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Planning Center Groups Data Model

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Overview

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Query Requirements

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Schema Prefix

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Row Level Security (RLS)

• tenant_organization_id: You only see data for your current organization
• system_status: You only see ‘active’ records by default

• ❌ WHERE tenant_organization_id = 1 (unnecessary)
• ❌ WHERE system_status = 'active' (unnecessary)

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Core Tables Overview

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Primary Entity Tables

• groups_groups - Small groups, classes, and teams
• groups_people - People who can join groups
• groups_memberships - Connections between people and groups
• groups_events - Group meetings and gatherings
• groups_attendances - Event attendance records
• groups_group_types - Categories for organizing groups
• groups_locations - Physical meeting places
• groups_enrollments - Sign-up and registration management

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Supporting Entity Tables

• groups_campuses - Campus locations
• groups_campus_groups - Links between campuses and groups
• groups_event_notes - Notes for events
• groups_group_applications - Applications to join groups
• groups_organizations - Organization settings
• groups_owners - Group ownership information
• groups_resources - Group resources
• groups_tags - Labels for group characteristics
• groups_tag_groups - Tag groupings

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Relationship Tables

• groups_group_relationships - Links groups to other entities
• groups_membership_relationships - Links memberships to related entities
• groups_event_relationships - Links events to related entities
• groups_attendance_relationships - Links attendances to related entities
• groups_enrollment_relationships - Links enrollments to related entities
• groups_group_application_relationships - Links applications to related entities

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Table Definitions

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groups_groups

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groups_people

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groups_memberships

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groups_events

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groups_attendances

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groups_group_types

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groups_locations

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groups_enrollments

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groups_tags

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groups_tag_groups

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groups_campuses

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groups_group_applications

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groups_event_notes

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groups_organizations

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groups_owners

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groups_resources

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groups_campus_groups

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Relationship Tables

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groups_group_relationships

• GroupType - Links to groups_group_types
• Location - Links to groups_locations
• Tag - Links to groups_tags
• Enrollment - Links to groups_enrollments
• Campus - Links to groups_campuses

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groups_membership_relationships

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groups_event_relationships

• Group - Links to groups_groups
• Location - Links to groups_locations

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groups_attendance_relationships

• Event - Links to groups_events
• Person - Links to groups_people

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groups_enrollment_relationships

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System Fields

• tenant_organization_id - Multi-tenant organization identifier
• system_status - Data lifecycle status:
  • transferring - Being imported from Planning Center
  • active - Current active data
  • stale - Marked for removal
• system_created_at - When record was created in Parable
• system_updated_at - When record was last updated in Parable

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Common Query Patterns

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Finding a Person’s Groups

SELECT
    g.name as group_name,
    g.description,
    m.role,
    m.joined_at
FROM planning_center.groups_memberships m
JOIN planning_center.groups_groups g
    ON m.group_id = g.group_id
WHERE m.person_id = 'PERSON_ID'
    AND g.archived_at IS NULL
ORDER BY m.joined_at DESC;

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Getting Group Members with Roles

SELECT
    g.name as group_name,
    p.first_name,
    p.last_name,
    m.role,
    m.joined_at
FROM planning_center.groups_groups g
JOIN planning_center.groups_memberships m
    ON g.group_id = m.group_id
JOIN planning_center.groups_people p
    ON m.person_id = p.person_id
WHERE g.group_id = 'GROUP_ID'
ORDER BY m.role DESC, m.joined_at;

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Finding Events for a Group

SELECT
    e.name as event_name,
    e.starts_at,
    e.ends_at,
    e.location_type_preference,
    e.canceled
FROM planning_center.groups_events e
JOIN planning_center.groups_event_relationships er
    ON e.event_id = er.event_id
    AND er.relationship_type = 'Group'
WHERE er.relationship_id = 'GROUP_ID'
    AND e.starts_at >= CURRENT_DATE
ORDER BY e.starts_at;

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Tracking Event Attendance

SELECT
    e.name as event_name,
    e.starts_at,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN a.attended = true THEN 1 END) as attended_count,
    COUNT(DISTINCT ar.relationship_id) as total_invited
FROM planning_center.groups_events e
LEFT JOIN planning_center.groups_attendance_relationships ar
    ON e.event_id = ar.relationship_id
    AND ar.relationship_type = 'Event'
LEFT JOIN planning_center.groups_attendances a
    ON ar.attendance_id = a.attendance_id
GROUP BY e.event_id, e.name, e.starts_at
ORDER BY e.starts_at DESC;

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Groups by Type

SELECT
    gt.name as group_type,
    COUNT(DISTINCT g.group_id) as group_count,
    SUM(g.memberships_count) as total_members
FROM planning_center.groups_group_types gt
LEFT JOIN planning_center.groups_group_relationships gr
    ON gt.group_type_id = gr.relationship_id
    AND gr.relationship_type = 'GroupType'
LEFT JOIN planning_center.groups_groups g
    ON gr.group_id = g.group_id
    AND g.archived_at IS NULL
GROUP BY gt.group_type_id, gt.name
ORDER BY gt.position;

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Data Integrity Rules

1. Schema Qualification: Always use planning_center. prefix for all table references
2. Row Level Security: RLS automatically handles multi-tenancy and status filtering - do not add manual filters
3. Monetary Values: Group event fees or donations stored in cents should be divided by 100.0 for display
4. Archived Groups: Use archived_at IS NULL or archived_at comparisons to control visibility instead of checking system_status
5. Direct ID Columns: Core tables such as groups_groups and groups_memberships expose direct IDs for performance-sensitive joins

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Missing Schema Prefix
   • ❌ FROM groups_groups
   • ✅ FROM planning_center.groups_groups
2. Adding Redundant RLS Filters
   • ❌ WHERE tenant_organization_id = 1 AND system_status = 'active'
   • ✅ Trust RLS to handle this automatically
3. Joining Without Schema
   • ❌ JOIN groups_memberships m ON ...
   • ✅ JOIN planning_center.groups_memberships m ON ...
4. Skipping Currency Conversion
   • ❌ SELECT suggested_donation_cents as suggested_donation
   • ✅ SELECT suggested_donation_cents / 100.0 as suggested_donation

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Performance Considerations

1. Indexes: All tables have optimized indexes on:
   • Primary keys and entity IDs
   • Join columns and foreign keys
   • Date columns for time-based queries
2. Query Optimization:
   • Always use the planning_center. schema prefix
   • RLS handles tenant and status filtering automatically
   • Filter archived groups or attendance flags when relevant
   • Consider CTEs for complex multi-join queries
   • Use direct ID columns when available instead of relationship tables

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Data Types and Conventions

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Location Preferences

• physical - In-person meetings
• virtual - Online meetings
• hybrid - Both in-person and online

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Roles

• member - Regular group member
• leader - Group leader with additional permissions

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Application Status

• pending - Awaiting review
• approved - Accepted into group
• rejected - Not accepted

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Next Steps

• Return to Overview for high-level understanding
• Review Basic Queries for simple examples
• Check Advanced Queries for complex analysis
• See Reporting Examples for production-ready reports