ChurchTrac Online Help

Using the Groups Screen

The Groups Screen allows you to create groups and classes and assign individuals to groups. When you open the Groups Screen, it will default to the Group Category at the top of the list.

Tip: We recommend that you first add names to your database before using the Groups and Attendance tracking features in ChurchTrac Online.

Group Categories

A group category is a collection of groups or classes that you want to track together. Most churches keep records for Sunday school, discipleship groups, worship services, or ministry teams. Each of these would be a separate Group Category in ChurchTrac Online.

Click on Config Group Categories on the toolbar to create new Group Categories or to edit existing Group Categories. This will open the Group Category dialog box.

When you create a new Group Category, you must also select a method for tracking the group's attendance.

Detailed: check each person present or absent
Count: enter the total number of people present
None: no attendance tracking

The attendance tracking method you choose for a Group Category applies to all the groups/classes within that category. In other words, you can't have a Sunday School class that uses the Detailed tracking method and one that uses the Count method.

Note: Once an attendance tracking method is selected for a Group Category, it cannot be changed. So think through which method will best fit all of the groups/classes in that category before deciding. When in doubt, select the Detailed method. The Detailed method allows you to check off names that were present, as well as enter a count value.

Groups and Classes

Once you have selected your group category, you can create new groups and classes by typing in the name of the group in the "Add New Group or Class" field on the Groups screen.

You can also select a department for the class, if you want the classes further grouped together by age group, ministry, etc. for attendance reports. To add or edit options in the Department field, click "Config" on the toolbar, then "Departments".

Adding Group Members

First, select the name of the group/class on the left hand side of the screen. There are two ways to add members to a group.

You can manually enter each name by typing the first few letters of the name into the "Add a New Group Member" field or by clicking on the arrow to scroll through the names already in your database. Then highlight and select the name you want to add. In order for names to show up in this field, they must already be entered on the People Screen. To add names not already in the ChurchTrac Online database, click on "Add Name" in the top toolbar. Next, select the person's "Group Role" (teacher, member, guest, etc.) from the selection box, and click the "Add" button. To add or edit options in the Group Role field, click on "Group Roles" in the top toolbar.
A second way to enter names into a group is by using the Bulk Edit feature on the People screen.

Once the name has been added, it will show up under the "Group Member" list. On this screen, you can access a person's People Screen information by clicking on their blue underlined name; you can change the person's group role; change their Active/Inactive status; and even delete their name from the group by clicking the blue trashcan.