Steven Zahm@ Jerry
Sorry, there is no best practice tutorial. The last time I set up a church directory, I entered everyone as individuals and then created families out of the individuals, even for the actual individuals. Here’s the tutorial on how to create families.
I then used the list_type shortcode option to limit the list to families only. This is why I created families even for individuals.
I would suggest creating a few entries using Connections before making any purchases to make sure Connections will meet your needs.
The two best templates for Connections for this would be the Default Entry Card template which comes with Connections and the cMap template.
You can make the directory require a login to view. This does mean that the church members will need user accounts.
Not nowhere near as secure, you could simply password protect the page and give that one password to all church members. I really would not recommend that but many churches choose the less secure method for convenience. I do guess that makes sense in the big picture because any info in the church directory is already very likely to be very easily found already online anyway. Sign of the times.
As for cost, depending on the size, small, just your time. Larger, you may want the CSV Import extension and the cMap template. What a lot of users do, they pick a template and add the Extension Pro Pack which is propbably the best overall value.
Hope I have answered your question thoroughly!