Troubleshooting

This guide provides solutions for common issues you might encounter when using CP-Sync.

Connection Issues

Unable to Connect to Planning Center Online

Connection uses the Connect button. The Connect tab has no Client ID, Client Secret, or callback URL field. See Planning Center Online.

1. Open the sign-in window:

   • Go to Church Plugins → CP Sync and open the Connect tab.
   • Set Church Management System to Planning Center Online.
   • Under PCO API Configuration, click Connect.
   • If the browser blocks the window, the tab shows Failed to open authentication window. Make sure your browser allows popups. Allow popups for your site and click Connect again.
   • If you close the window before finishing, the tab shows Authentication window was closed. Click Connect to start again.

2. Reconnect:

   • Click Disconnect, then Connect, and sign in to Planning Center again in the window that opens.
   • If the Connect button does not come back, reload the page and click Disconnect again.
   • After a successful sign-in, the tab shows Connected. Reload the page to see Connected to {organization} as {person} or Connected to {organization} when Planning Center returns those names.

Unable to Connect to Church Community Builder

1. API Credentials:

   • Verify your API Username and Password
   • Check that your CCB subdomain is correct

2. API Access:

   • Ensure your CCB account has API access enabled
   • Contact your CCB administrator if necessary

3. Incorrect URL Format:

   • Only enter the subdomain part, not the full URL
   • Example: enter “churchname” not “churchname.ccbchurch.com”

Sync Issues

No Data Being Imported

1. Check Connection Status:

   • Verify your ChMS connection is active

2. Review Filters:

   • Check if you have filters that might be excluding all data
   • Try disabling filters temporarily to test

3. API Permissions:

   • Ensure your ChMS account has permission to access the data you’re trying to import

Sync Reports Success but Nothing Is Imported

Preview will look completely normal, because it reads from the ChMS directly and never touches the import queue. The log shows where the import stopped.

1. Check the Logs at Church Plugins → CP Sync → Log for any of these. Set Enable Debug Mode to Enable and click Save all Settings first; nothing is logged while it is off:

   • Nothing was queued for ... — the sync found nothing to import; check your filters and the connection
   • ... was not saved to the database. Nothing will be imported. — the queue could not be written; a Database reported: ... line follows when MySQL returned an error
   • ... was saved but cannot be read back. Nothing will be imported. — the queue was corrupted when it was stored
   • Batch ... is unreadable and will be discarded without importing — the queue was corrupted when it was stored

2. Confirm Items Are Being Processed:

   • A healthy sync logs a line per item, such as Processing group 123: Summer Series followed by Group 123 created with ID: 456

3. Check Background Processing:

   • Imports run in a background request after the sync is triggered, so the site must be able to make loopback requests to itself
   • Confirm loopback requests are working under Tools → Site Health
   • Verify WP-Cron is running, as it retries the queue if the background request does not complete

Content Imported with ? Characters

Titles or descriptions arriving as Summer Series ? Week 1 mean the database cannot represent the original character — usually a bullet (•) or curly quote (’). The data in your ChMS is fine; it is being altered as it is stored.

Converting the database to utf8mb4 resolves this. See System Requirements.

Only Partial Data Imported

1. Filter Settings:

   • Review your filter configurations
   • Check for unintended exclusions

2. PHP Timeout:

   • Check your PHP max_execution_time setting
   • Consider increasing it for large imports

Integration Issues

CP Groups Integration Problems

1. Plugin Activation:
   • Verify CP Groups plugin is installed and activated
   • Check compatible versions

The Events Calendar Integration Issues

1. Plugin Compatibility:

   • Verify you’re using a compatible version of The Events Calendar
   • Update both plugins to the latest versions

2. Venue and Organizer Settings:

   • For CCB: venue addresses and event images are populated via an enrichment step that runs after each event imports. If venues are missing, set Enable Debug Mode to Enable on the Log tab, click Save all Settings, run the sync again, and look in Log File Content for Skipping enrichment or Failed to fetch event_profile. Recurring event occurrences without a numeric event ID are not enriched.

Error Messages

“PHP Memory Limit Exceeded”

1. Increase Memory Limit:
   • Modify your PHP memory_limit setting
   • Contact your hosting provider if necessary

Logging and Debugging

Enabling Debug Logs

1. Go to Church Plugins → CP Sync and open the Log tab.
2. Set Enable Debug Mode to Enable, then click Save all Settings.
3. Perform the operation that’s having issues.
4. Read Log File Content on the Log tab.

Getting Additional Help

If you’re still experiencing issues after trying these troubleshooting steps:

1. Check Documentation:

   • Review the Developer Guide for advanced solutions

2. Support Channels:

   • Visit our support forum at Church Plugins Support
   • Submit a support ticket with your error logs attached
   • Email [email protected] with details about your issue