One Year Later: A Journey of Compassion and Innovation

Today marks exactly one year since we relaunched CareNote, and what an extraordinary journey it’s been. On January 8, 2024, we welcomed our first church to the platform after months of intensive development and a complete platform rewrite in November 2023. Reflecting on this milestone, I’m struck by how far we’ve come—and how deeply rooted our success is in the vision that inspired CareNote’s creation over a decade ago.

The Origin of CareNote: Denise’s Vision (2012)

CareNote’s story began in 2012 with a call from Denise, a pastoral care coordinator at a large Catholic parish in Louisville, Kentucky. Transitioning from the healthcare field, Denise brought her expertise in compassionate care to her new role, but she faced a daunting challenge: managing the diverse care needs of a 15,000-member parish.

Denise envisioned a centralized system to track referrals, document life events, and identify pastoral care trends. She needed a tool that could answer critical questions: Who referred this parishioner? What are they going through—a medical crisis, significant loss, or life transition? Where do they live, and what support do they need?

Her vision wasn’t just about administration; it was about equipping ministry teams to serve with empathy and precision. At the time, I was developing a broader church management tool called Community Center for Churches, but Denise’s unique needs planted the seed for what would eventually become CareNote.

Development Journey: Building for the Church (2021-2023)

Fast forward to September 2021, when I began building CareNote while balancing my roles as both a pastor and developer. This dual perspective gave me unique insights into the challenges facing pastoral care providers. By March 2022, we launched our beta version, collaborating closely with a select group of care providers whose invaluable feedback helped shape the platform.

In November 2023, we completed a full platform rewrite, laying the foundation for CareNote’s January 2024 relaunch. This rewrite reflected our unwavering commitment to building a system that truly serves the needs of pastoral care teams.

A Year of Impact: Transforming Compassion Into Action (2024)

Since our relaunch, CareNote has grown in ways we couldn’t have imagined:

• Integrated seamlessly with major Church Management Systems like Planning Center Online and Breeze.
• Welcomed over 216 teams through word-of-mouth and direct outreach.
• Supported more than 300,012 congregants with comprehensive care tracking.
• Offered free data import services to ensure smooth transitions for new users.
• Delivered premium features while maintaining affordable pricing.

Our journey and growth have even caught the attention of platforms like Starter Stories, where CareNote was recently featured. You can read about how we’ve grown to serve over 200,000 congregants in their article, How Donnell Wyche Grew CareNote to Serve 200K Congregants.

One of our proudest achievements has been our integration capabilities. From the start, we knew CareNote needed to work seamlessly with existing systems to be truly effective. By removing barriers to adoption, we’ve empowered care teams to focus on what matters most—serving their communities.

Looking Ahead: Building on Denise’s Legacy

Denise’s original vision continues to guide our development. Just as medical professionals need proper tools to deliver quality care, pastoral care providers need systems designed for their unique challenges. This understanding has shaped every feature we’ve added and every improvement we’ve made to ensure CareNote enhances, rather than complicates, the caring process.

As I reflect on this incredible first year, I’m reminded that CareNote’s success isn’t measured in numbers alone. It’s about transformed ministries, deeper connections, and congregants who feel truly seen and supported. CareNote has become more than just software—it’s a ministry partner that helps care teams turn compassion into action.

Join Us: Experience CareNote for Yourself

Looking ahead, we remain committed to listening to our users, improving our platform, and ensuring every feature meets the real needs of pastoral care providers. If you haven’t experienced CareNote yet, I invite you to start with our 7-day free trial and see how it can transform your ministry.

Thank you to everyone who has trusted CareNote this past year. Your faith in our platform inspires us to keep innovating. Here’s to another year of transforming compassion into action—together.

This restructured version maintains the heart of the message while providing a logical flow that’s easier to follow. It highlights the milestone, traces the origin story, outlines the development journey, celebrates the current success, and ends with an inspiring call to action.