Getting Started

Welcome to MSPTutorials.com! Whether you’re a tech-savvy individual, I’m thrilled to have you here. I aim to make you feel confident in your ability to follow step-by-step instructions for developing, integrating, and migrating with the Ministry Scheduler Pro (MSP) API and 3rd-party applications.

Before you and I dive into the exciting world of MSP API calls and integrating with various REST applications, there are a few important things to consider. These prerequisites will ensure that you have everything you need to utilize the MSP API successfully and develop solutions that integrate seamlessly with 3rd-party applications.

Let’s start with an important question:

Is your church on the right Ministry Scheduler plan?

To use the MSP API, your church must be on the Plus Edition of MSP. This edition utilizes an API Key to securely access MSP databases and perform simple CRUD actions (Create, Read, Update, and Delete). If you’re unsure about your church’s plan or encounter any licensing or key errors, feel free to contact MSP Technical Support at support@ministryschedulerpro.com.

Does your church have an MSP API Key?

If you don’t have an MSP API Key, you’ll need to get in touch with your MSP account manager or contact MSP using their Contact Us page. They’ll provide you with the necessary API Key to proceed.

What 3rd-party software or application does your church desire to integrate with?

MSP already has several integrations available for commonly used church programs. Be sure to check the MSP integrations page first to see if your software provider or application is listed there. If it is, you’re in luck! You can leverage the existing integration without going through the MSP API.

However, if your desired software provider or application is not listed, don’t worry just yet. Check if they offer a REST API or any API that allows interaction. Suppose they do, great news! You can continue with the integration using the MSP API. But if they don’t provide any API, integration using the MSP API won’t be possible. Womp, womp, womp…

Let’s move forward if your software provider or application has an API. 🚀

Do you have a text editor?

It’s essential that you have access to an easy-to-use text editor to manage scripts, coding, and programming in each tutorial. My personal recommendations for text editors are Sublime (highly recommended) and NotePad++.

However, you can also use tools like Dreamweaver, Fireworks, or the built-in cPanel’s File Manager from your web hosting provider. We’ll cover this in more detail later. For now, make sure you download the appropriate text editor based on your operating system (MAC or Windows).

Do you have access to a web server and database environment?

Now, let’s talk about your web server and database environment. MSPTutorials.com requires PHP and MySQL, or Python and SQL or MySQL. When integrating the MSP API with 3rd-party software and applications, you’ll need access to a web environment that supports PHP and MySQL, or Python and SQL or MySQL — or your preferred database. For more assistance with Python, including downloads and documentation, please visit https://www.python.org/.

Developing in a public environment.

Whether using MSP API in a PHP tutorial or Python tutorial, if you prefer developing in a public environment, there are several providers to choose from. My personal favorite and highly recommended web host provider is A2Hosting (Shared Hosting: Turbo Boost or Turbo Max). Alternatively, you can consider providers like GoDaddy or NameCheap.

Developing in a private environment.

When developing using PHP, if you’d rather work in a local private environment from your laptop or desktop, that’s also possible. I strongly recommend using XAMPP from ApacheFriends.org or Bitnami WAMPP. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with these services. Plenty of tutorials are available for both, and you can get up and running within 5-10 minutes. Check out Ionos.com’s XAMPP installation tutorial for guidance.