From Vision to Service: The Personal Journey Behind Creating CareNote
I'm Donnell Wyche—Senior Pastor at Ann Arbor Community Church, where I've served since 1999 and was ordained in 2004. I grew up in Washington, DC, earned my B.A. in Computer Science from The College of Wooster, and started my career as a Solution Architect at IBM before answering the call to full-time ministry.
For over 25 years, I've walked alongside congregants through hospital visits, grief, celebration, and everything in between. I've also built technology tools for ministry—including The Divine Hours with the late Phyllis Tickle, Prayetic (a guided prayer meditation app), and Directee (practice management for spiritual directors). CareNote brings both worlds together: a pastor who understands the weight of caring for people, and an engineer who can build the tools to help carry that weight.
CareNote is more than a product—it's a ministry tool born out of lived experience. After watching too many people slip through the cracks, I built what I wish had existed: a system that absorbs the complexity of care coordination so churches don't have to. Each feature reflects my commitment to serving those who serve others—and to being a real partner, not just a vendor.
Initial Concept
The idea for CareNote was born from years of watching care slip through the cracks—and a vision to help churches turn compassion into organized action.
Development Begins
As a solo founder, developer, and pastor, I began building CareNote to simplify pastoral care organization and tracking.
Beta Release
Released the beta version. A church in Long Beach, California—60 volunteers, average age 64—became early adopters and are still customers today.
CareNote v1 Launch
First paying customer acquired, validating the need for CareNote in the pastoral care community.
CareNote v2: Full Rewrite
Complete platform rebuild with Planning Center Online and Breeze integrations.
CareNote v3: Growing Adoption
Hundreds of churches adopt CareNote, with care teams managing over 200,000 congregants.
Featured on Starter Story
Not only did pastors find CareNote useful—others noticed too. Starter Story featured how CareNote grew to serve 200,000+ congregants.
CareNote v4
Redesigned dashboard, care card interface, workflows and triggers, enhanced groups with email and task management.
The Care Ministry Podcast
Joined Laura Howe from Hope Made Strong to discuss how CareNote helps churches turn compassion into action.
CareNote v5
Smart group assignments (first-to-accept), congregant assignments, AI care briefings, privacy controls, and multi-campus support.
Full Platform Rewrite
Rebuilt CareNote from the ground up to take advantage of the latest technologies. Building toward a pastoral care operating system.
CareNote v6
Unified interactions model, browser push notifications, rebuilt workflows, SMS accept, email-to-care-request, and a card-based UI. Serving 700+ churches across 17 time zones.
Built to Track Care—and Carry It Through
After 25 years of pastoral ministry, I've seen the same problem everywhere: churches know who needs care, but struggle to make sure it actually happens.
CareNote is built around a simple care flow—receive a need, assign it to someone, provide the care, and follow up. Every visit, prayer request, and interaction is captured in one shared system, so your team can see what's happening, what's been done, and what still needs attention.
The result is organized, accountable care that scales across staff and volunteers—without losing the personal touch. It's the tool I wish I'd had when I started ministry.
Join the CareNote mission
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