Adding people to small groups

Adding group members in ChurchSuite

To add a contact or child to a small group, head to the Groups section of the Small Groups module. Select a group from the list - either click on the group name or select View from the Group Actions.

From the group View, click on the Members tab and Add member.

On the Add member pop-up, use the People search to search for contacts, children or by tag (multiple people) - matching results are suggested as you type. You can optionally add multiple People in the same process. You can also assign Roles - see the related support article for further details on adding roles. Role pills change from grey to blue when selected.

Members can be added to the group with a Pending or Active Status. Active group members are joined immediately to the group and can view the group's Members list in My ChurchSuite (subject to the group's 'member list visibility' setting); Pending group members are added, but must first be approved (set as active) by the group's leaders before they can view the group's member list in My ChurchSuite. Pending status group members will not receive group emails sent by fellow group members from within My ChurchSuite until they are set as active. They will also not be visible on the group's member list to other group members until they are set as active. Subject to assigned role permissions, leaders can set pending status members active from within My ChurchSuite, or a module User can set them active here from the group's "View" page when adding or editing a member.

Finally, group members inherit their default privacy settings within the group - privacy settings determine which basic contact details group members can see for one another. Members with My ChurchSuite access can self-manage their privacy settings for the group, but Users can also manage a member's group-specific privacy settings on behalf of a member. You can optionally Send a confirmation email to people being added to the group and also to any members assigned with a Notify of sign-up" role permission (typically those with a group Leader role). See the related support article for further information about Assigning small group roles. Click Save to complete the process and add the group member.

From the Members tab, you can easily perform common actions for individual members...

...or use the member list batch Actions for multiple selected members.

Adding group members in My ChurchSuite

Subject to assigned role permissions, group members with My ChurchSuite access can manage their group Members list from My ChurchSuite. Typically this would be the group's leaders (i.e. those assigned with a "Leader" role), but you may wish to assign Edit Group Details permission to other roles too. See the related support article for further information on Assigning small group roles.

Only contacts or children that already exist in ChurchSuite can be added to groups. For those not yet in your ChurchSuite account, you may consider directing them to a small group sign-up embed page on your website, which can be set to add new group members with either a Pending or Active status, depending on the group's default member status setting.

To add a new group member to My ChurchSuite click the Add member button at the top of the Members list.

On the Add member pop-up, use the Person search to find the person you wish to add; as you type the search will auto-suggest people from your Address Book and Children module. You can optionally assign pre-existing Roles. Roles and role permissions can only be managed by a Small Groups module User in ChurchSuite, and can only be assigned or unassigned in My ChurchSuite.

Group members with Edit Group Details role permission can Set as active any Pending status members. Only Active status members can view the group's Members list (if the member list is set to be visible in the group's settings); Pending status members are unable to view the Members list until they are approved and set as active. Members with Edit Group Details role permissions can also Remove group members.

Adding group members through group sign-up

In addition to module users and leaders being able to add people to groups in ChurchSuite and My ChurchSuite (explained above), ChurchSuite also has group sign-up functionality enabling people to sign up and join small groups of their choice.

To sign up for a group Sign Up must first be enabled for that group and the sign-up period active. Sign Up settings are set on a group-by-group basis with granular control to allow people to Sign up through...

• the Group page - a web page for each group that can be shared in communications or promoted on social media
• the member-facing My ChurchSuite
• Connect at your in-person services, meetings and events using the Groups List application
• your website Embed - you can easily embed maps and group lists on a page on your website, enabling those looking for a group to browse the list of groups available

See the related support articles for more information about group sign-up through My ChurchSuite, Connect and Embed.

On a group-by-group basis, you can also control:

• the Sign Up Start and Sign Up End date range (the end date is optional - signup can remain active indefinitely)
• the group Capacity, further sign-up will be prevented when the group reaches capacity, although a module user (in ChurchSuite) or group members with Edit Group Details role permission (in My ChurchSuite) can override group capacity and add additional members
• the Member List visibility for active group members
• the default Member Status of new members when they sign up, enabling you to operate an approval process whereby pending status sign-ups have to be set as active before they join the active group member list. Small group module users (in ChurchSuite) and group members with Edit Group Details role permission (in My ChurchSuite) can approve (set as active) members to the group or remove them from the group. Removal notifications are not sent to the removed person, so leaders would need to contact the person to let them know.

Here's an example of the public-facing Group page with sign-up enabled and active.

Keeping on top of new group members and sign-ups

Small Groups module users can view a list of those who have joined or left small groups using the Member Recent Changes report found in the module's Reports section. The report can be filtered within a range of Dates and for a Joined or Left Change.