You will need the Limited SMS permission to perform this action.
Version 7.0
One Church allows text messages (SMS) to be sent directly from within the system to any mobile number listed on a person’s profile. Incoming messages can also be received and responded to.
The following outlines the different ways to send text messages.
Sending Individually
To send a text message individually, navigate to the person’s profile and look under the Contact section of the Info tab. Any mobile numbers will have a dialog bubble icon next to them, indicating that a text message can be sent to that phone number. Anywhere in the system this icon appears, clicking it will open a message window.
A pop-up will appear with the following fields:
Recipients – Contains the individuals who will receive the text message. Click "Edit" to add people. A side bar opens to add group member or other people.
Template - Input a pre-written message.
Content – The text box for entering the message. Keep messages concise and to the point.
Receive Replies? – When enabled, a notification will be emailed when the recipient replies. Responses can be sent by replying directly to that email. For best results, remove all text above the “##- Please type your reply…” line, including any email signatures.
Timing – Choose now or later. If later is selected, a future date and time can be scheduled in 15-minute increments.
Once the required fields are complete, select "Send" to send the message.
Via the Send Button in the Header
Text messages can also be sent by selecting "Text message" under the "Messaging" button in the header on any screen.
This opens the same pop-up used for individual messages, but without any pre-filled recipients. Recipients can be added using the "Edit" button.
From Contacts
Text messages can also be sent from the "Messaging" section at the top of the page by selecting "Text message." Another option is to navigate to "Contacts," in the. left-hand navigation menu, select the desired individuals, or use Actions > Send text to message everyone selected.
From a Group
To send a text message to a group, navigate to "Groups," from the left-hand navigation menu or search for a group via the top search bar, choose the appropriate group, then go to the "Members" tab. Members can be individually selected or all members can be included by choosing Actions > Send text.
In Bulk (via Query Builder)
The Reporting permission, along with the Limited SMS permission, is required to send text messages in bulk.
To get started, go to Reporting > Query Builder > People in the left-hand navigation menu. Set the appropriate filters and run the query to target the desired audience. Once the query results appear (click on the "Run Query" button), select Bulk Actions > Send text.
The same pop-up used for individual messages will appear. After completing the fields, click "Send" to deliver the message.
Responding to Replies
If the option to receive replies was enabled, replies will be sent to the sender’s primary email address.
Only the most recent message sent will appear in the “In response to” line.
Keep replies within 160 characters to avoid multiple messages being sent.
Replies will be sent back via text, and subsequent responses will continue through this email-text loop.
A log of all non-financial text messages can be viewed by selecting the "gear" icon in the top right-hand corner, clicking "Text Messages," navigating to the "Logs" tab and then "Text Message." Alternatively, go to "Messaging" tab and go to Message history > Logs > Text Message.
Helpful Tips
Text messages will not be sent to anyone who has opted out or lacks a mobile number.
When replying to a text message via email, remove all text above the “##- Please type your reply…” line.
Standard messaging and data rates apply. Ensure the account balance is sufficient to cover outgoing messages. If the balance reaches $0.00, no messages will be sent.
Avoid including shortened URLs (such as bit.ly, goo.gl, or tinyurl.com), as these are frequently flagged as spam by carriers and may be rejected.
Version 6.0
One Church allows you to send text messages (SMS) from within the system to any mobile number on a person's profile. You can even respond to incoming messages. This article explains how this works.
Individually
To send a text message individually, navigate to the person's profile and look under the "Contact" section of the "Info" tab. Any mobile numbers will have a dialog bubble icon. This means you can send a text message to that phone number. In fact, anywhere in the system you see that icon, you can just click it to send a text message.
Once clicked, a pop up will appear with the following fields:
To - this contains the individuals that will receive the text message. Click on "+add people" to add any additional recipients. In the pop up, clicking on the down arrow next to the label allows you to toggle between adding individual people or members from a group.
Message - the text box contains the message to send. Text messages are limited to 160 characters so you will only be able to send that many at a time. Try to keep the message short and to the point. Any long URLs can be shortened by clicking on the "shorten links" button underneath the text box.
Receive replies? - if set, you will be emailed when this person replies to your text message. You will also be able to reply back by responding to that email. Remove all text above the "##- Please type your reply..." line for the best results. This includes the email signature.
Timing - either now or later. If later, you can choose any date and time in the future in 15 minute increments.
Once you have filled in the required fields, click on the "Send SMS" button to send the text message.
Via Send Button in Header
You can also send text messages by choosing "Text Message" under the Send button in the header on any screen.
This will bring up the exact same pop up as when sending text messages individually (see previous section) but without any individuals in the "To" field initially. You can start adding people using the "+ add people" button.
From a Group
If you want to text everyone in a group, you can simply go to the group, then under the Members tab choose "Text Message" in the Actions menu. You can filter the table beforehand if you want to only text a subset of members.
You can also do the exact same thing by simply selecting "Send > Text Message" in the top header, clicking on "+ add people," changing the search type to Group, and selecting the group you want to send a text message to.
In Bulk
You will need the Reporting permission in addition to the Limited SMS permission to send text messages in bulk. To get started, navigate to the People Query Builder by selecting "Reporting > Query Builder > People" in the left-hand navigation.
From here, construct a query which targets the people you are interested in sending the text message to. For more information on writing queries, see the "People Query Builder" section on this page.
After you are finished writing the query, select "Send Text Message" from the "Actions" drop down.
A pop up will appear similar to the one that opens when sending text messages individually. See section above named "Individually" for details on the fields. When done, click the "Send" button to send the text message out.
Responding to Replies
If you have opted to receive text message replies when sending out the text message, you will be emailed whenever someone replies to the message. Replies will be sent to the primary email address of the user who sent the text message. See below for an example:
Only the last message sent will appear in the "In response to" line. Try to limit your responses to 160 characters to avoid sending multiple text messages to the person. Also, when replying, remove all text above the "##- Please type your reply..." line for the best results. This includes any email signatures that are automatically added for you.
The reply will then be sent to the person via text message. They can then reply and it will be emailed to you and so on. You can also view a log of all non-financial text messages by clicking on the “cog” at the top right-hand side of the page, selecting Text messages and choosing the Logs tab.
Helpful Tips
Text message will not be sent to anyone who has opted out or does not have a mobile number.
When replying to a text message via email, remove all text above the "##- Please type your reply..." line for the best results. This includes the email signature.
Per message data rates apply. Click here for the current rates. Please make sure there are enough funds on your account to send a text message. If remaining balance falls to $0.00, no text message will be sent out.
Do NOT include any links created from a URL shortener (i.e. bit.ly, goo.gl, tinyurl.com, etc.). Messages that include such links have a high likelihood of being marked as spam by network carriers and being rejected.