Note: If the event is not part of a group calendar, a user will need the Full Write Events permission to view and update the Guest List. If it is part of a group calendar, a user will either need to be the group admin, have Full Write Groups, or Full Write Events permission.
When you add an entire group to an event's Guest List — either from the event settings or through the Update Guest List option — you may notice that no one appears on the list, even though the save seems to complete successfully. This is almost always caused by a mismatch between the event date and the membership start dates of the people in the group.
The most common cause: membership start dates fall after the event date
One Church Software builds a group-based Guest List using who was a member of the group as of the event date. If a person's start date in the group is after the date the event takes place, the system does not consider them a member on that day, so they are not added to the Guest List. In other words, a person cannot be marked as attending (or expected to attend) an event on a date before they joined the group.
Example: An event takes place on June 20, 2026. The people you're expecting are all in the group, but their membership start dates in that group are set to June 29, 2026. Because they weren't members of the group on June 20, they won't appear on the Guest List for that event — even though adding the group appears to save correctly.
How to fix it
Open the group by going to Groups from the left-hand menu and go to the Members tab.
Review the start date for each person you expect to see on the Guest List.
Update any start dates so they fall on or before the event date.
Go to the event from Events > Calendar of the left-hand navigation menu, open the Attendance tab, and use Update Guest List to re-add the group (or confirm it is added).
Remember to Save your changes. The members should now appear on the Guest List.
Other things to check
If the dates all look correct but people still aren't appearing, verify the following:
Individuals vs. groups. Adding a group adds its qualifying members. If you need someone who isn't in the group, add them individually or as an external guest through Update Guest List.
Registration and sign-up forms. If people are meant to be added through a registration form, the form's "Add person to guest list if form is linked to an event?" option must be enabled on the relevant People Field or Profile Information field. If it isn't checked, form submitters won't flow onto the Guest List. See People Fields and the Event Guest List for details.
Permissions. Confirm you have the permission level noted above, since limited permissions can affect what you're able to add or see.