Getting Started With People

The People Screen is your church database where you keep track of all your people, including members, children, prospects, and visitors.

Navigating the People Screen
Initial Setup
Adding/Editing Names
Commonly Used Functions
Messaging
Reports
Setup Tab
Pro Tips

Navigating the People Screen

Select different tabs on the toolbar to access various features of the People Screen. These include People (your database), Messaging, Reports, and Setup.

How to navigate your church database in Churchtrac

Actions Button

The "Actions" button in the People screen allows you to add people, perform bulk edits, merge names, and other core functions. Notice the checkbox to the left of each individual's name. You can manually check the names you would like to work with, or you can select a Smart List of names or select "check all names" from the actions button to select all.

You can also generate reports or send messages using just the checked names on the People Screen.

Initial Setup

These are the steps we recommend you take to set up the People screen before adding people data.

Step 1: Edit Member Statuses

Select one of the example individuals in the People screen, then select the "Edit" button above their profile.

Scroll until you find the "Member Status" field, then select the "Edit List" button to the right.

How to edit the member status of your people in the church database

In the slideout menu, make any changes to the terminology to reflect the nomenclature that your ministry uses to refer to its members. Learn more about Church Member Statuses ›

Step 2: Edit Age Categories

Select one of the example individuals in the People screen, then select the "Edit" button above their profile.

Scroll until you find the "Age Category" field, then select the "Edit List" button as shown:

How to edit the age categories of your people in the church database

Make any changes to the age groups to reflect how your ministry divides members by age. Learn more about Age Categories ›

Step 3: Create User-Defined Fields

Select the "Setup" tab at the top of the People screen, then choose the "User Defined Fields" option.

Creating a custom field for your church members

Select the "Add a New Field" button in the top-right corner to begin adding a custom field to your People database. You can add a field to everyone's individual section or Family section.

Create as many fields as you need. These can be baptism dates, wedding anniversaries, or any other information you want to keep track of for your members. Learn more about User-Defined Fields ›

If you set the permission level to “Everyone”, that field will appear in the Add My Family form, so your members can submit that information themselves.

Step 4: Create Smart Lists

Adding Smart Lists before adding names isn’t necessary, but it’s helpful to have your lists already in place. As names are added, the system will immediately sort those people into your lists. That way, your database is organized from the very beginning! Learn more about Smart Lists ›

Adding/Editing Names

You can add names manually, use the Add My Family feature, or have us do an import for you.

ChurchTrac offers a one-time free import of your people data. Learn more about Importing and Adding Names ›

To add a name or family, select the "Add a Name" button from the actions menu.

From the flyout menu, you can add the individual/family information. The first and last name fields are required for each individual. All other fields are optional.

You can add additional members of the family at the same time by selecting "Add Another Family Member".

When adding a new name (or several names from the same family), the program will automatically create a new Family. Alternatively, you can choose to "Use an Existing Family" if you are adding an individual to a Family that has previously been added to your church database.

We recommend entering the head of the household first, rather than a child's name. You can always edit the family name from the People Screen.

You can enter additional information for the individual and family now from the Add Name window, by clicking the ( ) button to the right of the Member Status selection field. This can also be done later by editing a person's information on the People Screen. An Administrator user can configure which fields appear on the Add Name window by going to:

Settings Admin Settings Add Name Settings.

Editing a Profile

Once a name has been entered into the church database, you can add additional information or edit existing information by selecting that person's name, then selecting the "Edit" button above their profile.

Editing name and info in your church directory and church database

You can also upload an image of an individual or a family in your church database. When editing a profile, either click or drag and drop the image to upload.

ChurchTrac supports jpg file types for profile images. Profile images less than 150KB are recommended.

Commonly Used Functions

Once your People database is established, there are a few things you will need to know to manage the database going forward.

Changing Family Assignments

There are some situations in which Family Assignments need to be changed. Examples include a new marriage, adoption, or divorce. Learn more about Changing Family Assignments ›

Manage your People like a Pro

Watch our video on Bulk Edits to learn how to quickly make changes to the people in your account.

Learn more about Bulk Edit ›

Archiving Names

You will need to "clean up" your database by removing profiles of the people who no longer attend your church. You can do this by archiving or deleting them from your database.

While you can delete names, we recommend you archive instead. That way, you retain their information, but remove their profile from the People screen. You can still generate a contribution statement for anyone who has been archived. Learn more about Archiving Names ›

Archived names do not count toward your member tier. You can archive as many names as you need and not pay a higher price for your ChurchTrac account. If you archive enough names, you could bring your member count low enough to be put on a lower price tier. Reach out to the support team for assistance.

To remove sample names from your database, navigate to Settings > Admin Settings > Your Church Info, then select the "Remove Sample Names" button.

Deleting Names

To permanently delete a member, open their profile, select the "Edit" button, and choose "Delete [Member's Name]."

When archiving or deleting a member, be sure to also remove their associated email and phone number from the profile. If these details are left in the system, they may cause login issues or duplicate account conflicts.

Searching Names

You can search for a name, email address, or phone number in the Search box. Only the names that meet the criteria you've entered will be shown in the list.

Messaging

The Messaging tab is where you can send messages to your church. You can send emails, text messages, and even voice messages. You can also save form letters and export the emails you have on file in the People screen to a Mailchimp account. Learn more about Messaging Your Church ›

Message your church members in the church database

These Messaging features are ready right out of the box. However, you can integrate an email account, like a Google Workspace, or utilize our texting integration with Twilio.

Reports

There are several reports pre-built into your ChurchTrac account. Click "Reports" on the People Screen toolbar to view the report options. Your People Screen reports will automatically include the names from the selected Smart List, or alternatively, the names that are checked on the People Screen. Learn more about People Reports ›

Some reports can also be generated as a CSV to be opened in Excel or Numbers. If a CSV report is available, then the "Export to CSV" button will appear.

Reports are generated in PDF format. If you use a third-party PDF plug-in in your browser, reports might not generate as expected.

Setup Tab

In the "Setup" tab is a dropdown menu with a few more tools to manage your church database.

Groups

Groups are collections of people organized around a common purpose. They can be actual groups, like classes or ministry teams, or they can function as virtual lists of people, like tags. Groups are also used for taking attendance, doing check-in, and scheduling teams. You should set up the groups that you use in your church, then begin assigning names to your groups. Learn more about Groups ›

Track groups in your church database

Smart Lists

When you want to view a set of names that meet certain criteria or set of criteria, you will want to use a Smart List. You can create multiple Smarts Lists and reuse these lists over and over to quickly display names that match your predefined criteria. Learn more about Smart Lists ›

Organize the church database with smart lists

User-Defined Fields

The User Defined Fields tab is where you can create and edit custom fields to use in your People screen. You can create an unlimited number of these custom fields.

You can add a user-defined field for individuals or for an entire family. Learn more about User-Defied Fields ›

Customize the church database with user defined fields

Adding a field here will make that field appear on EVERYONE’s profile, so make sure you only add fields that affect all or almost all of your members.

Pro Tips

Bulk Edit

Bulk edit is your best friend. This feature lets you update fields and add group tags for multiple people at once. This option is found in the "Actions" button. Learn more about Bulk Edit ›

Create User-Defined Fields First

If you add User-Defined Fields before we import your people data into your account, those fields can be filled out during the import process.

Remove Sample Names

To remove sample names from your database, navigate to Settings > Admin Settings > Your Church Info, then select the "Remove Sample Names" button.