PocketPlatform Authentication
After users download your app, they have a variety of methods for authenticating in order to log in.
- MinistryPlatform Username + Password: If known, this is the quickest and easiest way to authenticate. This method also avoids duplicate contacts.
- Phone Number or Email Address: Not everyone knows their MinistryPlatform username and password, but they definitely know their phone number and/or email address. If someone authenticates with an email address or phone number, PocketPlatform attempts to find the person in MinistryPlatform and match them up.
- Create an Account: If they don't know their username and password or if no phone number or email address can be matched, the user can create an account. When creating an account, PocketPlatform again attempts to find the person in the database and match them up.
Note: To send authentication texts, PocketPlatform requires a Twilio account. You can use your own account, or use our free texting service to send these types of messages.
- If you have a Twilio account, you can still use our free texting service to send these types of texts. However, they will come from our phone number. If you prefer that all text messages come from your Twilio phone number, contact Support or the PocketPlatform team and send them your Account SID, Auth Token, and outbound number.
- If you want to set up your own Twilio account, see our Twilio Guide. Then, contact Support or the PocketPlatform team to complete the integration.
No matter how the user authenticates, the goal is to match the data provided by the user to the right person in MinistryPlatform. We match on the First Name, Last Name, and either the Mobile Phone Number or Email Address. In some cases, duplicate Contact records may be created when users provide phone numbers or email addresses that are different from the data in MinistryPlatform.
Tip: Ask your congregants or parishioners to install the app using the information you already have in MinistryPlatform. For example, if you have an accurate and current email list, you might encourage them to authenticate via an email address. But if you think many contacts in the database share email addresses or have old email addresses, it may be more effective for them to authenticate via phone number.