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Create a Group
There are three ways to create a group
- Manually
- From People Query search results or
- Running reports that have the output type.
Tip! Temporary Groups expire after three days. You can create a new group from the results of a temporary group.
You access your groups by clicking Groups > Groups by Group Type > View All.
Your church may have created special for you to use when creating groups. If this is the case, you will be able to create a group using one of the following types:
- People List—this is the default group type that is already configured in Fellowship One. This is typically a generic list or private group that you keep for your own benefit, (think of an email address book that is static and is updated manually). Through people lists you can add/delete members, communicate with those on your list via email, and share your lists with others you select; however, people lists are not public or managed through InFellowship. People lists are great for personal lists of people with which you communicate frequently, but beyond that, have no real connection.
- Possible Scenario: If you frequently email all of the ministry staff you can create a people list. You wouldn't necessarily want to create an entire group around this because you don't need to manage it, create a schedule for it, etc. A people list is perfect for this type of group and is easily created in a few easy steps.
- Groups - One of the custom group types your church has configured and granted you security rights to access. Groups
Create a people list group and add people manually
- Click Groups > Groups by Group Type > View All. A list of existing groups appears.
- Click Add a people list in the Actions list on the right side of the page. The New People List form appears.
- Type a name for your group in the Name field. Optionally, type a Description for the group.
- Type the Start date for this group or leave the default of today's date in this field. Optionally, clear the Unlock group check box. This action will turn off the ability to add individuals to this group. You can do this step later after you have added people to the group.
- Click Create this group. The Add a Person to the Group form appears. Optionally, you can add people to this group by typing a name or partial name into the text field.
- Click Search to display a list of search results.
- Click the Return link to return to the group roster list.
You can also create groups of a specific group type using any of the custom group types your church may have created. The most common use of this is for your small groups (or home teams/life groups/growth groups) ministry. See Create a Group Using Group Types for detailed instructions.
One of the fastest ways to create a group is to use People Query search results. This option allows you to find all group members and add them to your new group all at one time. For example, you can find all individuals who have a staffing assignment to a particular activity and create a group so that you can easily communicate with your volunteers.
Create a group from Query Builder
- Click the People > Search > People Query. The People Query Builder appears.
- Select your search criteria from the Field Search parameters. If necessary, combine different statements together to get the results you desire.
- Click Run. A list of search results appears.
- Do one of the following:
- Select the check box in the header bar to select all individuals included in your search results listing
- Select check boxes beside specific individuals
- Click the actions gear at the bottom of the search results list and click Add to group...
- Do one of the following:
- Select an available list to add selected individuals to an existing list
- Select Add to a new group... to add the individuals to a brand new group. Type a name for your group in the Give the group a name text box
- Click Add. The individuals are added to the group. The selected group is now your active group and will appear just beneath the People Search field.
Still another easy way to create a group is to use the vast resources of the Report Library. Many reports combine complex logic together to create a list of people; logic that would be very hard, if not impossible, to recreate using People Query. The good news is that many reports offer the ability to create the list of people as a group! These groups are temporary, but can be moved to a permanent group very easily.
To create a temporary group
- Click Reports to open the Report Library. The Report Library will open in a new window/tab. Your saved reports will display by default.
- Click the FT Reports tab option. A list of tags appears that allows you to narrow the focus of the reports you want to see.
- Click one of the tags in the middle of the page to narrow reports down to a particular area of Fellowship One. These reports will appear and the Find by Tags list on the right side of the screen also narrows.
- Click the Temporary Group tag to display all reports that have the option to export to a temporary group. You may continue to click tags at will until you see a report you want to run.
- Click on the name of report to display its filters.
- Select Temporary Group from the Choose an Output Type drop-down list (this is typically the last filter on the page).
- Click Run Report. The report will begin processing and you will be redirected to the Queue.
- You can click the Refresh for latest results option until your report has finished running.
To view your temporary group after your report has completed
- Back in Fellowship One, click Groups > Groups by Group Type > View All in the menu options. Your groups will display.
- Click Temporary and your new group will appear.
- Click the name of the group to see all the members.
If you want to transform this group into a permanent group, simply select the check box in the header bar to select all individuals. Next, click the actions gear at the bottom of the list and select Add to group - either choose to add the people to an existing group or create a brand new group!