Kinds of group

Not every group is a small group. A church may also run classes, support groups and teams. Kinds of group let Trellis treat them differently: which ones are listed on Find a group, and which ones follow up on visitors. Admins keep the list of kinds. Office staff choose each group's kind.

The kinds you start with

A new church starts with four:

• Small group: on Find a group, follows up on visitors, and the default for new groups.
• Class: on Find a group.
• Support group: not on Find a group.
• Team: not on Find a group.

Rename them, remove them or add your own.

Change the list

Admins open Groups, then Settings, and find Kinds of group. Each kind shows how many groups are in it.

• Rename: type the new name in its box. It saves when you leave the box or press Enter.
• Add: type a name in the box at the bottom, like "Men’s breakfast", and press Add. A name can be up to 40 characters.
• On Find a group: tick it to list this kind's groups on Find a group.
• Follows up on visitors: tick it to keep a visitor list for this kind's groups.
• Make default: new groups start as this kind.
• Remove: its groups move to the default kind. Trellis asks first. The default kind can't be removed, so make another the default first.

What a kind changes

Find a group

A kind that isn't on Find a group is joined through the office. Its groups aren't listed, and nobody can ask to join them there. Use this for groups like a support group, where someone should talk to a person first.

Following up on visitors

Where a kind follows up on visitors, a guest who comes or asks to join goes on the group's visitor list with a follow-up date, and shows on the leader's list when it's due. These groups have a Visitors tab. See Visitors.

Where it doesn't, guests are kept as guests of the group until a leader adds them to the roster, and nobody is asked to follow up. Their page in the group has Add to the roster for when they're in.

Turning follow-up off for a kind takes its groups' guests off those lists straight away. Their records stay.

How groups are sorted

Once your groups are in more than one kind:

• All groups shows a row of kinds above the cards, so you can see one kind at a time.
• Each group card and the top of each group name its kind.
• Find a group offers a kind filter (it starts on Any kind), when more than one listed kind has groups.

Set a group's kind

Office staff choose Kind of group when they create a group, or later on the group's Profile. A kind that isn't listed shows "(not on Find a group)" beside its name. Leaders can't change their group's kind, because it decides whether the group is listed.

The Kind of group choice appears once your church has more than one kind.

Still stuck? Ask Silas