Creating Groups

This article walks you through creating a new group in TimelyChurch, including all available settings for each group type.

Before You Begin

• You need the Groups: Create permission to create new groups.
• Your church plan may limit the number of groups you can create. If you have reached your limit, you will be prompted to upgrade your plan.

Step-by-Step: Creating a Group

1. Navigate to Groups from the admin sidebar.
2. Click the Add Group button in the top-right corner.
3. A creation modal will appear. Fill in the fields described below.
4. Click Create to save the group.

After creation, you will be redirected to the group's detail page where you can add members, upload a photo, and configure additional settings.

Required Fields

Custom Group Type (Optional)

In addition to the four engine types above, you can layer a Custom Group Type on top of any group. Custom group types are church-defined labels (for example "Life Group", "Recovery Group", "Worship Team") that map to one of the four engine types and can carry their own default settings (meeting frequency, max members, approval requirements, check-in requirements, icon, color).

Custom group types are managed at Groups → Settings → Group Types. See the "Custom Group Types" article for setup details.

Common Optional Fields (All Types)

The Add Group modal keeps the create step short — it asks for just the essentials. Everything else (category, tags, full address, online link, member cap, leaders, and more) is added afterward on the group's detail page. See "Settings Available After Creation" below for the rest.

Team-Specific Fields

The Add Group modal does not ask for any extra details when you choose Team — it confirms your next step is to add positions. After you create the team, its detail page is where you set everything up.

When you create a team, positions and schedule templates become available on the group detail page. New teams are assigned a default color label for visual identification.

Class-Specific Fields

When you choose Class, the modal expands to show a Class Details section with the following fields:

When you create a class, TimelyChurch automatically generates two default positions: Teacher and Assistant Teacher. You can customize these later.

Settings Available After Creation

Several fields and settings are configured on the group detail page after the group has been created. Open the group, then use the Details tab to fill these in:

Profile & classification

• Category -- A classification label. The 13 built-in options are: Bible Study, Fellowship, Support Group, Men's Group, Women's Group, Couples, Singles, Young Adults, Seniors, New Members, Service / Outreach, Prayer Group, and Other.
• Tags -- One or more church-defined tags (e.g., "Childcare Provided", "Beginner Friendly"). Tags are created and managed at Groups → Tags, then applied to a group on its Details tab. They are used for filtering in the public Group Finder. See the "Group Tags" article.
• Meeting Frequency -- How often the group meets: Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, or Varies.
• Max Members -- An optional cap on the number of members allowed. When reached, the group shows as full and new joiners can be added to a waitlist.
• Leaders -- Select one or more existing church members to serve as group leaders. Leaders can manage members, send messages, and update group details.

Location & address

• Location Address -- The full street address.
• Address Visibility -- Controls how the address is shown to non-members: Members Only (default — only active members see the address), Proximity Public (non-members see a general area description, members see the full address), Fully Public (everyone sees the full address), or Hidden (no address shown to anyone).
• Proximity Description -- A general area description shown publicly when Address Visibility is set to "Proximity Public" (e.g., "Near Downtown").
• Online Link -- The URL for a virtual meeting room (must be a valid URL). Used when the group meets online.

Status & access

• Active / Inactive -- Mark a group as inactive to archive it without deleting.
• Open / Closed -- Control whether new members can join (applies to Private and Public groups).
• Allow Guest Registration -- Let visitors join the group without creating an account.
• Require Approval -- New join requests must be approved by a leader before the person becomes an active member.
• Chat Enabled -- Turn on the built-in group chat.
• Waitlist Enabled -- Automatically add people to a waitlist when the group reaches its member capacity.
• Show in Finder -- Make the group discoverable in the public Group Finder (only for groups that are not confidential).
• Confidential -- Hide the group from the public Group Finder entirely.

Uploading a Group Photo

1. Open the group detail page.
2. Hover over the group icon (the square image at the top of the group's profile card).
3. Click the camera icon to choose and upload a photo.
4. Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP (max 5 MB).

To remove a photo, hover over the image and click the trash icon.

Duplicating a Group

If you need to create a group similar to an existing one:

1. On the Groups list, find the group you want to copy.
2. Open the row's actions menu (the ⋮ button) and choose Duplicate.

A copy is created with the group's settings, positions, and schedule templates carried over. Members are not copied to the new group, and signup codes and chat conversations are not duplicated. After the copy is created, open it to rename it and adjust any settings.

Tip: When creating a Public Group that you want people to discover on their own, remember to enable "Show in Finder" after creation. If you also want non-members to see where it meets, set the address visibility to "Proximity Public" or "Fully Public" on the Details tab.