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Church admins schedule 6 min read Updated Jun 14, 2026
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Settings & Security

Configure church identity, member access, payments, communications, and security from dedicated setup pages.

Church-Ops Africa Settings Guide

This guide explains how church administrators should configure branding, access, communications, giving, and member experience inside Church-Ops Africa.

The Settings Center is now organized as a guided hub with dedicated setup pages instead of one long all-in-one form. That means each major area can be managed more carefully on desktop and mobile, and the public documentation can stay aligned with the live product.

The core settings pages are:

  • Identity & Branding for church profile, logo, portal install icon, color palette, contact details, and public links.
  • Member App & Website for portal access, self-registration, reminders, and handoff into the Portal Builder and Website Builder.
  • Access & 2FA for account protection policy and links into Access Control.
  • Finance & Payments for currency, giving language, finance contact lines, Mobile Money details, and Fapshi setup.
  • Communications & WhatsApp for sender identity, message header styling, WA Bridge connection details, and campaign pacing defaults.

Table of Contents

  1. Open the Settings Center
  2. Identity & Branding
  3. Member App & Website
  4. Access & 2FA
  5. Finance & Payments
  6. Communications & WhatsApp
  7. Related Setup Workspaces
  8. Common Configuration Mistakes

1. Open the Settings Center

From the church admin dashboard, open Settings Center.

The landing page is now a settings hub. Instead of editing everything at once, choose the exact setup area you want to work on.

This structure is safer because it:

  • reduces accidental edits to unrelated settings
  • keeps mobile setup clearer for church staff
  • makes documentation easier to match to the real product
  • keeps ministry, finance, and communications work easier to review

2. Identity & Branding

Open Settings Center > Identity & Branding to shape how the church appears across the admin workspace, member portal, installs, and public site.

This page includes:

  • Church Name
  • Lead Pastor or Church Lead
  • Short Welcome Line
  • Welcome Message
  • Church Logo
  • Member Portal Install Icon
  • Primary and Support Colors
  • City, Country, and Address
  • Church WhatsApp Number
  • Service Times
  • Church Email
  • Website and Social Links
  • Language and Timezone

Best practices

  • Use a square logo with transparent background when possible.
  • Keep the welcome line short and memorable.
  • Use a clear install icon so the member portal feels like a church-owned app.
  • Make sure service times and contact details match the live website.

3. Member App & Website

Open Settings Center > Member App & Website to control member access and the overall entry flow.

This page includes:

  • Member App Is Open
  • Allow Self-Registration
  • Birthday Reminders
  • Follow-Up Alerts
  • Devotional Comment Alerts

It also points to the richer visual workspaces:

  • Portal Builder for member-facing app presentation
  • Website Builder for public marketing pages and church website content

When to open the member app

Open the member app only after:

  • branding is in place
  • login flow is working
  • the church is ready to support members using the portal
  • giving and communications settings are reviewed if those features will be live

Devotional comment approval flow

If someone requests portal access from a public devotional conversation:

  • the request can create a pending member account even when open self-registration is off
  • church admins can review those requests inside Access Control
  • devotional comments and replies should stay limited to approved church-linked accounts

4. Access & 2FA

Open Settings Center > Access & 2FA to define the church's minimum account protection policy.

This page lets you require Two-Factor Authentication for:

  • Church Owners
  • Administrators
  • Other Staff
  • Members

Use this page together with Access Control, which remains the main workspace for:

  • inviting staff users
  • assigning roles
  • reviewing permissions
  • protecting sensitive ministry and finance access

At minimum, require 2FA for:

  • church owners
  • administrators
  • anyone handling finance, children, communications, or sensitive member data

5. Finance & Payments

Open Settings Center > Finance & Payments to manage the church's money context and online giving setup.

This page includes:

  • Currency
  • Fiscal Year Start
  • Giving Title
  • Receipt Note
  • Finance WhatsApp Number
  • MTN Mobile Money Number
  • Orange Money Number
  • Giving Note to Share

If your church uses online collections, the same page also includes Fapshi settings:

  • Enable Fapshi
  • Phone Payment Prompts
  • Hosted Checkout
  • Environment
  • Default Country Code
  • Fapshi Service User
  • Fapshi Secret Key
  • Webhook Link

Before going live

Before enabling live online giving:

  • confirm the environment is correct
  • verify the church's merchant details
  • test the giving flow end to end
  • confirm the finance team understands receipt wording and reconciliation expectations

6. Communications & WhatsApp

Open Settings Center > Communications & WhatsApp to manage church outreach identity and the connected WhatsApp line.

This page includes:

  • Message Sign-Off
  • Church Message Sender Name
  • Optional Message Header Image
  • WA Bridge Enabled
  • Connected WhatsApp Number
  • Device Name
  • Friendly Display Name
  • Base URL
  • Incoming Webhook URL
  • API Key Fields
  • Default Country Code
  • Campaign Delay and Pacing Defaults

Important distinction

  • Acceptance by WA Bridge is not final delivery
  • final delivery still depends on the connected WhatsApp session and provider behavior

Best practices

  • Use a sender name members recognize immediately.
  • Keep header images clean and ministry-appropriate.
  • Start with slower campaign pacing if the church is sending larger batches.
  • Keep church-owned credentials separate from platform-level credentials.

Some settings connect to dedicated workspaces instead of staying inside one form.

Portal Builder

Use this when you want to shape:

  • member portal layout
  • cards and shortcuts
  • church-owned app feel
  • portal presentation details
  • approved portal integrations such as Jotform AI agents, Calendly, or support widgets

Portal integrations are intentionally guarded. Church-Ops renders only HTTPS scripts or iframes from supported providers, and ignores inline JavaScript or unknown script domains so member devices are not exposed to unsafe pasted code.

If a floating provider icon overlaps the member portal bottom navigation, adjust the integration's mobile dock settings. Admins can choose the side and set horizontal padding from the side. The vertical setting adds extra space above the member portal nav bar so the widget does not cover Home, Chat, Giving, Alerts, or More.

Website Builder

Use this when you want to shape:

  • public pages
  • marketing sections
  • church forms
  • live website content

Access Control

Use this when you want to:

  • invite staff
  • revoke access
  • assign roles
  • review permissions for sensitive areas

8. Common Configuration Mistakes

Warning Wrong payment environment: Using test credentials with live collections, or live credentials with test mode, will break giving flows.

Caution Opening self-registration too early: If self-registration is enabled before the church is ready, the member directory may fill with accounts before review processes are in place.

Important Unsynced public identity: If service times, links, or contact details are changed in settings, make sure the same information is still correct on the live website experience.

Tip Use the hub intentionally: Move through one settings page at a time instead of trying to reconfigure the whole church in one pass.