CONTACT USBack to MinistryPlatform Site
Your Knowledge Base is moving on 3/25/24! Our new Help Center provides all the articles you know and love (plus so much more) in a one-stop shop. Ask your SPoC for details!

Sending a Message

communication-directors
 

Basics

  • Each Contact receives a unique email and cannot see who else received the same Message.
  • If a Contact doesn't have an email address, the Message record (Contact record > Message Log sub-page) will have a notation of ERROR: Blank Email Address.
  • Once sent, the Message author can find this Message on the Home page > My Messages tab > view: Sent.
  • Once sent, the Message recipient receives the Message in their email inbox of the email account on their Contact record. Additionally, if the recipient has access to MinistryPlatform, they can also see the Message on the Home page > My Messages tab > view: My Inbox.
  • The From Email that is used is the email address found on the Contact Record.
Sending a Message in MinistryPlatform requires the use of the New Message Tool. Want to brush up on the New Message Tool? Go for it! We'll be here when you get back ;)

Sending a Message from the Home Page

  1. Home page > My Messages tab > "+". Once clicked, the New Message Tool opens. 
  2. Indicate the Contact(s) to receive the Message by either:
    • Typing a name in the To line; when the desired name appears, choose it.
    • Clicking the [...] in the To line and selecting the desired records. You can also access previously saved selections by clicking the selection drop-down, as well as accessing other pages by changing the "Select From Page" drop-down. 
  3. Indicate a Subject line. The New Message Tool won't let you send a message without a Subject Line.
  4. Type your message body content, being sure to include any desired Templates; Snippets; Contact Fields; Data Fields; formattings such as bold, italics, links, and images.
  5. If desired, go to the Attached Files tab and include attachments.
  6. If desired, go to the Options tab and update the name in the Reply-To field and/or indicate a future time for the Message to send.
  7. If desired, a copy of the message can be sent to you before sending it to All Recipients using "Send to Me." Note that "Send to Me" Messages will include, but not render, merge fields. So the copy you receive might include "[Nickname]," etc.
  8. Once satisfied with the Message, click Send. The Message sends within about 5 minutes of clicking Send (unless you've scheduled it to send in the future). 

Sending a Message to a Selection

Sending a bulk email? Be sure to include an opt-out footer so people can opt-out of receiving future bulk emails if they want. Pro Tip: Include a link to the My Household Widget in your opt-out footer so Users can update their communication preferences, including opting out of receiving text messages and bulk email.
You can make a Selection on any page or sub-page of MinistryPlatform. And once you've made a selection, you can quickly and easily use the New Message Tool to email the selected records. Note: While you can make a selection on a sub-page, you'll need to transfer that selection to a main page to use the New Message Tool. It's the perfect opportunity to use the Xfer button!
 
When a selection is emailed, duplicate emails will be removed. For example, if a husband and wife have the same email address in each of their Contact records and both of their records are in the selection, one email would be sent to the one email address. But if you used any merge fields such as Contact Fields or Data Fields (Nickname, First Name, etc.), then that one email address will receive multiple emails (one for each unique record in the selection).
 
  1. Go to the page, and make sure the bottom right corner of the screen reads "0 Selected." If it doesn't, clear the selection before proceeding
  2. Select the desired records
  3. Change your selection drop-down to Current/Unsaved Selection, and review the selected records. This will help you avoid emailing Women's Bible Study information to the Single Men's Group.
  4. Click Tools > New Message. Your selected records will automatically be included in the To field. 
  5. Indicate a Subject line. This is required in order for the Message to send.
  6. Type your message body content, being sure to include any desired Templates; Snippets; Contact Fields; Data Fields; or formattings such as bold, italics, links, and images.
  7. If desired, go to the Attached Files tab and include attachments.
  8. If desired, go to the Options tab and update the name in the Reply-To field and/or indicate a future time for the Message to send.
  9. If desired, a copy of the Message can be sent to you before sending it to All Recipients using "Send to Me." Note that "Send to Me" Messages will include, but not render: merge fields, data fields, and snippets. So don't be surprised when you see "[Nickname]" in your copy.
  10. Once satisfied with the Message, click Send. The Message sends within about 5 minutes of clicking Send (unless you've scheduled it to send in the future). 

Messages & Multiple Congregations

Have multiple Congregations (or Campuses) and want to make sure each Congregation gets the appropriate emails? Check out these tips:

  • Gatekeeper: Only the communications team has rights to send bulk (over 200) e-mails. This way we can control these selections and set of criteria used for each bulk message (for example, Contact Status, Participant Type, Congregation,  Bulk Email Opt-Out).
  • Publications: Create publications for each of your campuses. This keeps those lists specific to each congregation and allows our users to update their subscriptions through the portal at any time they would like. Sounds like a win-win!