Group Participation

Groups are a central part of church life -- from small groups and Bible studies to ministry teams and classes. The Member Portal lets you find groups, join them, keep up with the ones you belong to, and look after the groups you lead.

Finding and Joining Groups

Browsing Groups

Your church may list its groups in a public Group Finder. On your My Groups page, click Find a group to open it (the button appears when your church lists at least one group). A leader may also send you a link or QR code for a group.

Each group's page shows its description, meeting time, location, leaders, and member count.

Joining a Group

1. Open the group's page.
2. Click Join This Group (or Request to Join / Join Waitlist, depending on the group).
3. If you are signed in, optionally add a Message to Leaders and confirm.
4. You see "Thanks! Check your email for next steps." -- the email tells you whether you've joined, are waiting for a leader's approval, or are on the waitlist.

Some things to know about joining groups:

• Open groups add you straight away.
• Groups requiring approval send your request to the group's leaders. You'll hear from them once they approve it.
• Full groups add you to a waitlist, and the email gives your position. A leader will let you know when a spot opens.
• Already a member? The page says "You are already a member of this group."
• Some groups ask you to Sign in to join before you can join.

Joining Without an Account

Some groups let visitors join without signing in. If so, the New Here? form asks for your name, email, phone (optional), and a message to the leaders (optional). If your email is already known to the church, you'll get an email asking you to Confirm and join first.

My Groups

The My Groups page -- "Your serving teams and the community groups you're part of." -- lists every group you belong to.

Accessing My Groups

1. Log in to the Member Portal.
2. Click My Groups in the sidebar (on a phone, the Groups tab at the bottom). If you serve on a team, it is under the Team section of the sidebar.

What's on the Page

• Serving teams -- the teams you serve on, with their member counts.
• Groups & classes -- your small groups and classes.
• Upcoming Events -- events hosted by your groups, with how many people have registered.
• Find a group -- your church's Group Finder.

If you aren't in any group yet, the page says No Groups Found and suggests finding one.

A Group's Page

Click any group to open its page. At the top you'll see its name, kind, whether it is Open or Closed, and -- if you lead it -- a You lead badge. If you don't lead it, Message leader starts a message to the group's leader.

Every member sees three tabs:

Overview

• Next meeting -- the group's usual day, time, and location. For a team, My Serving shows the dates you are scheduled to serve with it instead.
• Upcoming meetings -- when the group asks for RSVPs, answer Going, Maybe, or Can't go for each meeting and see how many people gave each answer.
• Members -- everyone in the group, with leaders marked Leader or Co-Leader.
• Leader -- the group's leader, with Message and (if they share it) Email buttons.
• Enrollment -- how many seats are left, when the group has a limit.
• About this group -- when it meets, where, how many people, and its type.
• Prayers -- the group's recent prayer requests.
• Your membership -- Leave group (see below).

Tasks

The group's shared to-do list. Check off tasks assigned to you with Complete; add tasks with Add a task if the group lets every member create them. Tasks assigned to you also appear on My Tasks. See Group Tasks.

Files

The group's shared files -- sheet music, handouts, sign-up sheets. Click Download to save a copy. If the group allows it, you can Upload a file, and you can move files you uploaded to the trash. See Group Resources.

Leading a Group

If you are a Leader or Co-Leader of the group, four more tabs appear, and the Overview shows Needs your attention when someone is waiting for you.

Requests

Pending requests lists "People waiting for your approval to join this group." -- including people who accepted an email invitation.

• Click Approve to add them; they are notified.
• Click Deny to decline ("Deny this request?"). No message is sent to them.

Waitlist

When the group is full, new people go onto a waitlist in the order they arrived.

1. When a spot opens because someone leaves or is removed, you get an "A seat opened in [group]" notice. Nobody is moved in automatically -- you choose.
2. Open the Waitlist tab.
3. Click Add to Group next to the person you want. If the group is still full, TimelyChurch tells you so.
4. They become a regular member and are notified.

Click Remove to take someone off the waitlist if they ask.

Members

• Add a member -- "Add someone from your church directly to this group." Choose the person and click Add member.
• Invite to group -- for someone who isn't in the list, such as a friend who is new to the church: enter their Email (and optionally their name) and click Send invitation. They get a link valid for 14 days; once they accept, they appear under Requests for you to approve. If the group has a public link, it's shown here too ("Or share the group's link:").
• Remove -- takes someone out of the group after you confirm ("Remove this member from the group?"). They are told they are no longer a member.
• Make member -- if you are the group's Leader, you can change a Co-Leader back to a regular member. Appointing leaders is done by a church administrator.

Prayers

Group prayer requests stay inside the group and are separate from the church-wide Prayer Wall.

1. Under Add a prayer request, type the request -- tick Submit anonymously if you like -- and click Submit.
2. When a prayer is answered, click Mark answered.
3. Click Remove to delete a request that is no longer relevant.

Tip: Use the church-wide Prayer Wall for requests you want everyone to see, and the group prayer list for needs that should stay within your circle.

Tasks and Files

As a leader you can always add and assign tasks and upload files, delete any task or file, and choose Who can create tasks? and Who can upload files? (Leaders only or All members) for your group.

What's Done in the Admin Panel

Editing the group's details and photo, opening or closing it to new members, sharing its link, recording meetings, emailing the whole group, and offering a waitlist spot are done in the admin panel. If you have admin access, Manage in admin at the top of the group page takes you there; otherwise ask your church office. See Group Leader Tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I leave a group? A: Open the group in My Groups and click Leave group under Your membership, then confirm. The group's leaders are told. To rejoin later, ask a leader. (Classes don't have this button -- ask your church. If you are a group's only leader, ask a church administrator to add another leader first.)

Q: I lead a group -- why don't I see the leader tabs? A: The Requests, Waitlist, Members, and Prayers tabs appear for the group's Leader and Co-Leaders. If they're missing, ask your church administrator to check that you are set as a leader of the group.

Q: Can I see which groups my family members are in? A: The My Family page shows the class each child is in. For other groups, ask your church office.

Q: Can private groups be viewed without logging in? A: Private groups are never listed in the Group Finder. If a leader shares a private group's link with you, you can open it; joining may ask you to sign in first.