Push Notifications
Push notifications are short messages that pop up on a person’s phone or device to instantly grab their attention. For your church, they’re a simple way to remind people about upcoming events, send encouragement, or share urgent updates—even if they’re not actively using your app or website. One-way communication.
- What Is a Push Notification?
- Who Can Receive Push Notifications?
- How to Send a Push Notification
- View Recent Notifications
What Is a Push Notification?
Push notifications are short, attention-grabbing messages that appear on a person’s phone or device, even when they’re not actively using your app or website. Churches use them to send quick reminders, share encouragement, or communicate urgent updates. They are a one-way communication tool designed to reach people instantly.
On most devices, a push notification will pop up as a banner or alert if the app is allowed to send notifications. However, if the user has disabled banners, or if the Church Connect app is not currently open in the background, they may only see a red notification badge (a small red dot with a number) on the app icon or in their notification center. This is normal device behavior and depends entirely on each person's notification settings.
Because of this, it’s helpful to remind your people to enable notifications for the Church Connect app so they don’t miss important updates.
Who Can Receive Push Notifications?
To ensure your message is successfully delivered, recipients must meet the following:
- They’ve installed the Church Connect app on their mobile device
- They’ve enabled push notifications for the app
- Logged into their Church Connect account
Since not everyone in your church has the Church Connect app installed or has enabled push notifications, it's important to think of push notifications as a quick way to reach your most connected members, not your entire church.
How to Send a Push Notification
1. Push Notifications
In the People screen, go to the Messaging tab and select the "Push Notifications" button to get started.
2. Choose Who to Include
You can use Smart Lists or Groups to segment your messages and send them to specific groups, like volunteers or small group leaders.
3. Title
This is the main heading of your notification. It appears bolded in the recipient’s device notification area. Keep it short and catchy!
Example: "Reminder: Worship Night Starts at 6 PM!"
4. Message
This is the body text below the title. Keep it clear and concise.
Example: "Doors open at 5:30. Invite a friend and come early for coffee!"
5. Add an Image (Optional)
You can enhance your notification by including an image. Drag and drop a file or select from your Igniter Media library.
6. Send or Schedule
You can send immediately or schedule for later:
- Send Now: Delivers right away.
- Schedule: Choose a future date/time.
View Recent Notifications
After sending, select "Show Recent Notifications" in the top-right corner to review past notifications and avoid duplicates.
