Setting Up Shepherd’s Staff: Install, Users & Backups (2026)
Learn how to install or update Shepherd's Staff, connect to your church database, add users with the right permissions, and protect your data with backups you can restore. This is the System Administration session in the Shepherd's Staff training webinar series from Concordia Technology Solutions. Instructor: Taylor Brown, CTS Support. Recorded live on November 5, 2026, using Shepherd's Staff version 10. All names and data shown are from a fictional demo database. Setting up a new database? Change the sysadmin password right after your first login. You'll learn how to: • Download the installation file from the Help Center and run the installer • Tell whether you can update yourself or should call Support (purple vs. stained-glass login screen) • Find and switch to your church database on a local or network drive • Enter church information and choose your denomination for reports • Add users and set module-by-module permissions • Create backups, including an extra copy uploaded to CTS • Restore a full database or Finance only • Use the login-screen utilities, toolbars, training videos and email options • Register your database for updates and support CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome and agenda 3:11 Downloading the installation file 5:40 Extracting and running the installer 7:46 Version compatibility and when to call Support 9:54 First login and checking your database connection 11:08 Networking: where your database lives 12:47 Mapping a network drive 13:28 Switching to the right database 15:11 First login to a new database 16:18 Program settings: church info and denomination 18:15 Adding users and setting permissions 22:41 WebTools and email permissions 23:48 Editing and deactivating users 24:32 Creating a backup 26:09 Checking out Finance and uploading to CTS 28:02 Restoring a backup 32:07 Login screen utilities 33:08 Main toolbar tour 34:55 Training videos inside the program 35:25 Modules, subgroups, calendar and tasks 35:57 Sending email from Shepherd's Staff 36:13 Registering your database 37:32 Church360° website sync and reminders 38:00 Help Center resources 39:02 Quiz 44:40 Q&A and wrap-up MORE SHEPHERD'S STAFF TRAINING All sessions: https://www.concordiatechnology.org/shepherds-staff/training Help Center: https://shepherdsstaff.zendesk.com/hc/en-us Resource Center: https://resources.concordiatechnology.org/shepherds-staff NEED HELP? Shepherd's Staff Support: 1.800.346.6120 | support@cts.cph.org #ShepherdsStaff #ChurchSoftware #LCMS























