Sending SMS and Push Notifications


Communicating with your congregation is one of GoDoChurch’s strengths, and we have made it simple and easy.

How SMSing from GoDoChurch works

The moment you start using GoDoChurch you can send SMSes to the people in your database. There is zero set-up required. The SMS will be sent from a custom telephone number (not your or your church's telephone number). All replies will be delivered as emails to the email address of the person who sent the SMS.

Note: please read this help article for a list of the countries we currently support with our SMS service. We are adding many other countries soon, so if you are not from SA please contact us and we will fast-track SMS support for your nation.


Sending an SMS to just one person

  • Click the menu button (top left).

  • Click Communication >> Messaging >> Step 1: Choose People.

  • Choose Individual from the drop-down menu and click Next.

  • Enter the name of the person in the Enter name of person field.

  • Click Next.

  • Select SMS from the menu.

  • Enter the message to be sent and click Send.


And there you go!


Sending SMSes to a group of people


To send SMSes to a group of people you first need to select those people. There are three ways you can do this:

  1. From the Messaging module, manually add multiple people, the same as messaging an individual, except that you add more names to the list when choosing who you want to SMS. Once you have selected all the people, follow the same steps you would to send a single SMS.

  2. From the Lists/Ministries/Church Roles/Growth Path module, open a custom list you would like to SMS, and then click Send Message.

  3. From the Search module, run a search, then click Selected People >> Select all >> Send message. 


Using merge and links

With GoDoChurch you can personalise each SMS that you send out. All you need to do is add the place holder text - [name] - into your message and GoDoChurch will automatically replace [name] with the name of the person receiving the SMS.

Here is an example: "Hello [name], don't forget to register for the conference!"

The merge feature works with both single SMSes and group SMSes.

Another useful feature is adding links to SMSes. Our Events module allows you to have people sign up for events online, so including the link to the registration page in an SMS is a useful way of encouraging people to sign-up. Links can be a bit long for an SMS, so you might want to use a service like bitly.com to shorten the length of your link.


Can people reply to an SMS sent from GoDoChurch?

Yes, people can reply to SMSes sent from GoDoChurch. All replies will be delivered as emails to the email address of the person who sent the SMS.

We have a comprehensive FAQ about SMSes. Please read that for more info.


Sending Push Notifications

To send a push notification you follow exactly the same steps outlined above, except that you choose Push Notifications instead of SMS in the Messaging module when choosing what kind of message you want to send.

Push notifications are just like SMSes in that they appear as short messages on a person's phone, and they are limited to 160 characters. They differ from SMS in that the only cost of sending a push is the data, which is so small it borders on being free.

There is one other important difference between an SMS and a push notification: SMSes can be sent to anyone who has a cellphone number, but only people who have downloaded the GoDoChurch Mobile app can receive push notifications. Because of this, we recommend you only use push notifications once you have begun to out-roll the GoDoChurch mobile app in your church.

Don't worry though, if you do send a push notification to someone who does not have the app we will make sure they get it by sending it to them in an email if you have ticked the 'Send an email invite to any recipients who have not registered the mobile application on their handset. This will be done automatically for you'. 


Buying more SMSes

Every database comes preloaded with 50 free SMSes.

Please read this help article for more info on how to purchase SMSes online. Only administrator-level profiles can buy SMSes.