Group Member
As a group member, you have access to this online social connection tool for small groups. You will be able to easily communicate with your group members AND with as many other friends as you want to be a part of your extended network.
How do I set up my profile page?
Click on the Edit Profile link in the top right corner of your screen.
Change or add whatever you'd like to personalize your page, and then save your changes.
Who's in my group?
The far right column lists your group name. Only 3 group members will be displayed at a time. To see all your group members, you can expand your group.
How do I leave a comment for a member?
Click on the name/photo link of that member, and submit your comment in the comment box. Comments are visible to all users unless it was made private. Recipients are able to delete comments they do not want the rest to see.
Can I send a private comment?
Feature coming soon
How do I get back to my home page?
Simply click on the SmallGroupsConnect.com logo in the top left corner of the screen. Also, you can click on My Profile to go back to your personal page.
What is my extended network?
SmallGroupsConnect.com doesn't limit you to connecting with your own group members, but it also allows you to connect with members from other groups in your church by inviting them to be a part of your extended network. Those friends show under the Other Friends bar.
How do I find/invite someone to be a part of my extended network?
You can find everyone in your church by going to the My Church tab. From there, click on the name/photo link of members you want to connect with. Then click on the "invite" link. Also, you can search for people by name or email address.
Can I cancel an invitation after sending it?
Feature coming soon
What is the Private Group Blog?
This is a place where you can initiate a discussion with your group and only people in your group can view it. To get started, click on Post, title it, and write your post. When you're done, submit your post. Other group members can comment on your post at any time.
What is the Other Friends bar?
Feature coming soon
How do I comment on a Private Group Blog post?
Click on the title of the post and submit your comment.
What is the All Posts link and All Comments link?
For screen space-saving purposes, SmallGroupsConnect.com will only initially display the most recent blog posts and comments. You can view all previous posts and comments by clicking on the All Posts and All Comments links.
Who posts the Announcements?
Announcements are provided by your administrator. This is a place to communicate to all groups at once about news, events, and other items important for everyone to know about.
Group Leader
As a group leader, you have the ability to edit your group's information, add members and prospects to the group, and generate attendance reports. As a member of your group, you also have access to your own individual My Profile page. To get the most out of your My Profile page, see the FAQs under the Group Members heading above.
How do I edit my group's information?
Click on the Groups tab.
Click on your group's name.
Click on the Edit Group link on the top right.
What is a tag?
Feature coming soon
How do I add a prospect?
Click on the Add Prospect link when you're in your group details page. Assign a prospect from the master list. To avoid creating duplicate records, ONLY manually enter the prospect information below if the prospect is NOT found on the master list.
How do I add a member?
Click on the Add Member link. Assign a member from the master list. To avoid creating duplicate records, ONLY manually enter the member information below if the member is NOT found on the master list. You can also add members from the prospect list by selecting the checkbox next to that prospect's name and clicking the "Memberize" button.
How do I drop or recover a member?
Feature coming soon
What happens when I drop someone from a group?
Feature coming soon
What is a Group Task?
The feature is similar to a to-do list, assigned by your administrator. As you complete the actions, check them off or contact the administrator for more information.
How do I generate reports?
Click on the Groups tab.
Click on the Report link under the Create Report column.
Submit information including Date of Meeting, number of visitors, members' present, and comments/prayer requests, and then click the Create Report button.
Administrator
As an administrator, you will set SmallGroupsConnect.com into motion by creating a master list of names and then creating groups. Simply follow the instructions below. Also listed above is everything group leaders and SmallGroupsConnect.com users will need to know.
Getting Started:1. Create a Master List of Names
Feature coming soon
2. Create Groups
Go to the Groups tab.
Click on the Add Groups button on the top right.
Fill out required group information and click on the Create button.
Can I create a private group?
Feature coming soon
3. Tag Your Groups
Feature coming soon
4. Assign Individuals to Groups
Feature coming soon
- As soon as you assign an individual to a group, that person will receive an email stating that they have been added to your church's small group ministry. This email will give them their login information.
- A leader must be added as a group member BEFORE they can be selected as a leader. As soon as you add a leader to a group, that person will receive another email stating that their status has changed to leader. They will not receive new login information in this email, because their login information stays the same. The change will be in their page. They will now have an extra tab (groups) that will give them access to group management.
- As the administrator, you will not receive these emails when you add yourself to a group, or when you make yourself the leader of a group. You received your login info when you created your account, and your status will not change.
- Contact your group leaders BEFORE you add them as members to their groups. Let them know they are about to receive 2 emails. The first will welcome them to your small group ministry while giving them login information, and the second will explain SmallGroupsConnect.com and how to use the the social connection tool with their group. By contacting them ahead of time, they will be expecting the emails, and therefore not delete their new login information out of misunderstanding
- When adding members to groups, start with the group's leader, and then let that leader add all the other members. This will save you time, and it will give the leader practice for future members they might add.
- Encourage your leaders to contact their members to let them know they'll be receiving an email from your church that is welcoming them to your small group ministry. This way, the members will be expecting the emails, and therefore not delete their new login information out of misunderstanding.
Can I assign individuals to multiple groups?
Yes. Individuals can be a part of multiple groups, and they can also be prospects of multiple groups.
5. Assign Leaders to Groups
Click on the "Add Leader" link (You can assign multiple leaders to a group)
How do I connect with group leaders?
There are two ways. One, simply click the Email Leaders button, and then click the Compose link. Or, better yet, create a group of just leaders. This will allow you to have a Private Group Blog for all leaders and post comments for individual leaders.
6. Assign Prospects to Groups
Click on the "Add Prospect" link.
Note: Prospects will automatically be assigned to groups as individuals submit their information via your website or kiosk.
7. Assign Tasks to Leaders
Click on a Group Name and then the "Add Task" link.
You can also click on the Send Email Reminder button, and an automatic email reminder will be sent to the group's leader(s).
When will members receive access to SmallGroupsConnect.com?
Members receive access the moment they are assigned to their first group. They will receive two emails: a welcome letter and an instructions letter for how to use SmallGroupsConnect.com
How will members know when they first have access to SmallGroupsConnect.com?
Once members are assigned to their first group, they will receive an email notifying them of their login information. This is why it is EXTREMELY important for the administrator or group leader to input CURRENT, VALID email addresses from the beginning. If invalid or incomplete email addresses have been entered, new members will not receive this initial email with login information, and therefore will not have access to the site.
Why did my members never receive their login information?
Most likely, you do not have an accurate email address for them. Or, maybe they received the email, but not knowing what it was, they deleted it. In either case, you will want to go to their profile page and verify you have a correct email address. To access their profile page, click on the "Members" tab, and scroll to find their name, or click on the Member Search button on the right and enter the person's last name to search. (Note: This may take several seconds, depending on the size of your database.) Once you find the member, click on their name, and then click the "edit profile" link. Here you will verify you have a correct email address, but in order for the member to receive an email with new login information, you must also change their password. Be sure to scroll down a bit and hit SAVE.
What can I do if my members have trouble logging in?
They create their own account so they may have to go to "forgot password?" to retrieve their password on the login page.
What's the difference between the Members List and the Master List?
Feature coming soon
What determines my membership fee to SmallGroups.com?
The number of leaders you purchased access for determines this. You can see the breakdown here: http://smallgroups.com/membership/churchaccount.html
What happens when I delete someone from the Master List?
Feature coming soon
What happens when I destroy someone from the Master List?
Feature coming soon
How do I drop or recover a member?
Feature coming soon
What happens when I drop someone from a group?
The person's name will appear crossed out and will not be available for future attendance reports for that particular group. The person will remain on the Master List, and will be available to be assigned to another group.
What happens when I delete a group?
The group will no longer appear on the current group listing, but you will still be able to go back and access past attendance records.
Can I edit member profile information?
Feature coming soon
How do we integrate SmallGroupsConnect.com into our website?
Feature coming soon
ow do we integrate SmallGroupsConnect.com into our lobby's kiosk?
Feature coming soon
Can support & recovery or other groups in my church use SmallGroupsConnect.com and still remain confidential?
Yes. SmallGroupsConnect.com is the perfect system for recovery groups, in that you can make groups and members' identities completely confidential if you choose to. Simply check the "Make this group private" checkbox on the Add Groups form. By doing so, the group name will not be displayed on its members' SmallGroupsConnect.com pages. Private group members however, will still be viewable through the "browse people" link, and thus have the capability to connect with other group members. (Any member can make up a screen name and upload a random photo for added privacy if he/she chooses.)
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