Need Connect
Enable greater reach and connection among your congregation and community with Need Connect.
Need Connect is a separate application that is fully integrated with MinistryPlatform and accessible everywhere! That means people can interact with your church easily and safely, while your database instantly collects their information.
- People can request help with needs that you've defined, such as childcare or transportation. If you allow an "other" option, people can fill in what they need to see if anyone can help.
- Others can offer to provide for other people's needs.
- To verify their request or offer, people must either log in or provide their email address and phone number.
- Approved providers can access the Connect Board to view, claim, and complete need requests.
- You can send automated emails for confirmations and reminders that can include actionable links.
From the Platform, staff can manage and assign needs to approved providers.
Authentication
Any visitor to Need Connect can request or offer help. They may choose to create a user account. For the Connect Form, a user account is optional but helps to complete forms more quickly. You are required to have a user account for the Connect Board and My Assignments. The login, create account, and password reset features in Need Connect are the same as the Platform, Widgets, and the Batch Manager Tool, and they create User records. These users don't count towards your monthly number of supported users unless you assign specific security roles to them. This is not required to use all the available features in Need Connect.
Accessing Need Connect
The Need Connect application is hosted on our shared server and is directly connected to your MinistryPlatform system. The three sections of Need Connect include:
- Connect Form (/needconnect)
- Connect Board (/needconnect/board)
- My Assignments (/needconnect/assignments)
Configure the URL to Need Connect as follows: https://{your church name}.ministryplatform.cloud/needconnect.
For self-hosted churches, let's say your Platform URL is https://name.org/ministryplatform. Your Need Connect URL would be https://name.ministryplatform.cloud/needconnect.
For cloud-hosted (for example, Higher Ground) churches, let's say your Platform URL is https://name.ministryplatform.com/mp. Your Need Connect URL would be https://name.ministryplatform.cloud/needconnect.