Custom Group Types
TimelyChurch ships with four built-in engine types — Private Group, Public Group, Team, and Class — that determine which features a group has (positions, scheduling, check-in, etc.). Layered on top of those four, your church can define Custom Group Types with their own names, default settings, and visual styling. This article covers how to set them up and how they interact with the four engine types.
Why Custom Group Types?
The four engine types are intentionally generic. Every church uses them differently. Custom Group Types let you:
- Replace internal labels with names your members already understand ("Life Group" instead of "Public Group", "D-Group" instead of "Private Group", "Worship Team" instead of "Team").
- Pre-fill sensible defaults for each new group of that kind (meeting frequency, max members, approval requirements, check-in toggles).
- Filter groups in the public Finder by a custom type, on top of (or instead of) the built-in Category.
- Give each type its own icon and color so staff can visually scan the Groups list quickly.
A custom type does not add new features — every type still maps to one of the four engine types behind the scenes. Think of custom types as labels + defaults, not new mechanics.
Setup Page
To get there, open Groups from the left sidebar, then click the Settings button at the top of the Groups page. Group types live in the Group Types card on that page.
You'll need Groups module access to manage group types.
When the page first loads, if no custom types exist for the church, TimelyChurch seeds the church with 10 ready-made defaults:
| Default Name | Engine Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small Group | Public | Weekly, max 12 members |
| Bible Study | Public | Weekly |
| Fellowship | Public | Monthly |
| Men's Group | Public | Weekly |
| Women's Group | Public | Weekly |
| Young Adults | Public | Weekly |
| Support Group | Private | Weekly, requires approval |
| Prayer Group | Public | Weekly |
| Ministry Team | Team | No defaults |
| Sunday Class | Class | Requires check-in |
These built-in defaults cannot be deleted (only deactivated). You can edit their names, colors, icons, and defaults freely.
Creating a Custom Type
In the Group Types card, click Add Type to open the new-type form, then fill in:
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Up to 100 characters. Used everywhere the type is shown. |
| Description | No | Up to 500 characters. Surfaced in the picker to help staff choose. |
| Engine Type | Yes | One of Private, Public, Team, or Class. Determines which features (positions, scheduling, check-in, room) are available for groups of this type. |
| Icon | No | An icon for the type. |
| Color | No | A color for the type. Defaults to Indigo. |
| Default Meeting Frequency | No | Weekly, every two weeks, monthly, or varies. |
| Default Max Members | No | 1–999 |
| Default Require Approval | No | On or off. |
| Default Requires Check-In | No | On or off. |
The four "default" fields are applied automatically when a new group is created from this type. If you create another type with the same name, TimelyChurch keeps the names distinct automatically.
Applying Defaults
When a staff member opens Add Group and selects a custom type:
- The form locks the engine type to that type's value (so the user does not contradict the type) and pre-fills the matching fields — meeting frequency, max members, approval requirement, and so on.
- After saving, those values are written to the new group.
The fields are pre-filled but not enforced — staff can override them per-group if needed.
Editing & Reordering
From the Group Types card you can:
- Update a type's name, description, icon, color, and defaults.
- Deactivate a type (a soft "hide") using the active toggle.
- Reorder types by drag-and-drop.
- Delete a type.
Two delete guards apply:
- Cannot delete if groups are assigned. TimelyChurch shows: "Cannot delete this type — N group(s) are still assigned to it. Reassign them first."
- Built-in types cannot be deleted, only deactivated. Use the active toggle to hide them from the picker without losing their defaults.
Filtering by Custom Type
Two views can be filtered by custom type:
- Admin Groups list — A filter dropdown lets staff narrow the list to a single custom type.
- Public Group Finder — Visitors can refine results by your church's custom labels.
How Custom Types Relate to the Engine Types
Some practical examples:
| Custom Type | Engine | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| "Life Group" → Public | Public | Visible in Finder, can have guest registration, no positions/scheduling |
| "D-Group" → Private | Private | Hidden from public Finder, members managed by leader |
| "Worship Team" → Team | Team | Has positions, schedule templates, rotation strategies, skill levels |
| "Sunday Class — Preschool" → Class | Class | Has room assignment, age/grade ranges, check-in integration, Teacher/Assistant Teacher positions seeded automatically |
You can have many custom types pointing at the same engine type — for example, "Life Group" and "Recovery Group" might both map to Public but ship different defaults.
Tip: When a custom type is misnamed or its defaults turn out to be wrong, edit it once at Groups → Settings → Group Types rather than fixing every group individually. Existing groups keep whatever values they had at creation time, but every new group will pick up the corrected defaults.