PocketPlatform – Group Curriculum

PocketPlatform Group Curriculum

Last Updated: Sep 16, 2021 @ 1:43 pm

Want to distribute curriculum to your Group Leaders so they can lead their groups? Good news – you can do that! The group curriculum tool for PocketPlatform lets you setup re-usable curriculum and put it right in the hands of your Group Leaders, literally!

Setting up Curriculum in MinistryPlatform

In the MinistryPlatform Nouns, navigate to Curriculum
Create a new record for each “lesson” or “meeting”; give it a good title and then enter the lesson notes, facilitator questions, scripture passages, etc.
1. Use the MinistryPlatform WYSIWYG toolbar to give your text rich formatting, add links, etc.
Save your record, then optionally add links to Video or Audio files, external files, etc.
Once your curriculum is setup for a specific lesson or meeting, you can assign it to Event Groups (Facilities > Event Groups).

Adding a Curriculum to an Event Group in MinistryPlatform

In the MinistryPlatform Nouns, navigate to Event Groups (Facilities > Event Groups).
Open the record where you want to attach your curriculum. Click “Edit.”
Choose your curriculum from the drop-down menu.
Save your record.

February 10, 2020/0 Comments/by tyndallwakeham

PocketPlatform Group Management

Last Updated: Oct 14, 2021 @ 7:49 am

Your church members use PocketPlatform to sign up for Events, engage in serving Opportunities, and take Sermon Notes. With PocketPlatform’s Group Management tools, your Group Leaders and Group Members can use PocketPlatform to engage foster community, communicate with the group, and dive deeper in their spiritual journey.

Group Member Features

View Members
View Name, Photo, Email Address, Phone Number for other Group Members. Email and Phone links available for quickly contacting another group member.
Contact Leader
Send an email directly to your Group Leader with a simple form within the App.
Group Calendar
View a calendar of upcoming Group Meetings with date, time, and location / address.
Manage Privacy
Manage the information you are comfortable sharing with including Email, Phone, Full Name / First Name only, and Photo.
Group Communication
Communicate directly with your Group by chatting inside the App.

Group Leader Features

View Members
View Name, Photo, Email Address, Phone Number for other Group Members. Email and Phone links available for quickly contacting another group member.

Leaders can also edit group member’s info, upload a photo, or change the Group member’s role / remove them from the Group.
Add Group Member
Group Leaders can add new members to the Group quickly and easily.
Contact Leaders / Members
Group Leaders can select one or more Group Members / Leaders and send an email to all of them using a single form.
Manage Inquiries
Group Leaders can view Inquiries for their Group, contact inquirers via email, and optionally add inquirers directly to their Group.
Group Calendar
Group Leaders can manage their Group’s calendar of Group Meetings with feature for adding, editing or cancelling meetings.
Take Attendance
Group Leaders can quickly and easily take attendance for a Group Meeting.
Group Curriculum
Group Leaders can access Group Curriculum delivered through MinistryPlatform. Curriculum includes group leader / facilitator instructions and links to videos, audio files, PDFs, scripture, et al.
Manage Privacy
Manage the information you are comfortable sharing with including Email, Phone, Full Name / First Name only, and Photo.
Group Communication
Communicate directly with your Group by chatting inside the App.

Setting up Groups

Setting up your Groups is essentially the same as configuring groups for use in the Think Ministry Portal. Once your Group is configured in MinistryPlatform, you can set the Available On App to Yes for it to be available in your App.

For more information on setting up Group Curriculum, reference the Group Curriculum KB article.

Configuring Group Management

To provide churches with more control over the tools available to Group Leaders, the latest version of the API includes three configuration settings. These settings are controlled behind the scenes, so please submit a ticket to the help desk if you’d like to request any modifications.

Edit Contact Info: When enabled, this allows Group Leaders to edit a member’s contact information (e.g. nickname, email address, phone number). It also enables Group Leaders to upload a photo for a member. This is disabled by default. Note: Changes here are reflected in the member’s Contact record in MinistryPlatform.
Inquiries Tab: When enabled, this allows Group Leaders to view group inquiries and convert the inquirer to a participant.
Cancel Meetings: When enabled, this allows Group Leaders to cancel Group Meetings

Please note that, when enabled, these features are only available for users whose Group Role Type = Leader.

February 10, 2020/by tyndallwakeham

Groups, Opportunities, and Events

Adding an Image to an Opportunity, Event, Or Group

Adding an Image

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2021 @ 3:48 pm

Increase engagement in your PocketPlatform app by adding images to your Opportunities, Groups, and Events in MinistryPlatform! Plus, most dashboard recipes require Opportunities and Events to have a default image set in order to display them on the dashboard, so having an image attached is an all-around good thing to do.

Please be aware that this article assumes that you have an Opportunity, Event or Group created already. For more information on creating these resources, please visit the MinistryPlatform Knowledgebase: Opportunities, Groups, Events.

Adding an Image

The image associated with these instructions is the Opportunities Page in MinistryPlatform. The “Attach File” button remains the same whether you are setting up a Group, Opportunity, or Event.

In the MinistryPlatform Nouns, select “Opportunities” (or Groups, or Events)
Click on the Object to which you would like to add the image
Click the “Attach a File” Button and upload a new image

Image Best Practices

While PocketPlatform will display a wide variety of image sizes and formats without issue, you can foster a more robust and engaging environment for your users with some consideration in how you format your images. PocketPlatform was designed with the understanding that the majority of church graphics are created to be used on a standard 16:9 ratio screen. Below, you will find examples of different images with text and how they display on the opportunities screen.

Click the images below to see them in more detail.

16:9, balanced text area

Tall Image

Wide-Format Image

16:9, Oversized Text Area

July 17, 2019/0 Comments/by Alex VanRossum

Core Features, Groups, Opportunities, and Events

Adding pins to the Groups Map View

Groups Map View Overview

Last Updated: Jul 15, 2019 @ 2:48 pm

The groups map view offers an exciting and easy-to-use method of presenting your community and small group offerings to your congregation! Simply configure the groups you have available with an address and latitude and longitude coordinates, and then you’ll be able to see the pins on the map. Follow the instructions below to ensure that you have this set up properly.

Adding an Address to a Group

The first thing we need to do is add an address to a group that we would like to feature on the maps. The only requirement that PocketPlatform has for address display is the Latitude and Longitude values in the address.

If your group DOES NOT have an address assigned to it:

First, create an address. In the MinistryPlatform nouns, open the “Lookup Values” folder and click on “Addresses”
Create a new address, ensuring that you have added Latitude and Longitude to the address
Assign this new Offsite Meeting Address to your group by opening the Groups noun and editing the appropriate record.

If your group DOES have an address assigned to it:

In the MinistryPlatform nouns, click “Groups” and then open the record for the group you would like to assign.
Click the “link” icon next to the Offsite Meeting Address and edit the address, adding the Latitude and Longitude

See the next section, “How do I get the Latitude and Longitude?” for more information on obtaining the Latitude and Longitude