Telegram — Messages and Two-Tap Actions

TimelyChurch connects to Telegram so your church can reach people where they already are. Once your church links its Telegram bot, you can broadcast updates to a group or channel, send certain notices privately, and, for members who connect their own Telegram, turn everyday tasks into a single tap right inside a chat: confirm a serving slot, RSVP to a meeting, approve a booking, and more.

This article covers what Telegram does and what your members can do with it. For the admin setup steps (connecting the bot, registering chats, broadcast types), see the Telegram section of Integrations.

What Telegram Can Do

Broadcast to your group or channel (admin-controlled, opt-in per type):

• Announcements, a weekly events digest, new-sermon alerts, Sunday service reminders, birthday and anniversary shout-outs, prayer requests, and a daily verse.

Reach individuals privately (members who have connected their own Telegram):

• Announcements as a DM: target a group so only its connected members get the private copy, not just the public post.
• Volunteer serving requests: arrive as a DM with Yes / Not this time / Remind me in 24h buttons. The answer flows straight back into TimelyChurch without a login. (These are the same invites you send from the Schedule Grid and the event Serving tab.)
• Group meeting RSVP: meeting reminders come with Going / Maybe / Can't make it, and the leader sees the reply instantly. See Group Meetings & Attendance.
• Booking approvals: room and resource requests arrive with Approve and Decline buttons, and only the right approvers are asked.
• New-message nudge: get pinged when someone messages you, with a link straight to the thread.
• Giving heads-up: if a recurring gift fails, the giver gets a private, secure nudge to update their card. Amounts are never shown in chat.

Connecting Your Own Telegram (Members)

Members link Telegram from their portal to receive private messages and use the two-tap actions:

1. Open the Member Portal and go to your Profile tab.
2. Expand the Connected accounts section and click Connect Telegram. This opens Telegram and starts a chat with your church's bot.
3. Tap Start in the chat to finish linking. (A copy/paste backup code is provided in case the button doesn't open Telegram.)

See Managing Your Profile for the full walkthrough.

Note: A bot can only message someone who has first started a chat with it. That's why linking requires pressing Start. We never see your phone number.

Minimum age: a member under your church's Telegram age cannot connect Telegram and is asked to have a parent do it. Existing links are kept.

Bot Commands

Once connected, a member can message the bot at any time to look up their own information. Type a command, or send /menu to get tap buttons (My schedule, My tasks, My Stand, Church events, Schedule an event, Settings, Help) that give the same answers.

Every answer covers only the member's own information and church. Someone who hasn't connected yet just gets a friendly nudge to link their account first.

If /schedule_event is rejected because the room is booked, the member sees Try another time, Pick another room (only if a room was chosen) and Cancel, and the answers already given are kept. Other failures still end the wizard.

Your Serving Schedule in Telegram

Send /schedule to the bot and it replies with everything coming up for you, including your serving assignments. (The older /myschedule command still works too.) Each serving item carries a 👥 Who's with me button. Tap it and the bot sends a new message listing everyone else serving at that event, grouped by team and position, with a ⏳ beside anyone who has not confirmed yet and open (1) where a slot is still unfilled. If you serve at more than one upcoming event, each button carries its own short date so you can tell them apart. Tap the button on an older message for an event you are no longer scheduled on and you get one plain reply: "That event is not on your schedule."

The roster shows first names and last initials only. It never shows phone numbers or email addresses. See Who Am I Serving With? for the full walkthrough.

Choosing What Reaches You

Telegram messages are opt-in. In the Member Portal, open your profile and find the Telegram settings under Connected accounts:

• Get notifications on Telegram: The main switch. Off means the bot sends you no direct messages.
• Categories: Once the main switch is on, pick which kinds of messages you want, such as serving and volunteering, tasks, approvals waiting on you, events and meetings, direct messages, and church announcements.
• Quiet hours (optional): No direct messages during these hours. Safety and emergency alerts still come through.

See Telegram Direct Messages for the full list of categories, and Notification Preferences.

For Admins

• See who's connected: a Linked members list under Settings → Integrations → Telegram shows which members can receive direct messages.

• Who gets booking approvals: only the configured approvers for that room/resource are messaged, not everyone.

• Setup, chats, and broadcasts: covered in full in Integrations.

• Minimum age for direct messages: choose the age (13 to 18, 13 by default) under Church Settings → Integrations → Telegram. Younger linked members get nothing directly; their linked parents or guardians get a notice-only copy.

Privacy

• The bot can only DM people who have connected and pressed Start. No unsolicited messages.
• TimelyChurch never sees a member's phone number.
• Giving notices never show dollar amounts in chat. They only include a secure link to update a card.
• A member can disconnect Telegram any time from their Profile, and an admin can disconnect the whole integration from Settings → Integrations.

Related Articles

• Integrations: admin setup: connect the bot, register chats, broadcast types.
• Managing Your Profile: how a member connects Telegram.
• Notification Preferences: choosing what reaches you.
• Schedule Grid and Event Volunteer Scheduling: where volunteer DMs come from.
• Group Meetings & Attendance: meeting RSVP buttons.

Last updated: 2026-10-21 (8.205.306).