Public Group Finder
The Group Finder is a public page where visitors and prospective members can browse, search, and contact your church's groups without logging in. Here is what visitors see and which groups appear.
Where Visitors Find It
The public Group Finder is part of your church's public pages, so it needs no account. It offers:
- Find Your Group: a card-style list with filters and search
- Map View: the same groups on a map (switch with List View / Map View)
- A public page for each individual group
- A Send a Message to the Leader form on each group's page
Members reach it from Find a group on the My Groups page of the member portal (the button appears when at least one group is listed).
Which Groups Appear
A group is listed in the Finder when all of the following are true:
- It is a Public group
- It is active
- Its Enrollment is Open
- Sharing is turned on for the group, so it has a public page (the Enable sharing / Share control on the group page)
Private groups and Teams are never listed, even with sharing turned on. Anyone with their link can still open their public page and join. Classes have no public page at all. See QR Code and Link-Based Group Join.
Filters Available to Visitors
The list page offers these filters, all of which can be combined:
| Filter | Notes |
|---|---|
| Any Day | Sunday through Saturday |
| All Categories | The built-in category list (Bible Study, Fellowship, etc.); matches groups that have that category |
| All Types | Your church's custom group types; only shown when the church has defined them |
| Tags | Only shown when at least one tag exists; a group matches if it has any of the chosen tags |
| Has Childcare | Groups marked as offering childcare |
| Online Groups | Groups whose location type is Virtual or Hybrid |
| Search groups... | Free text that matches name, description, or location |
Results show 12 per page, sorted alphabetically by name. Each card shows the meeting day and time, the location (or Online Group), the member count (unless the group hides it), and Full - Waitlist Available when the group has reached its member limit.
Map View
Map View shows each listed group that has a location on a map:
- Fully Public address: the pin is at the group's address.
- Proximity Public address: the pin is at a fixed spot a short distance from the address (under a kilometer, about half a mile), marked "Location shown is approximate". The spot stays the same every time the page loads, so visitors can't work out the real address by reloading. If you change the group's address, the spot moves.
- Members Only or Hidden address: the group does not appear on the map.
Single Group Page
When a visitor clicks a group card or opens a shared link, they land on the group's public page. It shows:
- Group photo, name, and About This Group
- Group Details: meeting time, location (shown in full, as an approximate area, or hidden, depending on the group's Address Visibility), and member count
- Group Leaders: names only; contact details are never shown
- A Join This Group button (or Request to Join / Join Waitlist, depending on the group)
- Upcoming Events hosted by the group, when there are any
- Share This Group with a Copy Link button
- You May Also Like: up to three other listed groups, preferring the same category
- Send a Message to the Leader: only when at least one leader has an email on file
A signed-in member sees "You are already a member of this group." instead of the join button, or On the Waitlist with their position if they are waiting for a spot.
Messaging the Leader
Visitors can ask a question without joining. The form asks for Your Name, Your Email, and a Message ("What would you like to ask about this group?").
The form quietly filters out automated bot submissions. When a message is sent:
- Every active leader who has an email on file receives it by email.
- The visitor sees Message Sent!
Leaders reply from their own email.
Joining from the Public Page
Visitors who are not signed in can join only when the group's Allow guest registration setting is on ("Visitors can join without creating an account"). Otherwise the page shows Sign in to join, with "This group asks you to sign in to your church portal before joining."
When a guest fills in their name and email and clicks the join button, TimelyChurch looks for someone in your directory with that email address:
- The email already belongs to someone in your directory. Nothing happens to that person's memberships yet. TimelyChurch emails that person's own address a confirmation link ("Someone asked to add this email address to this group. Confirm only if it was you."). Only after they click Confirm and join does the join go ahead: straight in, as a request for leaders to approve, or onto the waitlist, depending on the group. The link is valid for 7 days. This stops anyone from adding another person to a group just by knowing their email address.
- The email is new. TimelyChurch creates a person record and then, depending on the group: adds them to the waitlist if the group is full; adds them as a pending request for leaders to approve if the group requires approval; or adds them as an active member. They receive one confirmation email with a sign-in link to the portal.
Either way, the visitor sees the same message on screen: "Thanks! Check your email for next steps." The outcome is only ever sent by email, so the page never reveals whether an address is already in your directory.
Visitors who are signed in join as themselves, without the confirmation step.
If the group uses an Online signup form, the join button opens that form instead.
Taking a Group Out of the Finder
To remove a group from the public Finder while keeping it active internally, do one of these on the group page:
- Click Turn off next to Share. The group's public page, link, and QR code stop working.
- Set Enrollment to Closed on the Group details tab.
- Change the group's Kind to Private group. It stays shareable by link but is no longer listed.
Tip: When you launch the Finder, do a "logged-out" preview as a visitor. A Public group you expect to see may be missing because sharing hasn't been turned on or its enrollment is closed.