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Groups

Add People to Groups

Instructions to add people to groups from various places in the Platform, including the Group record, Participant record, Check-In Suite, Group Life, and more.

There are multiple ways to add individuals to groups. Choose a way that works best for you!

From the Group Record

You can add a person to a group from the Group record on the Groups page.

  1. Go to Groups, and open the record of the group you want to add a person to.
  2. Click the Participants tab.
  3. To add one person to the group:
    1. Click New Group Participant.
    2. Enter their information.
    3. Click Save.
  4. To add multiple people with the same group role and start date:
    1. Click Actions > Add Participants.
    2. Find and select the participants you want to add.
    3. Enter the general information.
    4. Click Add.

From the Participant Record

You can add a person to a group from their Participant record on the Participants page.

  1. Go to Participants, and open the record of the person you want to add to a group.
  2. Click the Groups tab.
  3. To add the person to one group:
    1. Click New Group Participant.
    2. Enter their information.
    3. Click Save.
  4. To add the person to multiple groups with the same group role and start date:
    1. Click Actions > Add Groups.
    2. Find and select the groups you want to add the person to.
    3. Enter the general information.
    4. Click Add.

From Check-In Suite

You can add a person to a group from a Check-In Suite kiosk in Attended Mode.

  1. With the kiosk in Attended Mode, search for and locate a family.
  2. Click Edit Family.
  3. Select the person to add to a group.
  4. Under Add Event, select the event from the drop-down list.
  5. Under Add Group, select the group from the drop-down list.
    Note: This is an insert-only option:
    • Groups are listed if they are directly associated with the event.
    • Groups may also be listed if they are associated with the program the event belongs to and Ignore Program Groups is set to No.
    • You use the current date and the default group role on the Group Type record.
  6. Click Save on the person's record, then click Save on the family's record.

From Group Life

You can add a new person to a group from within the Group Life application.

A group leader or primary contact can add a new person to their group through Group Life. Remember, a group is only visible the Group record has Available Online set to Yes.

  1. Log in to the page that displays the My Groups widget.
  2. Locate the group to add the person to, and click Group Life.
  3. Click the Participants tab.
  4. Click Add Participant.
  5. Enter the person's information along with the date they started with the group.
  6. Click Save.

Based on a Custom Form Response

You can add a person to a group based on a custom form response.

You may have a custom form that asks a question related to different groups you have at your church. For example, a VBS form may ask which grade a child is going into. From that response, you can add a person to a relevant group. So, if a form response indicates that Timmy is going into second grade, you can add him to the Second Grade Group.

  1. Go to Custom Forms > All Form Answers.
  2. Search for the specific form title, field label, and response.
    Find the people who responded "second grade" to the question "What grade are you going into?" on the VBS form.
  3. Select the records of the people you want to add to a group.
  4. In the selection menu, select Current/Unsaved Selection to ensure you only have the records you want.
  5. Transfer your selection to the Participants page:
    1. Click two stacked arrows, the top arrow pointing right, the bottom arrow pointing left.
    2. Under Copy Selection, select Participants for the target page.
    3. For Selection Name, indicate a descriptive name.
      VBS Second Grade
    4. Click Transfer.
    5. Close the tool.
  6. Add your selection to a group:
    1. Go to Groups, and open the record of the group you want to add people to.
    2. Click the Participants tab.
    3. Click Actions > Add Participants.
    4. Next to the Participant field, click magnifying glass.
    5. In the selection drop-down list, select your saved selection.
    6. Click Confirm Selection.
    7. Enter the general information.
    8. Click Add.

Based on Event Participation

You can add a person to a group based on their participation in an event.

After an event, you may want to add the attendees to a group. For example, a few new people attended a Singles Coffee event last Friday. You can add them to your Singles group so they can get communication about other upcoming events.

  1. Go to People Lists > Event Participants.
  2. Search for the specific Event Title and Date.
    Find the people who attended Singles Coffee on 11/18.
  3. Select the records of the people you want to add to a group.
  4. In the selection menu, choose Current/Unsaved Selection to ensure you only have the records you want.
  5. Transfer your selection to Participants:
    1. Click two stacked arrows, the top arrow pointing right, the bottom arrow pointing left.
    2. Under Copy Selection, select Participants for the target page.
    3. For Selection Name, indicate a descriptive name.
      Singles Coffee 11/18
    4. Click Transfer.
    5. Close the tool.
  6. Add your selection to a group:
    1. Go to Groups, and open the record of the group you want to add people to.
    2. Click the Participants tab.
    3. Click Actions > Add Participants.
    4. Next to the Participant field, click magnifying glass.
    5. In the selection drop-down list, select your saved selection.
    6. Click Confirm Selection.
    7. Enter the general information.
    8. Click Add.

During Event Registration

You can set up an option price that automatically adds a registrant to a group during event registration.

On the Option Price record, in the Add to Group field, select the group you want to add people to when they select that option price on the registration form.

After registering, a person is automatically added to the group if:
  • A Participant record does not already exist in the group.
  • A Participant record exists but has a past end date.

In either case, a new Group Participant record is created with a start date of the date registered and no end date. If the participant did not already exist, they are assigned the default group role for the group's group type.

A registrant will not be added to the group if:
  • They are already a current group participant.
  • Their Participant record already exists in the group and has a future end date.

Put Participants from Multiple Groups into a New Group

  • Make sure you already created the new group you want to assign these participants to.
Maybe you realized there was a connection between several people from multiple different groups, and now you want to create a new group to further foster this connection. No problem! You can put group participants from a variety of groups into one new group.
  1. In the navigation menu, click People Lists > Group Participants.
  2. Clear any current/unsaved selection.
  3. Select your group participants and change the selection drop-down to Current/Unsaved Selection.
  4. Click Tools > Transfer Selection Tool.
    1. In the Copy Selection tab, select Participants from the Target Page drop-down list.
    2. Name your selection.
    3. Make sure Select Head Instead is set to No.
    4. Click Transfer.
  5. In the navigation menu, click Groups.
  6. Open the group and click the Participants tab.
  7. Click Actions > Add Participants.
  8. In the Participant field, click the magnifying glass.
  9. In the selection drop-down list, click the name of the selection you created using the Transfer Selection Tool.
  10. Click Confirm Selection.
  11. Complete the additional information for these group participants.
  12. Click Add.
  13. Click Close.

Add People with Similar Attributes to a Group

  1. In the navigation menu, click People Lists > Contact Attributes.
  2. Search for the attribute.
  3. Select all the results, and change your selection to Current/Unsaved Selection.
  4. Click the two stacked arrows, one pointing right and one pointing left.
  5. Click Contacts > Participants (Participant Record).
  6. Click Transfer, then click OK.
  7. In the navigation menu, click Groups.
  8. Open the Group record you want to add participants to.
  9. Click the Participants tab.
  10. Click Actions > Add Participants.
  11. In the Participant field, click the magnifying glass.
  12. In the selection drop-down list, select From Contact Attributes.
  13. Click Confirm Selection.
  14. Enter any additional information, and click Save.

Managing Mishaps

Some options to try if you have any mishaps adding people to groups.

If you forgot to clear your selection when adding people to a group and now the wrong people are in a group, you can delete the Group Participant records. You should only delete Group Participant records when you shouldn't have added the person to the group in the first place. Do not delete Group Participant records if the person participated in the group and no longer participates. In the latter case, we recommend you end-date participants.

Reassign One Group Participant

Did you put just one group participant in the wrong group? Accidents happen! Here's how you can fix it.
  1. In the navigation menu, click People Lists > Group Participants.
  2. Open the Group Participant record of the participant added to the wrong group.
  3. Click Edit Record.
  4. In the Group field, select the correct group.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Click Close.

Reassign Multiple Group Participants

Need to move more than one group participant to a new group? Here's what you need to do.
  1. In the navigation menu, click People Lists > Group Participants.
  2. Select the group participants you want to move to a new group.
  3. Select Current/Unsaved Selection.
  4. Click Actions > Assign.
  5. Select the check box next to Group.
  6. Select the new group from the Group drop-down list.
  7. Click Assign.

Delete Group Participants

If you need to delete group participants, you have two options. Either method deletes the Group Participant records without deleting the participants or the groups themselves, just the connection between them. If you don't have the Delete option, a SPoC can update your security role as needed.
Remember: As always, use caution when using the Delete action.
Delete from the Groups page
  1. Go to the Groups page.
  2. Open the group you want to delete participants from.
  3. Click the Participants tab.
  4. Select the participants you want to remove.
  5. Click Actions > Delete.
  6. Click Delete.
Delete from the People Lists page
  1. Go to People Lists > Group Participants.
  2. Select the group participants you want to remove.
  3. Click Actions > Delete.
  4. Click Delete.

Correct End-dated Group Participants

Did you accidentally end-date all of a group's participants? That's okay! Here's how to fix it.
  1. In the navigation menu, click Groups.
  2. Open the Group record you end-dated.
  3. Click the Participants tab, and change the view to Past Participants.
  4. Select the participants that were incorrectly end-dated and click two stacked arrows, one pointing right and the other pointing left.
  5. Select the Group Participants folder, click Transfer, and click OK.
  6. In the navigation menu, click People Lists > Group Participants.
  7. In the selection drop-down list, select From Participants.
  8. Click Actions > Assign.
  9. Select the End Date check box, and leave it blank.
  10. Click Assign, and then click OK.
  11. Clear your selection.
Now if you go back to the group's Group record, the participants should display in the Participants tab in the Current Participants view.
MinistryPlatform

Last updated: October 3, 2024