Add a member to a group
Groups don't exist without people! The best way to add people to your groups is through Church Center, but administrators, group type managers, and leaders can also add or manage individual group membership requests directly in Groups.
Tip
You can also use bulk actions in People to add multiple people to a group at once!
If a group type manager uses the bulk action tool to add someone to a group, they'll see a list of all active groups. However, if they select a group they don't manage, they will receive a forbidden error message.
Add members
There are three main ways to add members to a group:
Add members in Church Center: Group leaders can add members to a group in Church Center by using a QR code or link, which the prospective member must use to create a Church Center profile and send a membership request to the group.
Send an invitation by email: Group leaders can add members by sending an email invitation from the members list in Groups.
Manually add people from the church database: Administrators and group type managers can manually add members by searching the People database and selecting existing profiles. These members are immediately added to the group, without requiring leader approval.
Important
Administrators or group type managers can choose to Allow group leaders to access the entire church database in the Security section of the group's settings page.
This setting is not recommended, as it allows leaders to view all profiles in your church's People database when searching for names.
Send an invitation by email
Group leaders (who aren't also administrators or group type managers) can follow these steps to send an email invitation:
Select the My Groups page from the top navigation in Groups.
Select a group name to open that group's member list.
Select Add member in the top right of the member list.
In the popup, enter the new member's email address and a welcome message.
Select Send email.
To ensure that leaders and prospective members are both active participants in making this connection, the invitation email includes a prompt for the person to join the group using the Church Center app or website. If the person chooses to join and confirms, a group leader must then approve the membership request, which immediately grants the new member access to their group.
Manually add people from the church database
Administrators and group type managers can manually add members by searching the church's People database. Group leaders can only manually add people if the group's settings allow group leaders to access the entire church database.
Select the Groups or My Groups page from the top navigation in Groups.
Select a group name to open that group's member list.
Select Add member in the top right of the member list.
In the popup, use the dropdown choose whether to add this person as a member or a leader.
Use the search field to find a specific name from the People database.
Select the name of the person you'd like to add.
(Optional) Choose whether to notify that person by email.
If you check the Notify [name] by email box, you can include a custom message in your invitation email.
Select Yes, add [name] to immediately add this person as a group member.
Respond to membership requests
Whether a person has requested to join your group from the invitation email or the public group page, you must approve their request to officially add them to your group so they can view chat conversations, member contact info (if shown), and resources.
Tip
Administrators and group type managers can also access all membership requests for their managed groups by going to the main Groups page, selecting the ⚙️ settings icon, and choosing Member requests.
Approve a request
Select the Groups or My Groups page from the top navigation in Groups.
Select a group name to open that group's member list.
View pending requests in the Group Membership Requests section at the top of the page.
(Optional) If the person included a custom message along with their request, select View message under their contact information to preview it.
Select the Add… button next to the request.
Warning
Exercise caution if you see a "suspicious activity" or "high scam risk" banner on a request, and verify that person's identity before approving their request! This will keep your church safe and prevent you from accidentally adding a scammer to your group.
In the popup, use the dropdown to choose whether to add the person as a member or a leader.
(Optional) Check the Notify [name] by email box to include a custom message in your welcome email.
Select Add Member to send the person a welcome email with a link to view the group in Church Center.
Reject a request
Select the Groups or My Groups page from the top navigation in Groups.
Select a group name to open that group's member list.
View pending requests in the Group Membership Requests section at the top of the page.
(Optional) If the person included a custom message along with their request, select View message under their contact information to preview it.
Select the Don't add… button next to the request.
(Optional) Check the Notify [name] by email box in the popup to add a personal message explaining the rejection. The system won't send an automatic email unless this box is checked.
Select Don't add to confirm the rejection.