This notification packs a one-two punch! It will send an attendance reminder to the Group Leader, politely reminding them to take attendance. And it will schedule the group's next meeting. The best part? You can stop either (or both!) of these things from happening directly from the group record so you can do YOUR church YOUR way!

Attendance Notification

The first part of the Group Attendance notification sends a reminder email to Group Primary Contacts whose group has met in the past 24 hours and for which no attendance has been posted. The email includes an auto-login link directly to the event so they can post attendance using GroupLife, making it super-easy to keep those attendance records up to date.

• Frequency: Daily
• Recipients: Group Primary Contact where the group met within the previous 24 hours, attendance has not been posted, and the Group meets the Initial Configuration for Eligibility listed below.
• From/Reply To: The From/Reply to of the Message Template that is in the Configuration Setting for SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationTemplateID 
• Contents: The contents of the Message Template that is identified in the Configuration settings for SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationTemplateID. Pro tip: Use the template that was deployed with the December 2020 Reports, Routines, & Notifications release. The Group Primary Contact will receive one auto-login (to GroupLife) link per group/per event within the last 24 hours that renders from the [Event_Group_Listing] token. The [Event_Group_Listing] token includes the Group name and meeting time. Set which auto-login link is included on SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationPath. 
• Method for sending: Platform
  
• Logging in Messages: Yes. Attendance reminders are available in the Platform and can be viewed on the Messages page. They are audit logged.
• Configuration Settings:
  • SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationTemplateID Specifies which Template to use for notifications. Set this to 0 (zero) to turn off all Attendance Notifications.
  • SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationPath The application URL you want included in the message. Use the path for GroupLife.
• Merge Fields Support: [Nickname], [Event_Group_Listing]
• Initial Configuration for Eligibility: To send the attendance notification to the Group Primary Contact, confirm these settings on the Group record:
  • Primary Contact must have an email address and a user account
  • End Date: Null or in the future.
  • Available Online = True. Ensures the group is available.
  • Send Attendance Notification = True. Set to False if attendance reminders are not desired.
• Optional Configuration: Modify the template to fit your church! 
• How to Stop:
  • For One Group: Set Attendance Notification to "False" on the Group record.
  • For All Groups: Set the Value field on SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationTemplateID to 0.

Meeting Creation

The second part of the Group Attendance Notification creates the Group's next meeting (if it has not been manually created) according to each Group's configuration.

• Frequency: Daily
• Configuration Settings:
  • CLOUDAPPS, GroupMeetingRoomID Specifies the Room to use when a Room Reservation is created from a Group record that does not have a Default Group Meeting Room identified.
  • SERVICES, AttendanceNotificationEventVisibility Specifies the Event Visibility for automatically created Events.
  • PORTAL, DefaultEventTypeID Specifies the Event Type for automatically created Events.
  • PORTAL, DefaultEventProgramID Specifies the Program for automatically created Events.

• Initial Configuration Eligibility: To schedule the Group's next meeting, confirm these settings on the Group record:
  • Start Date: In the past. Meeting will not be created for Groups with a future Start Date.
  • End Date: Null or in the future. Meetings will not be created for Groups that have been end dated.
  • Meeting Time: Select your Group's meeting time. This will be used to schedule future events.
  • Meeting Day: Select your Group's meeting day. This will be used to schedule future events.
  • Meeting Frequency: Select how often your group meets. If Meeting Frequency is blank and Create Next Meeting = True, the routine assumes the Group meets weekly.
  • Default Meeting Room: Select where your group meets. This will be used to schedule future events. If null, the room identified on CLOUDAPPS, GroupMeetingsRoomID will be used.
  • Create Next Meeting = True. A nightly routine will schedule the next meeting and advance Next Scheduled Meeting date automatically. Set to False to turn off or pause meeting creation.
• How to Stop: Set Create Next Meeting to False

If Create Next Meeting = True and the next event has not been manually created:

• Your Group's Next Meeting will be created based on your Group's Configuration and Configuration settings
  • Event Title = Group Name + "Meeting"
  • Event Congregation = Group Congregation
  • Event Primary Contact = Group Primary Contact
  • Event Start Date and Time = Group Meeting Day + Group Meeting Time 
  • Event End Date and Time = Group Meeting Day + Group Meeting Time + Group Meeting Duration. Note: If Group Meeting Duration is blank and Create Next Meeting = True, the routine assumes the Group Meeting Duration is 60 minutes.
  • Event Room = Group Default Meeting Room. If no Default Meeting Room is identified, the room identified in CLOUDAPPS, GroupMeetingsRoomID will be used. Best Practice: Create a room record for an Off-Campus or "No Room" room and set that as the Group Default Meeting Room.
  • Event Program = Group Default Program, as identified in PORTAL, DefaultEventProgramID.
• The Next Scheduled Meeting field will be auto-populated with the next Group meeting
  • If the value is in the past and Create Next Meeting = True, the nightly routine will advance this date and create the very next Event based on Meeting Day, Frequency, and Duration.
  • If a future event is manually created (see below), the nightly routine will add that date and time to this field
  • Note: Group Meetings are scheduled according to the Group’s Meeting Day and Time unless a future date is populated in Next Scheduled Meeting. If a future date is populated, the Group Meeting will be created according to the Next Scheduled Meeting regardless of whether this aligns with Meeting Day and Meeting Time. What exactly does this mean? You can manually schedule a one-off meeting that is different than the regularly scheduled Meeting Day and Time and the routine will get you back on your regular schedule when that event has ended. Win-win!

Examples

One of the best features (in our opinion) is the ability to use the Next Scheduled Meeting field to schedule one-off meetings and get back on track with the regular schedule without disruption. Consider ....

• The Group Leader schedules a future, one-off event. The Anderson Small Group usually meets on Tuesday evenings. But when they learn it's Sue's birthday, the Group Leader schedules a meeting for Friday night to celebrate. So this week (and only this week), the Group meets on Tuesday, Friday, and then the next Tuesday.
  • The routine will add the date of the one-off event to the Next Scheduled Meeting field.
  • The Group will meet on Friday (Happy Birthday, Sue!).
  • If eligible, the attendance reminder email will be sent on Saturday morning.
  • The routine will look at the date in the Next Scheduled Meeting field, see that it is in the past, and replace it with the next meeting according to the Group’s Meeting Day and Time.
• A future date is added to the Next Scheduled Meeting Field. The Smith Life Group pauses each winter when most of its members head south for warmer climates. But they'll joyfully regather the first Monday of May when everyone returns home. The Life Group administrator enters the months-away May meeting date into the Next Scheduled Meeting field.
  • The routine will schedule the next meeting for the date set in the Next Scheduled Meeting field.
  • The routine will look at the date in the Next Scheduled Meeting and, seeing it's in the future, not send the attendance reminder or schedule a meeting according to the regular schedule.
  • The Group will regather on the first Monday in May, sharing photos of their adventures.
  • On the first Tuesday in May, the attendance reminder email will be sent, if eligible.
  • The routine will look at the date in the Next Scheduled Meeting field, see that it is in the past, and replace it with the next meeting according to the Group’s Meeting Day and Time.

Troubleshooting

• Group Primary Contact not receiving their notification? Check to make sure they have a valid email address and a user account.
• Group Primary Contact not receiving their notification (and you've confirmed they have a valid email address and user account? Confirm Send Attendance Notification = True.
• Next Group Meeting wasn't created? Confirm Create Next Meeting = True.

Use the Attendance Notification Groups View on the Groups page to see Groups receiving the notification with a current or future Event for that Group and helpful fields to assist with determining why a Group is or is not receiving the nightly Attendance Notification.