Help Topics/Groups/Creating and Editing Groups

Creating and Editing Groups

There is no "one-size-fits-all approach" to using Groups in ChurchTrac. ChurchTrac includes sample Groups to help you get started. You can edit or delete these Groups and create your own.

Creating New Groups

To create and manage groups, navigate to the Groups page found on the People screen under the Setup tab.

People Setup Groups

From the Actions menu, select "Add a New Group."

People Setup Groups Add New

Using Subgroups

Sometimes you have a collection of related Groups. You can do this by assigning a Group as a "subgroup" of a parent group.

For example, let's say your church has several Sunday School classes that meet on Sunday mornings. Your main (or parent) Group would be "Sunday School," and each Sunday School class would be a subgroup of that parent group.

People Setup Groups Sub Groups

To assign a group as a subgroup under another group, follow these steps:

  1. Select the parent Group
  2. Select "Add a subgroup for [Group]
  3. Type the name of your subgroup

Church Attendance Tracking

Groups can be configured to be used for attendance tracking and Check-In. To enable, mark Yes for Attendance Tracking and Check-In under the Group Details. Learn more about Using Groups for Attendance Tracking › 

People Setup Groups Attendance Tracking

Only parent groups can have attendance tracking enabled or disabled. However, any subgroups under the parent group will automatically inherit the attendance tracking setting of the parent group.
Track Attendance in the App
Let your leaders report attendance for their groups or classes in your church app.
Learn More about Using Church Connect for Attendance Tracking ›

Church Volunteer Scheduling

Groups can be configured to be used for Volunteer Scheduling in the Worship & Scheduling Screen. Simply enable the option for Teams, Scheduling and Event Roles. Learn more about Scheduling Volunteers › 

People Setup Groups Volunteer Scheduling

Church Connect Cards

Groups can also be used to control which Cards are visible to people in your Church Connect site or app. This makes it easy to show certain Cards only to specific ministries such as volunteer teams, small groups, parents, or staff.

When creating or editing a Card in Church Connect, enable "Show only when a member is logged in." An additional option labeled "Visible to Groups: [All]" will appear, allowing you to choose which Groups should be able to view that Card. Learn more about Using Groups with Church Connect ›

Example: Create a “Serve Schedule” card → Set to Show only when a member is logged in → Select Worship Team under Visible to Groups. Now only Worship Team members will see this card.

People Setup Groups Church Connect Cards

Group Messaging

Groups can have their own chat in the Church Connect app, so members can message each other and their group leaders. To set up group messaging:

Step 1. Enable the Groups tab in the app

Go to Church Connect → Connect Settings → Connect App Settings and  Enable Group Messaging.

Church Connect Connect Setup Connect App Settings Groups

Step 2. Enable messaging for the group

On the People screen, go to Setup → Groups and select a group. Under Group Details, turn on the toggle for Enable Messaging for this Group. 

People Setup Groups Enable Messaging

Step 3 (optional) Assign group leaders

Select a person on the People screen, open their Groups tab, select the Group that they lead, and turn on the toggle for Group Leader. Leaders have additional permissions and features, including setting up polls, registrations, and removing messages from a chat.

People Groups Group Leader

Who can participate? A group needs at least 3 Church Connect users to be eligible for a group chat. People with the Child family role cannot participate in group messaging.

Want to see what this looks like for your members? Learn more about Using Church Connect (For Church Members) ›