Group types let you organize groups with a common purpose and similar settings. By default, every new group is assigned to the Unique Groups type. This built-in type cannot be edited or deleted and works well for one-off or miscellaneous groups that don't fit into a shared structure.
To better organize similar groups—like Small Groups, Women's/Men's Ministry, or Mission Teams—create your own group types with shared settings to keep them organized and easy to manage!
Tip
As you make changes to group type settings and defaults, open the Church Center mobile app or web experience to see how those changes take effect.
Only administrators can add new group types. Follow the steps below to create a new group type:
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Select Groups in the top navigation.
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On the main Groups page, select the ⚙️ settings icon.
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Choose Group types from the dropdown.
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Select the Add group type button in the top right corner.
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In the popup, add a name, description, and color theme.
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Check the boxes to enable the Groups list map view, allow leaders to enable chat for their group, and/or show closed and full groups by default on Church Center.
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Select Save to create your new group type.
If you need to change these settings in the future, go back to the Group types page and select Settings to the right of the group type name.
Tip
Want to change the order of how your group types appear on Church Center? On the Group types page, hover over their names to drag and drop them into their new spots!
Administrators and other group type managers can grant someone group type manager permissions. To manage group type managers:
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Select Groups in the top navigation.
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On the main Groups page, select the ⚙️ settings icon.
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Choose Group types from the dropdown.
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To the right of the specific group type, select the Managers button.
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In the popup, search for a new person to add as a group type manager.
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(Optional) If needed, select Remove to the right of an existing manager. If you accidentally remove someone, select Restore to the right of their name before saving your changes.
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Select Save managers to apply changes.
Follow these steps to delete a group type:
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Select Groups in the top navigation.
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Select the ⚙️ settings icon.
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Choose Group types from the dropdown.
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To the right of the group type you want to remove, select Settings.
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In the popup, select Delete... in the bottom left corner.
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In the warning popup, type “DELETE” to confirm and delete it. If there are any existing groups in this group type, they will be moved to the Unique Groups type.
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Select Delete this group type to apply your changes.
Warning
If the group type has a Calendar feed, deleting the group type will permanently remove any associated events from Calendar. To keep those, reassign the groups to another group type and delete the group type.
Group defaults establish the settings for all newly created groups within a group type. Individual groups in this group type will use the defaults you set here, but they can always be overridden directly on the group's Settings tab.
Follow these steps to edit the default settings for a group type:
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Select Groups in the top navigation.
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Select the ⚙️ settings icon.
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Choose Group types from the dropdown.
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To the right of the specific group type, select the Defaults button.
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On the default settings page, make the necessary updates to apply to all new groups created within this group type. Settings auto-save.
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Contact person: Add an email address if you want people to contact a specific person when they have questions about the groups in this group type. This email is used for the Contact button on Church Center; leave the field blank if you don't want to show a Contact button.
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Group description: The description is shown on each individual group page and should give people a sense of what the group is about. Use the formatting tools to make important text stand out, create numbered or bulleted lists, or link to other webpages for more information.
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Location: Let people know where the groups in this group type typically meet. Select between a physical address or a virtual URL link. If you're meeting in person, choose from an existing location or create a brand new one on this page.
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Enrollment: Manage group enrollment by setting a close date to automatically stop new signups after a certain point, setting a member limit to cap how many people can join (group leaders count toward the total, so include them in your count!), and sending an alert to administrators when membership exceeds a specific number.
Important
Leaders and administrators can still add or invite new members even if a group is closed or full!
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Event defaults: Set event preferences for your group type, including event reminders, attendance reminders, schedule visibility, and RSVP options. Attendance reminders are sent by email 10 minutes before the event, but leaders and designated members can take attendance using Church Center starting 60 minutes before the event.
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Security: For security purposes, leaders can only add members by invitation. While it isn't recommended, you can allow group leaders to skip the invitation process by checking the box to Allow group leaders to access entire church database. This will reveal existing member profile information, plus allow leaders to create new profiles and add people to the event attendance form.
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Contact person for leader: Choose the contact person for group leaders in this group type, like an administrator or one of the group type managers. Any replies to attendance requests, event reminders, group removal notifications, etc., will be sent to this contact.
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