--- title: How to remove external contacts from my contact list? description: For various reasons, it may be necessary to remove a large number of people from your contact list to keep it organized and ensure that it includes only those who are part of your congregation. This can be especially helpful… url: "https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/other-people/how-to-remove-external-contacts-from-my-contact-list/" updated: "2026-09-28" category: People / Other --- # How to remove external contacts from my contact list? For various reasons, it may be necessary to remove a large number of people from your contact list to keep it organized and ensure that it includes only those who are part of your congregation. This can be especially helpful right after an event for which many people signed up who aren't usually part of your congregation. On this page, we'd like to show you two ways to quickly and easily clean up your contact list. ## Option 1: Add external people to a group and then delete them This option requires a few preparatory steps, which you should ideally complete before performing the registration for your event. The idea is for you [to create a new person status](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/basics-people/how-to-create-and-edit-a-person-status/) and name it, for example, " *External Person* " or " *Event Registration*." You can then configure the [settings in the sign up group](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/settings-groups/how-to-make-settings-for-signing-up-to-my-groups/#3-toc-title) for your event so that everyone who signs up for the event and is not yet on your attendee list is assigned this person status. After your event, you can then [create a new group](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/my-group/how-to-create-a-new-group/)—for example, " *External Participants*"—and have it populated automatically. To do this, use *Automatic Membership and*set the [person filter](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/automatic-membership/how-to-set-the-personal-filter/) so that all people with the person status " *External Person/Event Registration* " who are members of your *event group* are added to the group. Next, *filter* (1-3) all members of this group in the contact list, *select* (4) them, and *archive* (6) them using the *bulk actions* (5). [![Screenshot Groups Members Filter group in person list](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Groups_Members_Filter-group-in-person-list.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Groups_Members_Filter-group-in-person-list.png) [![Screenshot Persons Filter for groups](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Filter-for-groups-1024x406.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Filter-for-groups.png) [![Screenshot Persons Bulk actions Archive](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Archive.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Archive.png) You can then either leave the people in the archive or *delete them completely* from there. [![Screenshot Persons Archive](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Archive-1024x353.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Archive.png) [![Screenshot Persons Bulk actions Delete irrevocable](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Delete-irrevocable.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Delete-irrevocable.png) **Tip** People in the archive do not count toward your license's user quota. ## Option 2: Delete all users who do not have group membership This option requires that everyone in your congregation be a member of at least one group. For your event, you can then handle [registration](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/settings-groups/how-to-make-settings-for-signing-up-to-my-groups/) as usual through ChurchTools and add the new attendees via the registration form in your group. After the event, you should delete the event group. Anyone who signed up for the event but isn't a member of your congregation will still appear in the list of attendees, but they will no longer be a member of any group in your ChurchTools. Now you can *filter* the list of people to show only those (1-3) who are not members of any group, *select* those people (4), and *archive them* (5-6). [![Screenshot Persons More filters Filter for groups is currently not in](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_More-filters_Filter-for-groups_is-currently-not-in-1024x392.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_More-filters_Filter-for-groups_is-currently-not-in.png) [![Screenshot Persons Bulk actions Archive](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Archive.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Archive.png) You can then either leave the people in the archive or delete them completely from there. [![Screenshot Persons Archive for delete](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Archive_for-delete-1024x358.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Archive_for-delete.png) [![Screenshot Persons Bulk actions Delete irrevocable](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Delete-irrevocable.png)](https://churchtools.academy/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Persons_Bulk-actions_Delete-irrevocable.png) **Tip** People in the archive do not count toward your license's user quota. ## Read more - [How do I create and edit a person status?](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/basics-people/how-to-create-and-edit-a-person-status/) - [Filter](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/basics-people/filter/) - [How to make settings for signing up to my groups?](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/settings-groups/how-to-make-settings-for-signing-up-to-my-groups/) - [Understanding automatic membership](https://churchtools.academy/en/help/churchtools-modules/automatic-membership/understanding-automatic-membership/)