Gloo Communications

Overview

Gloo Communications is a church-focused service for email and text outreach, visitor follow-up, and prayer-request coordination. It suits ministries that want those tasks alongside automated messaging, rather than a general-purpose messaging tool. Its free tier is useful for a small group of limited campaigns; larger or more segmented programs will need the $49.00 USD monthly Gloo+ plan.

As part of Gloo Workspace, Communications sits within a broader collection of ministry tools for church leaders. The service is available on Android, iOS, and the web.

Key features

Follow-up and prayer coordination

Personalized follow-ups for first-time visitors give a ministry a way to keep an individual connection going after an initial visit. The Prayer Inbox collects requests centrally and lets teams assign responsibility, a practical advantage when several people share pastoral follow-up.

Automated outreach and broadcasts

Keyword-triggered workflows can deliver a series of messages without requiring staff to send each one manually. Broadcasts reach everyone or selected groups in real time, while two-way, scheduled, and recurring messaging and audience segmentation support more targeted ongoing communication. One workflow on the free plan is enough to try a simple sequence, but not to run multiple automated paths.

Analytics, integrations, and security

Messaging Analytics offers insight into message performance, and Gloo says Communications connects with HubSpot, Planning Center, and Mailchimp. Gloo+ adds Video Messaging and Polls, so those formats require the paid tier.

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest with TLS 1.2+ and AES-256. Gloo’s security program is designed with reference to the AICPA Trust Services Criteria, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0, ISO/IEC 27001, and ISO 42001. These are useful signals about the frameworks informing its security program, not a substitute for a church’s own requirements review.

Mobile use

The mobile app supports messaging, prayer requests, personal messages, broadcasts, and push notifications. It cannot display group members, a meaningful limitation for staff who need to inspect or manage group rosters from a phone.

Pricing

The free plan keeps the monthly commitment at zero but caps both message-credit pools, groups, and workflows. Gloo+ multiplies monthly credits by ten, removes group and workflow limits, and includes three subaccounts; it is the practical step up for a growing program.

Who it's for

Gloo Communications is best suited to churches and ministries that need a shared place for visitor follow-up and prayer requests, plus text and email outreach tied to groups and automated sequences. It is less compelling for teams that depend on seeing group membership in the mobile app or need messaging volumes beyond the Gloo+ monthly credit allowance.

Pros and cons

• Pros: A central Prayer Inbox with assignment helps divide follow-up among team members.
• Pros: Keyword workflows, scheduled and recurring messages, and group segmentation cover both automated and targeted outreach.
• Pros: The free tier has monthly SMS and email credits, so a small team can start without a paid plan.
• Cons: The free plan’s 3-group and 1-workflow ceilings restrict teams that need several audiences or message paths.
• Cons: The mobile app does not show group members, limiting roster work away from a computer.
• Cons: Gloo+ is capped at 5,000 SMS credits and 5,000 email credits per month, so high-volume organizations need to weigh those allowances carefully.

Alternatives

Church Text Messaging Software is the broader category to compare if you want to assess church-oriented messaging choices across providers.

• Shepherding Connections is worth considering when a free plan with up to five user accounts matters more than SMS: its Free Forever plan excludes SMS messaging. Its listed Small Church plan is 29.00.
• Clearstream may fit teams looking for a paid messaging service with Android, iOS, web, and API platforms; it offers a US Free 30-Day Trial with 100 credits, 1,000 emails, and one local phone number, and a US $35 plan at $35 a month with 1,000 credits.
• Connect With My Church is an option for churches prioritizing texts, email, and push notifications in one platform: its $99 a month plan includes up to 750 texts monthly and unlimited emails and push notifications.
• DialMyCalls offers a free church trial for automatic calls to up to 25 church members, with a 30-second message once per week; consider it when that limited calling use is the priority.
• Text In Church may suit teams comparing a credits-based messaging plan: its PLUS plan includes 1.25K credits and four local phone numbers, with monthly and yearly billing options.
• Textiful is a freemium web alternative.
• Textline is a paid alternative with a 600-credit monthly minimum and three included agents on its Essentials plan; it also has HIPAA-compliant plans available for an additional cost.
• Vesperbell is another freemium web alternative.

Verdict

Choose Gloo Communications if your church needs visitor follow-up and prayer coordination alongside group-based text and email outreach, and its monthly credit limits fit your scale. Its free plan makes a low-commitment start possible, while Gloo+ meaningfully expands credits and removes group and workflow caps. Look elsewhere if mobile group rosters are essential or your outreach regularly exceeds the paid plan’s monthly allowances.