Managing Families


This tutorial will explain how to: 1) connect profiles into a family-unit, and 2) add parents, dependents, and children to that unit.
 

Overview of Families

The information captured in the Family tab serves two purposes: 1) it allows you to keep track of family relations in your church, and 2) it works hand-in-hand with the Kids Church module. We highly recommend setting up family units because without them you will not be able to use the Kids Church module effectively.

 

Terminology

  • Family Unit - refers to a group of people connected in GoDoChurch as a family.
  • Primary Contact - refers to the parent who is to be contacted should the Kids Church ministry need to contact the family.
  • Role - refers to the role a person plays in a family. There are only two options: 'Parent' and 'Dependant'.
  • Dependant - usually refers to a teenager (12 years or older), and occasionally a grandparent. Dependants are old enough to have their own profile in GoDoChurch, and no longer go to Kids Church.
  • Child - refers to a child who has been added to a family unit, but who is not old enough to have a profile in GoDoChurch.


Why children don't have profiles in GoDoChurch

This is purely for security reasons. The fact that minors do not have a profile in GoDoChurch limits access to their personal information via the app. But it also means you cannot search for a minor in GoDoChurch as you would an adult or teenager (dependent). The only way to access a minor's information is by viewing the family unit, and via the Kids Church module.


Who can create families

Families can only be created on the admin system and not on the mobile app, by someone who has an Executive level or higher permission level.  Below are the instructions on how to create a family and add children id you are a church admin.

TIP: There are ways that you can get the parents to add children to their profiles. Please click this help file for more tips on ways to add Kids to a family unit.

How to create a family unit

  • You create a family unit by connecting two or more profiles together into a family unit.

  • Begin by searching for just one member of the family and opening up their profile.

  • Once their profile is open, click the Family tab at the top of the profile.

     

  • GoDoChurch automatically creates a family unit called [last name] household. You can change this name if you like.

  • Next, add a second family member by entering the family's last name into the text box labelled 'Search for existing person'. This will display all people in the system who have that last name.

  • Select the person to be added to this family unit.

  • Set the Role of each family member. Note: the system default is 'Parent'. If the family does not yet have any children you can simply leave their role as 'Parent'. If the family member is a dependent, set them to 'Dependent'.

  • Only set Primary contact if the family has children. The primary contact is the parent who ought to be contacted by Kids Church workers in case of an emergency.

  • That's it! These profiles are now connected in GoDoChurch as a family.

  • NB. Remember to click Save.


A note on adding dependents to a family unit

We define a dependant as a teenager who is old enough to have their own profile in GoDoChurch and who is no longer involved in the Kids Church ministry. A dependent can also be a grandparent living with the family. We recommend adding children younger than 12 to the family unit as children. See the section below for notes on how to do this.


How to add children to a family

  • Open the Family tab in a profile.

  • Scroll down to the Children section and click Add New Child.

  • This will open a page where you can add the info for the new child.

  • Fill in all the relevant info and click Done.

  • The child will now appear in the Children section of that family. 

  • To edit a child's info click the Edit button next to their name.

TIP: To save some time, create the Kids Church Classes in the Kids Church module before you add children to families. This way you can add the child to the correct class when you add them to the family.


Please click this help file for more tips on how to add Kids to a family unit.