Run your youth ministry. Run your camp.
One platform.
You didn't take this job to wrangle spreadsheets and group texts. Stronghold pulls your students, small groups, check-in, camps, and follow-up into one place — so no kid slips through the cracks, and you get your nights back.
In one sentence
Stronghold is an all-in-one youth ministry and camp management platform — students, families, small groups, secure check-in, events, camps, and follow-up in one place, with built-in safeguarding for minors and a white-label website and app for every church.
- Youth ministry
- Student ministry
- Kids & children's ministry
- Church camps
- Summer camp
- Youth retreats
- Conferences
- Mission trips
- Small groups & discipleship
Who it's for
Two worlds. One platform.
Stronghold runs the day-to-day for youth ministries and for camps & conferences. Pick your path — the platform shapes itself around how you actually do ministry.
For youth & student ministry
Your whole student world in one place — people & families, small groups & discipleship, weekly gatherings, secure check-in, first-time guest follow-up, your own app, and Shepherd watching your back. Runs your whole church, too.
For camps & conferences
Run the entire camp — registrations, cabins & rooming, schedules, squads, medical & allergies, secure check-in/out, and a live app in every camper's and leader's pocket.
Everything you need
Everything your ministry runs on
One login instead of five apps, a group text, and three spreadsheets. Here's what's inside.
Students & families, organized
Every student, leader, and family in one place — who's plugged in, who's serving, and who hasn't shown up in three weeks. Small groups and discipleship milestones built right in.
Check-in parents trust
Guardian pickup codes, allergies & meds right on the tag, and background-check gating so only cleared adults are ever with kids.
Shepherd has your back
Your AI co-pilot quietly flags what needs you — a drifting student, an uncleared volunteer, a camper with no cabin — before it turns into a phone call you don't want.
Camps, retreats & events
Registrations, rooming, squads, schedules, and medical forms, with day-by-day live ops for camps, retreats, lock-ins, and mission trips.
Attendance & drifting
Take attendance in seconds - we flag students who have not been in a few weeks, so no one slips away.
Discipleship pathway
Track every student from first visit to decision, baptism, serving, and leading.
Trip safety GPS
Opt-in location sharing during a tracked event - it stops automatically when the event ends.
Tournaments
Run squad competitions and game nights with live standings campers watch in the app.
Registration & permission slips
Parents sign up online with consent and medical info, all in one place.
Your own site + app
A polished website and a live app for every trip and Wednesday night — your logo, your colors, with parents and students all in one place.
Follow-up that actually happens
First-time guest follow-up, parent & student messaging, and prayer requests — so the next step never gets lost in a group text.
See it in action
This is your Wednesday night, organized
A dashboard that quietly watches your back — and an app your students actually open. Here's a peek inside.
Your dashboard + Shepherd, the AI that flags what needs a human. Sample data shown.
Your white-label student + parent app. Sample data shown.
For youth pastors
You didn't get into this for the spreadsheets
It's 9:14 on a Wednesday night. The pizza boxes are stacked by the door, two students are still in the parking lot waiting on rides, and you just realized you haven't seen Marcus in three weeks. Was it two? You make a mental note to text his mom — the same note you made last week.
Somewhere between the camp roster, the group chat that never sleeps, and the volunteer who still needs a background check, the ministry got buried under the logistics. Stronghold digs it back out — it keeps the lists, quietly flags the student who's slipping, and hands you back the hours so you can do what you were actually called to do: be with your students.
How it works
Live in three steps
Set up your ministry or camp
Pick youth, kids, or both — or spin up a camp. Templates pre-load so nothing starts on a blank page.
Bring in your people
Add students, leaders, and volunteers — your roster, your groups, your ministries — in minutes.
Go live
Launch your site, your app, and secure check-in. Shepherd starts watching from day one.
Trust
Students' data, handled right
Safety isn't a feature bolted on here — it's the foundation everything else stands on.
Simple pricing
Pick what your ministry runs
Start free. Upgrade when you run your first live event. Cancel anytime.
Youth
- Student ministry CRM
- Small groups & discipleship
- Events, camps & trips
- Website + student app
- Shepherd AI + support
Bundle — Youth + Kids
- Everything in Youth
- Everything in Kids
- One family view across both
- Best for a whole ministry
- Priority support
Kids
- Children's ministry CRM
- Secure check-in + pickup codes
- Family profiles & classes
- Website + parent updates
- Shepherd AI + support
Camps & conferences: same platform — per-event pricing. Annual + multi-site available. See the full pricing & comparison →
Founding churches
Get in early — it pays off
We're new, and the first churches on board matter most to us. Join now and you lock in launch pricing, get a direct line to Dr. Hines, and help shape what we build next.
Questions, answered
Frequently asked
Is Stronghold built for youth ministry?
Yes. It's designed first for youth and student ministries — students and families, small groups, discipleship milestones, attendance, and first-time guest follow-up are all built in. It runs your whole church too, but youth is the heart of it.
Can I run a camp or retreat on it?
Absolutely. Registrations, cabins and rooming, squads, schedules, medical and allergy forms, secure check-in and check-out, and a live app for every camper and leader — built for camps, conferences, retreats, and mission trips.
Is my students' data safe?
Safety is the foundation. Minor information is never shown in student-facing apps, background-check gating keeps uncleared adults away from kids, and every church's data is walled off from every other. We can see health and counts — never your students' names.
Do I need to be technical to set it up?
No. Templates pre-load so nothing starts on a blank page, and most ministries are up and running in an afternoon. Real people are one message away inside your dashboard.
How much does Stronghold cost?
Youth is $29/month and Kids is $29/month, with a Youth + Kids bundle at $49/month. Start free and upgrade when you run your first live event. Cancel anytime. Camps run on per-event pricing — just ask.
Can families get our own app?
Yes. You get a white-label website and a live app on your brand, not ours — parents and students get events, giving, prayer, and messages all in one place.
What is the best software for youth ministry?
If you want software built specifically for youth and student ministry — not a general church database with a youth tab bolted on — Stronghold is made for exactly that. It leads with small groups and discipleship, attendance and drifting-student tracking, first-time guest follow-up, camps and retreats, and minor-safe data handling, with a white-label app on top. Start free and see if it fits.
How is Stronghold different from Planning Center or other church software?
Most church-management tools are built for the whole church first and treat youth ministry as one module. Stronghold is built youth-first: small groups, discipleship milestones, attendance and drifting lists, guest follow-up, camp logistics, and safeguarding are the main event, with a white-label app included. It still runs your whole church if you need it to.
Does Stronghold work for summer camps and retreats?
Yes. Run registrations, cabins and rooming, squads, schedules, medical and allergy forms, and secure check-in and check-out, with a live app for every camper and leader. It's built for summer camps, weekend retreats, conferences, and mission trips.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. You can start free and explore the platform, then upgrade when you run your first live event. You can cancel anytime.
Can students and parents download an app?
Yes. Each church gets a white-label, installable app on its own brand where students and parents see events, give, send prayer requests, and get messages — all in one place.
Free interactive tool
The Youth Ministry Toolkit
Stuck for a game tonight? Need a devotion in five minutes? Wondering what your students just said? Generate it on the spot — free, no sign-up.
Guides & resources
Free guides for youth pastors & camp directors
Practical, no-fluff help for running youth ministry and camps — plus honest looks at the software that helps you do it.
How to Run a Youth Ministry
A complete, practical playbook — vision, volunteers, small groups, follow-up, safety, and camps.
Best Youth Ministry Software (2026)
How to evaluate your options — and where a youth-first platform fits.
Church Check-In Software
Secure kids check-in: guardian codes, allergies on the tag, and background-check gating.
How to Plan a Youth Camp
A step-by-step timeline and checklist for camps and retreats, start to finish.
Youth Group Attendance Tracking
Turn attendance into an early-warning system for students drifting away.
Youth Ministry Safeguarding
Build a child-protection policy: screening, the two-adult rule, and secure check-in.
Free resources
Free: the Youth Pastor's Pack
Games, discussion questions & ready-to-teach devotions in one PDF — plus new resources as they drop. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Ready to get your evenings back?
Spend less time on logistics and more time with your students. You can be set up this week.