Overview

GoDoChurch comes preloaded with default settings making it easy to use right out the box. There are a few modules, however, that require some setting up to work properly. This article explains how to do that.

You can access the settings panel by clicking Settings >> Database Settings in the main menu. Each of the headings below corresponds to one of the tabs in the Database Settings module. 

When you are done updating each section, press Save Settings before moving on to the next section.

General

Church name: This is the name of your church that will be used in email and other correspondence sent out of GoDoChurch.

Church Website: A link to your church's own website

Mapped account profile: When your database was created we asked you for your church's email address and telephone number. This info is stored in your Mapped account profile. If you want to change this info click View next to the mapped account profile text box. Remember to click Update when you are done.

Organisation: By default, trial databases are assigned to the organisation called 'Trial' and independent churches will be assigned to their own organisation with the same name as their church.

Require people to have an email address: This setting determines whether a profile needs to have an email address to be added to the system. Having this checked is preferable as it minimises the chances of duplicates and makes it much easier to contact people using the email features in GoDoChurch. But if you are part of a church where many people do not have an email address then you can uncheck this. Note: by default children added to families do not need email addresses. Read Different Ways of Adding People to GoDoChurch for more info about which setting is right for your church.

Check for account duplicates: his setting determines whether the system will check for duplicate entries when you try to add a person to the system. We highly recommend leaving this on.

Default News Channel: Set the channel that people are automatically added to when they are added to your database.

Social Media Handles: Copy the link from your Facebook Page, your Youtube Channel, your Twitter profile and paste each link in the relevant field. This will show in the 'My Church' section on the mobile app if you have the app activated on your account.

Google CalendarID: Link your church Google Calendar to show on your mobile app.

Vision/Images

Banner image: This image is used on the mobile app, and on some of the online sign-in pages. Upload a banner with your church logo or name on it.

Icon image: The icon image should be square, not too big, and be your churches icon image. It is used inside the app in a few places.

Vision and Values section: Use this section to record your churches vision and values. This info is displayed inside the mobile app.

Groups

Region Settings

Regions work like pastorates or ministry areas. The regions settings work hand-in-hand with the Follow Up and Groups modules. Regions provide you with a powerful way to geographically group your follow up and small group data. You can, for example, create a Southern Suburbs region and have all groups in the Southern suburbs placed in that region. Or if someone from the Southern suburbs area needs to be followed up, you can assign them to the point person for that region. Doing so allows you to draw reports at a later stage that relate specifically to that region. You can read all about how to set up regions here: Setting up regions.

Age profile

Every church is made up of different age profiles, whether these are youth, young adults, or married couples. Use the Age profile settings to set the default age profiles for your database. Age profiles are set up in the Settings module, but used in the Follow Up module, Groups module, and to draw reports.

The help file Setting age profiles explains how to customise the profiles for your church.

Email Server

Every database is preconfigured to send email. No setup is required. You can, however, change the 'reply to' address and 'name of sender' fields.

From email: When users reply to any email sent from your database, this is the email address that the reply will be sent to.

From Display Name: This is the name that users will see in their inbox indicating who the email is from.

NB: remember to click Save if you edit these details.

SMS Settings

Every database comes preconfigured to send SMSes and loaded with 50 free SMSes. Our SMS rates are very competitive, and if you would like to buy more you can do so on this page.

MailChimp

GoDoChurch allows you to connect your MailChimp account with your database, allowing you to 1) sync mailing lists in the News module with your mailing lists in MailChimp, and 2) use email templates you create in MailChimp Campaigns in the Messaging feature.

All you need is a special code MailChimp provides you; called your API key. Once you have signed up for a Mailchimp account, you can read all about how to find your API key here (don't worry, MailChimp makes this really easy for you).

Once you have your key, enter it into the text field in the MailChimp settings tab under Settings, and click Save. That's it! You are good to go!

Bank accounts

Use this section to add bank account info so GoDoChurch can pay your church proceeds from online event ticket sales.

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