You are here: InFellowship > Groups > Getting Started

Getting Started

Group types are a wonderful tool that can help you do the following:

Organize your groups into meaningful categories
Create an online experience using the InFellowship application for group leaders and group members
Provide security to groups to control who can access groups of a particular type
Preventing more formal groups from being searchable online

When you create your first group type, you will have option of making groups of this type. Those groups can then be accessed by leaders, group members, and prospects through the InFellowship website application. InFellowship is an optional tool that allows people to find a group to join, manage groups they lead, communicate with group members and view group details all from one convenient place on your church website.

The basics for creating a new group type are:

A Fellowship One user with Group Type Admin security rights configures a group type
Security access is granted to each user who needs access to the group type
Users who have access to the group type can begin creating groups!
Add leaders and members to groups

Adding the few following steps provides access to your groups through the InFellowship website application:

Create custom fields and apply them to the applicable group types
Make sure any custom fields are applied to all groups
Create search categories for use when people are trying to find a group
Brand the website with your church's messaging, logo and colors
Place the following link on your church website: https://churchcode.infellowship.com/GroupSearch/Index (where churchcode is the code used to sign into Fellowship One). The exact link is available from (Groups > Administration > Branding > View site)

Group Personas

Before you jump into groups, it’s important to understand a few key concepts. Groups and group type features can be configured by one or many people. Fellowship Technologies architects developed the features with several different personas in mind. As shown in the following table, there are personas that will work strictly in Fellowship One and others that will work through the InFellowship application via the church website.

Role/Persona	Description	Will work in
Group Type Admin	These are the architects of groups at your church. More than likely this role will be fulfilled by the Champion or Champion team. This role has the following responsibilities: Complete authority to manage any group type Assigns security to who can create groups of a particular type Creates the online experience for group leaders and members deciding what each can see and do in the InFellowship application Creates custom fields that can be applied to group types and groups for searching and span of care purposes Creates search categories for use in the InFellowship application Creates the color scheme and messaging that will display in the InFellowship application	Fellowship One Groups
Group Admin	These people are Fellowship One users who have complete authority to manage all groups of a particular type. These users are typically ministry leaders or staff. For example, the small groups group type will be run by the small groups ministry and staff. This role has the following responsibilities: Complete authority to manage any groups of the type they have been granted access to Assigns security to users who need to manage specific groups of this type Ensures all details (including custom fields) have been applied to each group of their assigned group type Adds members and leaders to groups Monitors group prospects
Group Manager/Viewer	These people are Fellowship One users who manage specific groups. These users are typically ministry staff. For example, in a small groups ministry, the staff responsible for maintaining the groups directory. This role has the following responsibilities: Complete authority over any group they have been granted access to (this could be a single group or many groups) Ensures all details (including custom fields) have been applied to each group Adds members and leaders to the group Monitors group prospects
Group Leader	Group leaders are typically volunteers who oversee a particular group. Group leaders work in the InFellowship application. What a leader can do and see depends upon what rights have been granted to the group type under which the leader's group exists. The following is a list of potential options that can be enabled for group leaders: Respond to group prospects and invite people to join the group Ability to add and edit group details (including custom fields) Ability to add and edit group schedules and meeting locations Ability to administer the group roster Ability to edit group member details including primary address and phone numbers Ability to email the group (using group email) Ability to see household members of group members and all other groups members are involved in	InFellowship website Application
Group Member	Group members will interact with their group occasionally through InFellowship. What members can do depends upon what rights have been granted to the group type under which the member's group exists. The following is a list of potential options that can be enabled for group members: Group details and bulletin board are always available and visible to group members Ability to email the group (using group email) Ability to see household members of group members
Group Prospect	Prospects fall into two categories—people who have expressed interest in joining a group or people who have been invited to join a group. Either way, prospects will be interacting in the InFellowship application. Prospects use the search capabilities to find a group to join. Group leaders and members can also invite people to join the group . When the invitation is sent, the recipient becomes a prospect. Prospects can decide to formally join a group if invited by the group leader, which will make them a group member