Plan a group's meetings

Each group has a Schedule: its meetings and the events it plans for itself, as a Month, a Week or a List (the switch at the top of the calendar; a phone shows the list). A date carries when and where, a note, and any resources for it. The group's leaders and office staff can change the schedule.

Open the group, then Schedule. Pick any date to open it on the right. ‹ and › move a month (or a week) at a time; Today comes back.

Add meetings

At the top of the schedule, beside its title, there are three ways to add dates. On a phone the main one sits at the foot of the screen.

• Add weekly meetings: pick the First date and How many weeks, then press Add dates. Trellis adds one meeting a week at the group's usual time, up to 30 at a time.
• Add a meeting: adds one meeting a week after the last date on the schedule, or today if there's nothing yet, and opens it.
• Plan an event: see below.

Plan an event

A picnic, a serve day or a night out goes on the same schedule.

1. Press Plan an event.
2. Say What it is, and pick the Date and Time.
3. Add Where, and choose a Kind: Event, Social or Serve night.
4. Add Details (optional), like "Bring a dish to share".
5. Press Add the event.

Upcoming events show under Events on the group's This week, or as its next meeting when an event is the next date. Office staff also see group events on the Serving Calendar when your church has Serving on.

Edit a date

Open a date to change it, then press Save:

• Title (optional): what the meeting is about, like the lesson or the passage. On an event it's What.
• Date and Time.
• Kind: Group meeting, Event, Social, Serve night, or Break, no meeting.
• Where: if it's somewhere other than usual.
• Notes: anything the group should know. On an event it's Details.

Trellis doesn't keep a study series or a set passage for each week. Put the passage or lesson in the title or notes, and attach the guide.

A date can also carry an optional study that Silas drafts from the group's resources. See Prepare a study with Silas.

On a phone, your group's This week shows the next meeting's notes and attached resources right in its card, to read. Press Edit on the card to change them.

Attach resources

Under Resources on a date:

• Attach from resources picks from the church's resources and the group's own.
• Upload or add a link adds a file or a link for this date.

Attached resources show under the meeting on This week, so people can open them. Remove takes one off the date.

Take a week off

If you know ahead that the group won't meet, open the date and set Kind to Break, no meeting. A break doesn't ask for roll.

Cancel a meeting

For a meeting that's called off:

1. Open the date, or find the meeting on This week.
2. Press Cancel this meeting. Once the date has passed, it says We didn’t meet.
3. Add a reason under Why (optional) if you like, such as "the host is away".
4. Press Cancel the meeting.

The date stays on the schedule, marked cancelled. It won't ask for roll or count toward attendance or the check-on list. If roll was already taken, use Start over on the roll call first.

To undo it, press Restore on the date, on This week, or on the roll call.

Remove a date

Open the date, press Remove this date, then Remove the date. If roll was taken, its attendance goes too. To keep a record that the group didn't meet, cancel the meeting instead.

Change the meeting day

If the group moves to a new day, change Meets on in the group's Profile and press Save. Upcoming group meetings without roll move to the new day, and Trellis tells you how many moved. Events, socials, serve nights and breaks stay where they are.

What leaders see

On This week, the group's next meeting shows its date, time, place, notes and resources, with Edit to open it on the schedule. The morning after a meeting, roll and the write-up still point to the meeting that happened until the next one arrives. See Take roll.

Still stuck? Ask Silas