Ministries, in depth

Any signed-in parishioner can read a ministry page. The page shows the name, category, leaders, meeting time and place, and member count. Three parts are for members only: announcements, messages and contact preferences.

A person joins in one tap, and the server adds the person at once. The module checks two limits first. A closed ministry shows a note in place of the Join button. A full ministry refuses the join and adds nobody.

A QR code opens the same page. A person who is not signed in logs in and returns to that ministry. A second tap does not add the person twice. The page says the person is already a member.

On joining, both contact choices start on: email and text. The member can switch either one off. Each box saves at once, and a message never goes to a member who turned it off. Joining again resets both boxes to on.

• Members read announcements and the message feed, and reply in a thread.
• Leaders have one of four roles: Primary Leader, Co-Leader, Secretary or Communications. A leader sees the roster, the dashboard and the compose page for that ministry only.
• Ministry administrators manage every ministry from the admin console.
• Global admins can do everything the ministry administrators can do.

The roster shows name, email, phone, role and join date. A leader can invite, remove, export and print. The roster holds personal data, so only leaders reach it.

The dashboard has tabs for the roster, messages, events, announcements, analytics, short links, payment links and forms. A liturgical ministry also has a coverage tab.

• An announcement can be pinned. It can also expire on a date that the leader sets.
• A message goes out by email or by text, not both at once. The leader picks all members or volunteers only. The page then shows how many people received it and whether delivery succeeded, failed or partly failed.
• An event request has the status Submitted, Approved or Denied. The parish office decides. If the scheduling system is offline, the server saves the request and the office adds it by hand.
• A short link has a click count and a QR code. A payment link needs approval before it works.

Staff create and edit ministries, and they can deactivate one. A deactivated ministry leaves the member list but keeps its history. Staff can reactivate it later. Staff assign leaders by email address.

One set of messaging limits covers every ministry:

• the largest number of people one message can reach
• the number of messages one ministry can send each day
• a switch for email and a switch for text

A send past a limit is blocked. The daily count resets at midnight UTC. A saved setting named Require Admin Approval does not hold messages back today.

Staff also keep reusable email and text templates, and they decide event requests. Staff can set up the Mass calendar. They add Mass services, generate the dated Mass slots for a quarter, and print volunteer rosters.

The roster keeps each member, role and join date. Messages stay in the feed in order, with sender and date. Event requests keep their decision. Short links keep their click counts. A deactivated ministry stays in the admin list, so a mistake is easy to undo.