and stories you can share with confidence.
If this describes you, we're probably not the right fit—and we'd rather be honest than waste your time or strain your budget.
Still not sure? Let's talk about where your churches are today and what level of investment makes sense.
Schedule a 30-Minute CallEverything you need to know before using Community Playbook to organize neighbor love in your context.
Community Playbook is for churches and networks that want to organize everyday neighbor love—moving from scattered good ideas to a focused neighborhood plan with real projects, partners, and stories, without building a big new department.
This is a good fit if you:
Starter Playbook Platform — $249/month or $2,688/year
For a single congregation focused on one primary neighborhood. You get the neighborhood dashboard, project and partner tracking, story capture tools, and access to all 22 playbook templates. A lean, self-serve way to organize local mission with a boutique toolset built for one church.
Network Playbook Platform — from $999/month
For networks with roughly 10–20 churches. Each church gets everything in Starter, plus you gain a network dashboard, shared templates, aggregate reporting, and priority support. One set of tools and language to organize neighborhood projects across many churches.
Playmaker Seasons — typically $1,200–$2,500/month for 90 days
Add-on implementation support for Starter or Network. A Playmaker walks alongside 1–3 priority churches for a 90-day Season with strategy calls, weekly office hours, and hands-on help. Boutique, done-with-you organizing support to get projects off the page and into the neighborhood.
Neighborhood Formation Accelerator — $45,000–$60,000/year
A full-year partnership for networks that want a fractional transformation team. You get the Network platform plus cohorts, multiple Playmaker Seasons, and help designing and reporting a network-wide strategy. End-to-end, done-with-you partnership to organize and sustain neighborhood formation across a whole network.
Simple rule of thumb: use Starter to organize one church in one neighborhood, Network to organize 10–20 churches at once, add Playmaker Seasons when you want boutique “in the work” help, and choose the Accelerator when you’d rather bring in a partner than build all of this internally.
Yes. All playbooks are free to preview in the online library, and most churches or networks start with a 30–45 minute discovery call to see the platform framed around their own neighborhood and people.
Starter and Network subscriptions are month-to-month with no long-term contracts. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel as you go. Your data, relationships, and stories stay with you.
That’s where most of our work begins. The Starter Playbook Platform ($249/month or $2,688/year) is designed as a boutique, right-sized tool for one congregation focused on one primary neighborhood.
You get a neighborhood snapshot, partner and project tracking, story capture, and access to all 22 playbook templates—everything you need to organize neighbor love with the volunteers and budget you already have. If you later collaborate with other churches or join a district/presbytery initiative, you can grow into the Network tier without losing your data.
Share your context, budget, and goals, and we’ll help you discern whether Starter, Network, a Playmaker Season, or the Accelerator is the right next step—or if the most faithful move is to wait and organize with the free tools first.