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Church admins schedule 16 min read Updated Jun 15, 2026
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Admin Workspace

Manage members, households, attendance, offline desk workflows, finance, recurring events, and daily church administration.

Admin User Guide - Church-Ops Africa Management Workspace

Welcome to the admin management workspace guide. This manual provides step-by-step instructions for church administrators, pastors, and church office staff to run daily administrative operations.

Table of Contents

  1. Logging In to the Workspace
  2. Dashboard Navigation & Metrics Overview
  3. Managing Members & Households
  4. Visitor Intake & Follow-up Workflows
  5. Attendance Management
  6. Finance & Giving Rollups
  7. Communications Hub (SMS, WhatsApp, Email)
  8. Events & Calendars
  9. Ministries, Departments & Volunteers
  10. Tasks Manager & Assignment Workflow
  11. Custom Lists & Workflows
  12. Website Customization & Visual Customizer
  13. User Roles, Permissions & Security Guardrails

1. Logging In to the Workspace

Church administrators and pastors access the system through the staff login screen.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Navigate to the staff login URL: /login.
  2. Input your registered administrative email address and password.
  3. If Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is enabled for your account:
    • Check your authenticated device or email for the secure 6-digit OTP code.
    • Enter the OTP on the validation screen.
  4. Click Login to enter the workspace.

Visual note: Admin Staff login screen showing email, password, and OTP fields Warning Do not use shared login credentials. Every administrator, pastor, and treasurer must have their own account so that actions are tracked in the audit trail.

2. Dashboard Navigation & Metrics Overview

Upon logging in, you are greeted by the main Admin Dashboard, summarizing active memberships, monthly finances, upcoming events, and pending follow-ups.

The left sidebar contains the main sections of the system:

  • Church Intelligence: Natural language chat tool to query statistics, documents, and operational summaries. It runs in local safe mode by default and can optionally refine grounded answers with a configured AI provider.
  • People: Members, guests, and families.
  • Attendance: Event-based usher check-ins and guest capture.
  • Finance: Overview, transactions, expenses, budget, and categories.
  • Offline Desk: Local-first attendance, guest capture, and giving intake for weak-network environments.
  • Assets & Facilities: Inventory, facility readiness, equipment custody, and maintenance tracking.
  • Outreach Center: Smart composer, outreach opportunities, campaign queue, and campaign composer.
  • Communication Hub: Inbox/conversations, Template Studio, Signature Studio, and Outbox & History.
  • Website Builder: Edit public pages, forms, and publishing details.
  • Portal Builder: Shape the member-facing experience.
  • Settings Center: Manage branding, payments, WA Bridge, access, and member app policy.

Visual note: Admin Dashboard showing main sidebar, quick action cards, and stats charts

3. Managing Members & Households

The People Directory tracks member data, households, and spiritual growth journeys.

Step 1: Adding a Member

  1. Navigate to People Directory > Members on the sidebar.
  2. Click the Add Member button at the top right of the table.
  3. Fill in the profile fields:
    • First Name & Last Name (required).
    • Phone & WhatsApp Number (important for communication).
    • Quarter/Neighborhood and Home Village, or the local geographic fields your church uses.
    • Membership Status: Set as Active, Associate, or Candidate.
  4. Click Save Member.

Step 2: Creating a Family/Household

To avoid separating parents and children, group members into households:

  1. Navigate to People Directory > Families.
  2. Click New Family.
  3. Set the Family Name using the household surname or another clear family label.
  4. Add members to the household and assign roles (e.g., Head of Household, Spouse, Child).
  5. Save the household records.

Step 3: Applying Bulk Actions To Member Records

Church-Ops supports safe bulk updates from both the member directory and Smart List results.

  1. Open People Directory > Members when you want to work from the full directory, or open a Smart List from Automations > Custom Lists & Workflows when you want to work from a live segment.
  2. Select the people you want to change.
  3. Choose the bulk action you need. Depending on permissions, Church-Ops supports:
    • Update status
    • Assign household or Clear household
    • Add tag or Remove tag
    • Add to group or Remove from group
    • Add to ministry or Remove from ministry
    • Mark baptized or Clear baptism
    • Enable communion or Pause communion
    • Move to children
  4. When working from a Smart List, decide whether to update only the selected members or the entire current list snapshot.
  5. Apply the action. Church-Ops records the update in the audit trail for each affected member.

Tip Sorting families by the location field your church uses makes it easier to assign cell groups, visitation routes, and targeted care follow-up.

4. Visitor Intake & Follow-up Workflows

First-time visitors are the lifespans of church growth. Follow-ups ensure they feel welcomed.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Navigate to People Directory > Guests/Visitors.
  2. Click Record New Visitor.
  3. Record the guest's contact details, address, invitation source, service attended, decision, and any prayer or counseling need.
  4. In Follow-up Assignment, choose Church staff for pastors, leaders, and system users, or switch to Church member when a trusted member should handle the care. Each group has its own searchable picker, so staff are not buried inside the full member directory. The member picker shows portal-ready members because the caregiver must sign in and accept before sensitive guest details unlock.
  5. Choose a delivery channel and either a reusable message template or the secure Church-Ops default.
  6. Save the guest. Church-Ops creates a private task due exactly 24 hours later and sends the assignment through the selected channel, with normal channel fallback when the preferred channel is unavailable.
  7. The caregiver opens the task and selects Accept assignment. Contact details, address, invitation source, and prayer or counseling notes remain protected until acceptance.
  8. After acceptance, the task becomes a complete guest care brief with call, WhatsApp, and email actions plus the visit, decision, membership-interest, and follow-up context.
  9. The caregiver records progress and submits a completion report so the church retains an auditable follow-up history.

Important Guest contact and pastoral-care details are intentionally hidden from external message previews. They unlock only inside the authenticated member portal after the assigned caregiver accepts the task.

5. Attendance Management

Tracks attendance across worship services, bible studies, and children's ministries.

Taking Attendance Manual Check-in

  1. Open Attendance.
  2. Select the active service or event.
  3. Search for the member's name and click Check In.

Guest Check-in

  1. Switch the desk to Guest mode.
  2. Enter the guest's name.
  3. Click Check In Guest.

Using the Offline Desk

  1. Open Offline Desk before a service, outreach, or finance session in a poor-network area.
  2. Click Refresh offline data while connected so the device stores the latest members, events, and giving categories.
  3. Record attendance, guest cards, or giving intake inside the desk while offline.
  4. Click Sync queued work when the device reconnects.

Important Offline giving intake is review-only at first. It must be approved in the finance review queue before it counts as completed income.

6. Finance & Giving Rollups

The Finance workspace coordinates giving categories, MoMo records, and approved expenses.

Recording Offline Giving

  1. Go to Finance > Transactions.
  2. Click Record Inflow.
  3. Select Member (or type Guest name), giving category, amount, and payment method.
  4. Click Save.

Reviewing Offline Giving Intake

  1. Open Finance > Offline Review.
  2. Review pending entries that were captured from the Offline Desk.
  3. Approve entries that match the church's physical records.
  4. Reject entries that need correction or should not become completed income.

Approving Expenses

  1. Go to Finance > Expenses.
  2. Review spending entries and current status.
  3. Update or correct records as needed for accurate auditing and reporting.

7. Communications Hub (WhatsApp-First Outreach)

Enables bulk communication to the congregation.

Sending a Campaign

  1. Go to Outreach Center.
  2. Click Campaign Composer.
  3. Choose the preferred channel available for your church.
  4. Set targets such as All Active Members, Choir, or selected members.
  5. Type the message and add any CTA link or signature.
  6. Queue the campaign and review delivery status.

WhatsApp Integrations

  1. Open Settings Center > Communications & WhatsApp.
  2. Confirm the church sender profile and WA Bridge details are saved correctly.
  3. Use the two communication workspaces intentionally:
    • Outreach Center for Smart Composer, Opportunities Queue, Campaigns Queue, and Campaign Composer
    • Communication Hub for Inbox / Conversations, Template Studio, Signature Studio, and Outbox & History

8. Events & Calendars

Schedule services, youth rallies, choir retreats, multi-day gatherings, and recurring ministry programs.

Creating an Event

  1. Go to Events > Calendar.
  2. Click Add Event.
  3. Input: Title, Category (for example, Public or Ministry Only), Start Date, optional End Date, Time, and Venue.
  4. For a recurring program, choose the repeat frequency, interval, and repeat-until date. Church-Ops creates individual occurrences so attendance stays accurate for each date.
  5. If this is a church highlight, mark it as a Featured Event.
  6. Choose who should receive the automated reminder, then set the lead interval and optional send time.
  7. Set Is Public = Yes if this should display on the member portal and public website.
  8. Click Save Event.
  • Use days or weeks when you want a clean reminder window like "2 days before at 8:00 AM".
  • Use hours when the exact distance from the event start matters more than a specific clock time.
  • Leave the reminder send time blank if you want Church-Ops to use the event start time, or 8:00 AM when the event has no start time.

9. Ministries, Departments & Volunteers

Organizes departments (Ushers, Choir, Youth) and coordinates volunteer shifts.

Steps to Assign a Volunteer Shift

  1. Go to Volunteers or Service Planning.
  2. Select a team (e.g., Ushers Team).
  3. Click Schedule Shift.
  4. Choose the target event, select the assigned member, and set the shift times.
  5. Save the shift. The member will receive a notification in their portal.

Worship Planning Song Folders

  • Team member dropdowns are roster-based. Add members to the team roster before assigning them to that team's shifts.
  • Song-related service plan items can include one or more songs, but printed run sheets show only the service item name and operational notes.
  • When a service plan is published, assigned volunteers receive a private song folder link for the songs tied to their own assigned items.
  • Use Share full song folder with during publishing when worship leaders, pastors, media, or other approved people should receive the full service song packet.
  • Use Share Offline on a service plan to send a time-limited mobile run sheet. Recipients open it once while connected and tap Save offline so the order of service remains available when connectivity drops.
  • Shared mobile run sheets include the service flow, timing, leads, and useful cues, but deliberately exclude song folders and private team notes.

10. Tasks Manager & Assignment Workflow

Tasks help the church office turn follow-up needs into accountable work with a clear response trail.

Creating and Assigning a Task

  1. Open Tasks Manager.
  2. Click Create Task.
  3. Add a clear title, instructions, due date, priority, and assignee.
  4. Add contact details when the task involves a person or household. Standard-priority contact details stay locked in the member portal until the assignee accepts the task; high-priority tasks show contact details immediately.
  5. Save the task. Church-Ops opens the task detail page and sends the assignee a task notification using the preferred channel.

Managing the Task Detail Page

  1. Open any task from Tasks Manager using Open Details.
  2. Review assignment status, due date, assignee, household context, contact details, notification history, and audit trail.
  3. Use the action buttons to mark the task in progress, completed, cancelled, or to edit the assignment.
  4. Review assignee responses in the Assignee Response section when a task is declined or completed.

Member Portal Flow

  1. The assignee opens the task from the member portal or notification.
  2. Pending tasks can be accepted or declined with a required reason.
  3. Accepted tasks can be marked In Progress.
  4. Completed tasks require a completion report.
  5. Admins receive in-app notifications when the assignee accepts, starts, declines, or completes a task.

Recurring task schedules can create repeated daily, weekly, or monthly assignments. Use recurring tasks for predictable ministry operations such as weekly facility checks, roster reminders, or follow-up routines.

10A. Prayer Wall and Pastoral Care Communication

Prayer requests and pastoral-care records use an accountable care communication lifecycle so sensitive needs do not remain silently unassigned.

  1. A new prayer request immediately alerts authorized care-team users. Urgent requests are clearly prioritized, while sensitive request text stays out of notification previews.
  2. When a prayer request is assigned or handed off, Church-Ops creates a secure care task for the new caregiver. The caregiver must accept the task before the full prayer-care brief becomes visible.
  3. Choose the assignment delivery channel when assigning prayer care or pastoral-case ownership. Church-Ops tries the selected channel first, then uses the configured safe fallback channels when it is unavailable.
  4. Previous caregivers are notified when ownership moves, and their older open assignment is closed so responsibility remains clear.
  5. Editing a care case does not automatically change its caregiver. Select Update assignee and notify only when ownership should be refreshed, reassigned, or returned to the open queue.
  6. Pastoral appointment requests notify the selected pastor and send the member a receipt confirmation. Members receive another update when the appointment status changes.
  7. Care tasks approaching their deadlines generate reminders. Overdue urgent assignments are escalated to authorized care supervisors for reassignment or intervention.
  8. Prayer Wall categories are managed from the Prayer Wall so prayer intake, guest prayer-care records, and Prayer Wall filters use the same church-approved list.
  9. Prayer requests can be dispatched to a prayer team as individual alerts, to selected members, or to a team/group chat. Group-chat dispatch posts only a safe prayer summary; protected contact details and counseling context stay inside authorized care views.
  10. Guest-linked prayer requests can be selected into one guest prayer digest for team prayer without sending multiple scattered messages.
  11. Use the Prayer Wall care history and Pastoral Care member timeline to preserve handoff notes, follow-up records, and outcomes without exposing them in external message previews.

Important Prayer requests, counseling needs, and pastoral records are confidential. Only assign care to authorized church workers, and never copy sensitive details into public announcements, ordinary group chats, or open prayer without the requester’s permission.

11. Custom Lists & Workflows

Custom Lists and Custom Workflows work together, but they are not the same feature.

How They Relate

  • Custom Lists are live member segments. They answer who qualifies, such as active youth, inactive members, leaders, or members who need follow-up.
  • Workflow Triggers answer when Church-Ops should check something, such as when a member, guest, attendance check-in, event, giving, expense, prayer request, pastoral visit, task, form submission, child check-in, service plan, or volunteer shift is created or updated.
  • Workflow Conditions decide whether the workflow should continue. They can check fields on the trigger record, or, when a related member exists, check whether that member is in a Custom List.
  • Workflow Actions decide what happens next, such as notifying staff, assigning a worker, creating a follow-up task, sending a saved communication template to the related member, changing a status, marking a prayer request urgent, tagging a member, or adding a member to a group or ministry.
  • List Refreshes record who entered or left a Custom List. Entry and exit movement can trigger its own workflow, which is useful for pastoral follow-up lists like "Absent Three Weeks" or "Needs Membership Class".

Creating a Custom List

  1. Open Automations > Custom Lists & Workflows.
  2. Click Create List.
  3. Name the list clearly, such as "Youth Members" or "Members Needing Follow-Up".
  4. Choose a ministry category, match behavior, related-household option, and refresh rhythm.
  5. Add member criteria, then save the list. Church-Ops shows easier value controls where possible, such as date pickers for dates, number fields for amounts or counts, and dropdowns for known statuses.
  6. Use View members to confirm the list is matching the expected people.
  7. Use Refresh List to update the snapshot. Church-Ops records how many people matched, entered, remained, or left.

List Refresh And Safety Controls

  • Use Pause Automations when changing list strategy or reviewing a sensitive list. Refresh will still update membership, but no list-entry or list-exit actions will fire.
  • The list detail page shows snapshot movement, including active and exited members.
  • The custom automation dashboard shows recent execution history with statuses such as success, skipped, pending, or failed.
  • For list-owned workflows, use Apply Current only when you intentionally want to run that workflow for everyone currently matching the list.

Creating a Custom Workflow

  1. Open Automations > Custom Lists & Workflows.
  2. Click Create Workflow.
  3. Choose the trigger event first. The builder explains what record the workflow is watching.
  4. Add optional conditions. Leave conditions empty if the workflow should run for every trigger record.
  5. Use Field Match to check the trigger record itself.
  6. Use Related Member is in Custom List only when the trigger can safely resolve to a member profile, such as member, attendance, giving, prayer, pastoral visit, task, or volunteer shift workflows.
  7. For list-entry/list-exit workflows, attach the Custom List that owns the workflow.
  8. Add one or more actions and save the workflow.
  9. When you choose Send Member Communication Template, select one of the reusable church templates managed in Communication Hub. Church-Ops fills placeholders like member name and church name, then sends through the template's preferred channel.

Trigger Coverage

The workflow builder groups triggers by ministry area so admins can choose the right operational moment without typing technical codes.

  • Lists & Follow-Up: person enters a Custom List and person leaves a Custom List.
  • People & Membership: member created, member updated, guest registered, and guest updated.
  • Attendance & Gatherings: attendance check-in recorded, event created, and event updated.
  • Finance & Stewardship: giving recorded, giving updated, expense recorded, and expense updated.
  • Care & Discipleship: prayer request submitted, prayer request updated, pastoral visit logged, and pastoral visit updated.
  • Tasks & Operations: task created and task updated.
  • Forms & Public Intake: form submission received and form submission updated.
  • Children & Safety: child check-in recorded and child check-in updated.
  • Worship & Volunteers: service plan created, service plan updated, volunteer shift scheduled, and volunteer shift updated.

Updated triggers ignore timestamp-only saves and include loop protection, so a workflow action that updates the same record does not keep retriggering itself.

Starting a Workflow From a Custom List

  1. Open Automations > Custom Lists & Workflows.
  2. Click Workflow beside a Custom List, or open the list and click Create Workflow.
  3. Church-Ops opens the workflow builder with that list attached and the default trigger set to Person Enters a Custom List.
  4. Add optional field checks, choose the action to run, and save.
  5. If needed, use Apply Current to run the new list workflow for members already matching the list today.

Taking Action On Smart List Results

Smart Lists are not only for observation. They can now serve as an operational workbench.

  1. Open any Smart List and review the matched member roster.
  2. Select a few members, or explicitly choose Apply to all members in this list when the entire current segment needs the same update.
  3. Run the same bulk member actions available in the directory, including status updates, household assignment, and tag cleanup.
  4. Refresh the list afterward if the action changes criteria that affect who should remain in the segment.

Important Guest, event, expense, form, child check-in, and service-plan workflows use their own fields. Custom Lists are member segments, so they are available only where Church-Ops can safely identify a related member.

Reusable Communication Templates

  • Reusable templates can now be saved with or without a manual template name.
  • If the name is left blank, Church-Ops generates one from the message title so staff can save templates faster.
  • The same reusable template library is managed in Communication Hub and used by Outreach Center, campaign compose, and workflow communication actions.

12. Website Customization & Visual Customizer

Builds the public-facing church website.

Editing Pages in Website Customizer

  1. Go to Website Builder.
  2. Choose page (e.g., Home) and click Edit Page.
  3. Edit title text, hero content, dynamic sections, and forms.
  4. Click Publish Page to apply the changes to your public domain.

Preparing Church Forms

  1. Open Forms from the church admin workspace.
  2. Choose the connected module for the form.
  3. Use the visual field builder to add questions, choice lists, helper text, and required fields.
  4. Turn on Show on website for forms that should appear on public pages.
  5. Turn on Show in member portal for forms that members should open inside the church portal.
  6. Use the built-in sharing area to copy the public website link, copy the member portal link, or display the QR code for either route.
  7. Share the portal link when the form is intended for signed-in members, and share the public link when the form is meant for guests or the wider community.

13. User Roles, Permissions & Security Guardrails

Protects church trust by limiting data access.

User Roles Hierarchy

  • Platform Owner: Global control.
  • Church Admin: Full management of the church tenant workspace.
  • Pastor: Full access to directories, counseling notes, sermons. No finance access.
  • Finance Officer: Full giving/expense tracking. No counseling/visitor notes.
  • Volunteer / Usher: Attendance check-in only.
  • Member: Access to member portal only.

Setting Permissions

  1. Open Access Control from the admin workspace.
  2. Select a Role and check/uncheck permission checkboxes (e.g., view_giving, intelligence.chat).
  3. Click Update Permissions.

Important Security Guardrail: Do not assign finance permissions to general staff members. Only Finance Officers and Church Admins should see financial statistics.