Managing Groups in Your Mobile App

Groups are such an important part of the church community. At aware3, we’re passionate about helping you take the church experience beyond Sunday and build lasting and REAL connections in the community.

This article will walk you through the process of managing your small group registration in two different ways. 

Getting Started

Both of the layout options are created using your aware3 Forms. These are located at the top of your management portal - just select the Forms tab.

Groups Layout Option 1: Single Groups Form

With this layout, you will use a single form and create all of the small groups within that form. The user is able to scroll and see ALL the groups and their details on a single page, select their interest in a group, and submit their information.

The great thing about this layout that it’s really easy for the user to scroll and see it all in one place and not have to flip back and forth.

Groups Option 1 Workflow

1. User fills out their group selection and submits the form.
2. Admin receives email with form submission information (this can go to multiple email addresses).
3. Admin forwards specific group registrations to specific group leader.
4. Group leader personally reaches out to group registrants about group details. 

Creating Option 1 Form

1. First, navigate to your Forms tab in your management portal. 
2. Next, type the name of the form (e.g., All Church Small Groups) and click Create.
3. Create a robust description for the form using the Paragraph field, including any necessary details about the signup process. 

4. Next, create a section for each small group, including the who, what and when along with a detailed description of the group and the group selection feature.

- Use a Heading for the group name

- Use Paragraph for the description

-Use Image by URL or Upload to add an image to your form

- Use Checkbox to create the group selection option
- Consider using a Spacer throughout the form to create light dividing lines in the form

5. Add the Profile section to collect the user's personal information. (Note: If the user already has a verified profile in-app, this information will pre-populate in the form.) 

6. Add the Email and/or Text notifications. Since this option uses a single form, you could have a single person manage all of the responses and forward them to the appropriate group leader, or you could add all group leader contact information and each leader can sift through the notifications. 

Viewing and Sharing Groups Option 1 

• Locate the form's URL
  • Go to the Forms tab and hover over the form you want to share. Simply click Copy Link (this will copy the URL onto your computer's clipboard) and share the link in your app and across the web.
• Sharing the form link inside your app
  • You can use a Link feature to link to this form anywhere in your app. Keep in mind a Link feature can be placed inside of a Feature Hub as well. 
• Sharing the form link outside of your app
  • You can share the URL for this form anywhere on the web, such as your website, social media, or email. 

Groups Layout Option 2: Form for Each Group 

With this layout, you will create a form for each small group. The user will see a list of all of the small group names and can click on each one for more information and to register for that group. 

The great thing about this option is that each individual small group leader can receive an email notification when someone registers for their group. Each leader manages the registrations and communications separately of the other groups.

Groups Option 2 Workflow

1. User fills out a single form to express their interest in a particular group, and submits the form
2. Specific group leader receives email notification that someone registered for the group
3. Personal outreach by group leader welcoming them and providing more group details

Creating Option 2 Forms

1. First, navigate to your Forms tab in your management portal. 
2. Next, type the name of your first form (e.g., Women's Small Group) and click Create.
3. Repeat Step 2 for each small group.
4. Create a robust description for the form using the Paragraph field, including any necessary details about the signup process.
5. Next, add all the details for the small group, including the who, what and when along with a detailed description of the group and the group selection feature.

- Use a Heading for the group name
- Use Image by URL or Upload to add an image to your form
- Use Checkbox to create the group selection option
- Consider using a Spacer throughout the form to create light dividing lines in the form

6. Add the Profile section to collect the user's personal information. (Note: If the user already has a verified profile in-app, this information will pre-populate in the form.) 

7. Add the Email and/or Text notifications. Since this option uses a single form, you could have a single person manage all of the responses and forward them to the appropriate group leader, or you could add all group leader contact information and each leader can sift through the notifications. 

Viewing and Sharing Groups Option 2

• Locate each form's URL
  • Go to the Forms tab and hover over the form you want to share. Simply click Copy Link (this will copy the URL onto your computer's clipboard) and share the link in your app and across the web.
• Sharing the form links inside your app
  • You can use a Link List feature to link to this form anywhere in your app. Keep in mind a Link List feature can be placed inside of a Feature Hub as well. 
• Sharing the form links outside of your app
  • You can share the links to your group forms anywhere on the web, such as your website, social media, or email. 

Taking Groups Beyond Registration

After people have completed registering for small groups, use some of your other app tools to manage your groups and communicate with group members. 

1. Manually add people who join a certain small group to a tag associated with that group. You can use tags to:

• Send segmented push notifications

• Send segmented text messages

• Display segmented calendars in-app

• Enable Chat for certain groups

Read all about how you can use tags in your app here!

2. Use forms for taking Group attendance. You can create a form for small group leaders to easily take attendance during each group meeting, or create a form that allows group members to "check in" to the group during each meeting. Keeping a record of attendance allows leaders to easily follow up with anyone who may have missed a week. 

Aware3 Demo App 

Download our demo app in the App Store and Google Play Store to see Group registration in action!