The Group status shows which phase a group is in. Is it currently being planned, is it already in use, already completed or already archived?
We have already made sensible default settings for these four group statuses in terms of visibility, emails, registration etc. so that you can concentrate fully on your task: Bringing people together! In this article, you will learn more about the four group statuses and their effects.
Draft #
As long as you are setting up a new group, thinking through and making all the relevant settings or revising a group, it makes sense to set this group to draft. This way, no one will receive premature emails or wonder about a group with incomplete information and settings and you can prepare everything in peace.
The visibility of a group with the status draft is automatically restricted, i.e. only authorized users can see the group and only leaders receive permissions and automatic emails via the group membership. The group does not appear on group homepages, is not selectable in ChurchTools and the registration is set to closed.
If you open the registration in this group status, you decide whether it should remain planned for the time being and only be opened automatically when the group is set to active or whether the group is immediately set to active and the registration is actually opened.
If you set an existing group to draft, an already open registration is set to planned and automatically reopened when you change the group status to active again.
Active #
Once all preparations are completed, you can get started and set the status of your group to active. All the settings and permissions you have made for your group will now take effect.
Finished #
Once the purpose of the group has been past, e.g. the church retreat is over or the small group project is completed, you set the status of a group to finished.
This allows group members to retain their assigned permissions. Routines marked as ready are activated and activated routines are executed. You have the option to pause all routines. Your group will no longer appear on group homepages, will no longer be selectable in ChurchTools, and registration will be automatically closed.
Archived #
Once a Group has finished, you have the option of setting it to archived. This increases clarity for most users in ChurchTools, as the group list becomes leaner. The settings and data are not lost and the group can be reactivated or duplicated for later use.
This means that group members will no longer have permissions via the group, and it will only be visible to users who are allowed to view archived groups. Routines will be paused, meaning that automatic emails will no longer be sent to group members. Your group will no longer appear on group homepages and will no longer be selectable in ChurchTools. Registration will be automatically closed.