You will need Super User access to perform these steps.
Welcome to One Church Software! This checklist walks you through setting up your new account, from filling in your church's information to inviting your congregation. Work through the steps in order. Most churches complete the first six steps in their first week and the last three as they are ready to launch.
Your checklist
Update your account information
Schedule training
Add people to your database
Set up One Church Giving
Set up text messaging
Set your directory privacy settings
Decide on permission levels and access
Invite your church members
Start using the ministry modules
Set up your account
1. Update your account information
In the left-hand menu, under your name, select Account settings.
Complete as much of the information as you can, and make sure your church's contact information is accurate. Your address is what lets members find your church in the My One Church mobile app.
Add your logo, icon, and brand colors so the software matches your church's look.
2. Schedule training
Our software experts are ready to train you and your team so you start with a strong foundation.
Select your name in the top-right corner of the toolbar.
Choose Schedule a Training and pick a time that works for your team.
Tip: One training session per month is included on Core Plus plans. Other plans are charged per session.
Reference: How do I schedule a training session?
Additional training resources
The Learning Center at OneChurchSoftware.com/learn has video courses organized by module.
Help articles live at Support.OneChurchSoftware.com. You can also open them from the question-mark icon in the toolbar inside your account.
Our support team is happy to help: How do I contact support?
3. Add people to your database
A database is only helpful once it has data in it. You have three ways to get your people into One Church Software:
Add people manually, one at a time, from Contacts.
Import in bulk using the built-in import tools. See How do I import data into One Church?.
Ask our team to migrate your data for you. Select your name in the top-right corner of the toolbar and choose Request Data Import.
Tip: The import tools accept more than people. You can also import giving records, attendance, and other historical data.
Let people add their own information
Share your account URL. Anyone who visits it can select Register, create a profile, and fill in their own details. See the login page screenshot in step 8.
Share an online form. Build a form that collects contact details, and check the Create new profile if submission cannot be matched to an existing person profile box in the Editing Person Profile Information window so new people are added automatically. See the Forms collection to get started.
4. Set up One Church Giving
Go to Contributions > Settings.
Select the Merchant Accounts tab.
Choose Open New Account.
In the window that opens, review the fee rate and enter your organization's information, including the bank account where donations should be deposited.
Reference: How do I set up One Church Giving?
5. Set up text messaging
In the toolbar, select Messaging > Text message.
Review the overview of the text messaging service, then select Activate.
Reference: How do I enable text messaging?
6. Set your directory privacy settings
Select Contacts in the left-hand menu.
Select the Settings tab.
Decide whether members with Guest access can see the church directory, and which fields are visible when they do.
Bring your church on board
7. Decide on permission levels and access
Before you invite anyone, decide who gets which level of access. Most churches use three tiers:
Super User - full access to everything. Keep this to a very small number of people.
Custom or Role-based - staff and key leaders who need specific modules. See How do I set role-based permissions or role-based system access?.
Guest - the bulk of your members. Guests can manage their own profile, give, and register for events. Their directory access is controlled by the settings you chose in step 6.
The Security & Access Control collection covers permissions in detail.
Tip: Our system overview videos are organized by module, so you can send each person only the videos that match their level of access. They live in an unlisted YouTube playlist that anyone with the link can watch.
8. Invite your church members
Because One Church Software lives in the cloud, your members can reach your church's login page from anywhere. We suggest starting with a mass email that introduces the software and explains how to log in or register.
Build a polished announcement email with the email template builder. See How do I create and insert email templates?.
Include your account URL so people can register or log in.
Optionally, link to About One Church Software and the member-friendly introduction video below.
Sample announcement email
Church Family,
We are excited to announce that we have started using One Church Software, an online church engagement tool that will help us stay better connected as a church. We are passionate about our mission of [insert your mission statement here], and we believe this tool will help us in that pursuit.
With it, you will have access to our ministry areas, whether that is connecting with groups or volunteer teams, learning about church events, watching sermons, and much more. When you have a few minutes, I encourage you to watch a brief overview of One Church Software.
You can reach the login portal at {YourAccountURL}.OneChurchSoftware.com, where you can claim your profile or register.
Blessings,
Your Pastor
Member-friendly video introducing One Church Software
Other ways to give people access
Self-registration on the login page. Anyone who visits your account URL can select Register and create their own account.
Registration in the My One Church mobile app.
Download the My One Church app from the App Store or Google Play.
Find your church by location or ZIP code.
Open the menu in the top-left corner and select Sign In or Register.
Select Register Now and follow the prompts.
📸 SCREENSHOT NEEDED
Page: My One Church mobile app - Sign In or Register screen
Show: The menu open with Sign In or Register selected, and the Register Now button on the following screen
Highlight / state: Register Now button visible; current screenshot is from 2023 and predates the current app design
Alignment: center
Grant access in bulk from the Query Builder. Use this carefully, because every person on the list receives an email.
Run a report that returns the people you want to give access to.
Select Actions > Mass Change > Grant Access.
Each person receives an email with a link to set up their account. A sample is shown below.
9. Start using the ministry modules
You are set up! From here, explore the modules your church will use most. Each has its own collection of help articles.