Initial Setup

A SPoC must place the navigation link to My Groups (my_groups.aspx) in the appropriate place on your Portal skin. If needed, you can also place the link on your church website.

Group Members

Add a Group Member

Group leaders and primary contacts can add participants to their groups.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > click Manage Members > click Add Group Member.
2. Complete the search form and click Search. You must include at least a first and last name.
3. Click Select to choose the appropriate person from the search results. If the desired individual is not found in the search results, the individual must first be added to MinistryPlatform (typically by a staff person using the Add/Edit Family Tool).
4. Indicate the desired Group Role and a Note if desired. Then click Save. This process automatically adds them to the group in MinistryPlatform. The roles available to chose from are the Group Role's Omit from Portal field is set to False.

Edit or Remove a Member

Group leaders and primary contacts can manage participants in their groups.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > click Manage Members > click desired group participant.
2. You can edit the participant's Group Role and their Note. You can also click Remove From Group to end their group participation and remove them from the group; this step automatically adds an End Date to their Group Participant record in MinistryPlatform.

Manage Pending Members

Group leaders and primary contacts can manage pending group inquiries that come in from Group Finder.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > click Manage Members > click Pending Group Inquiries.
2. All pending Inquiries are listed. Click the Date for any person you want to either approve or deny group membership.
3. Click the Search option. This is the same process as adding a new member. However, the data pre-populates for you and once you complete adding this person to the group they will no longer appear on the pending list.

Email Group Members

Group leaders and primary contacts can email the entire group.

Some email services may reject emails where the sender's domain doesn't match the organization's domain (e.g., if a volunteer with a gmail.com email address uses the Send Group Email option). As such, it's recommended that a SPoC setup the proxy email feature which sets a standard From email address but still allows all replies to go to the original sender's email address. To setup the proxy email, see Avoid Spam Filters. Remember to use the Portal Admin page for the Configuration Settings to take effect immediately.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > click Send Group Email
2. Indicate a message Subject.
3. Indicate the Message.
4. Click Send.
   • Each group participant receives an individual email.
   • Emails sent from My Groups are not recorded in MinistryPlatform.
   • Once the email is sent, it's out of Think Ministry, Inc.'s control. If there is a delay in delivery, it could be an issue with the SMTP server (e.g., STMP server in trial/evaluation/rest mode, organization domain has been black-listed, missing SPF records in public DNS).

Group Information

Edit Group Information

Group leaders and primary contacts can manage group information.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > click Edit Group Info.
2. Make any desired changes to the Group Name, Description, Meeting Time, or Default Address.
   • The Default Address determines the Meeting Location shown on the Group Detail page, as well as the Location displayed in the Group Finder results grid. It will also determine if the group is returned in a City or Zip Code search on the Group Finder.
3. Click Save.

Remove a Group from an Event

Group leaders and primary contacts can remove group-specific events.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > choose desired event from Group Calendar.
2. Click Delete Group Event.

Note that you cannot remove an event from your group if it is a program group. This relationship must be removed in MinistryPlatform. Additionally, you can remove your event if the group is both an event group and a program group, but it won't appear to work (the event group relationship is removed, but the program group relationship remains).

Group Meetings & Attendance

Create a Meeting

Group Leaders and Primary Contacts can create events visible only to their active group members.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired group > click Create New Meeting.
2. Fill in the required information and click Save Meeting. Meeting Dates are limited to two years in the future and one year in the past. Recurring meetings can be created using the Repeat drop-down. Once created, recurring meetings are managed individually (unless mass assigned from MinistryPlatform).

Note: Event Group records are needed in order for Meetings to appear on the Calendar. If Meetings are being created in the Platform, Event Group records need to be created. The nightly Data Quality Routine will create the Event Group records based on the Event_Rooms table (Rooms & Groups sub-page records). However, if the Meeting needs to appear on the calendar before the Routine will run please create the Event Groups records manually. See Events and Groups for more information.

Send a Meeting Invitation

A SPoC can customize the Event RSVP Email using the Portal Admin page. Group Leaders and Primary Contacts can send an invitation email to group-specific events.

1. Log into My Groups > choose group > click Group Meeting on the Event Calendar.
2. Choose which type of message to send:
   • Invitation Message: This type of message contains links for each group member to quickly RSVP as Yes, No or Maybe. You can also include a customized message.
   • Simple Message: This type of message does not contain RSVP links; it's meant to be an informational message related to the event.
3. Select the email recipients. If you do not select any recipients, the email will not be sent to anyone. Also, only current group participants can be emailed (for example, not pending group members, past group members, etc.).
4. Group Participants receive an invitation. Responding to the invitation creates an Event Participant record with the related group and Group Role values set and with a Status that matches their response:
   • Yes - Registered
   • Maybe - Interested
   • No - Canceled

Attending Meetings

Group Participants can see group-specific events on the Group Calendar.

Each member may click on any event on the Group Calendar to view details and RSVP by updating their response status. This is also the page a group member will be taken to when responding to an invitation (clicking the yes, no, or maybe links in the invite email).

Posting Attendance

Group Leaders and Primary Contacts can post attendance to group-specific events.

1. Log into My Groups > choose desired event from the Group Calendar.
2. Select the individuals in attendance.
3. Select an action (typically Checked In or Confirmed As Attended).
4. Select a time.
5. Click Submit.

The attendance actions map to MinistryPlatform as follows:

• Not Expected: This does not impact the Event Participant record.
• Maybe, Might Attend: 01 Interested
• Yes, Will Attend: 02 Registered
• Checked In: 03 Attended (Time In is populated)
• Confirmed as Attended: 04 Confirmed
• Checked Out: 03 Attended (Time Out is populated)
• No, Will Not Attend: 05 Canceled