How to send a message

There is no ‘new message’ button in Chat, and you do not need one. Your Chat list already contains everyone you are able to message, whether or not you have ever spoken to them. Starting a conversation is just a matter of finding the person and tapping their name.

Messaging one person

1. Tap Chat at the top right of the app.
2. Find the person in your list. Conversations you have had already sit at the top, most recent first, and everyone else you can message is below.
3. If the list is long, use the search at the top of the Chat page and type their name.
4. Tap their name, type your message and send it.

Under the person’s name at the top of the conversation you will see the group your conversation runs through. That is a useful reminder of why you are able to message them, because Messaging works entirely through your church’s groups.

If someone you expect to see is missing from the list, it is because you are not in a group together with direct messaging switched on. See Who can message whom?

Posting in a group chat

1. Tap Chat and open the group conversation from your list. Groups show the number of members underneath the group name.
2. Type your message and send it. Everyone in the group will see it.

Two things can stop you posting in a group chat, and both are your church’s settings rather than a fault. The group may be set so that only leaders can post, which makes it an announcement channel. Or your church may have set hours during which members can post, in which case you can read at any time but only send inside that window. Leaders can always send. See How to turn on chat for a group.

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Good to know

• Messages are text, emoji and polls. There is no image or file sharing. Tap the smiley beside the message box for the emoji picker.
• In a one-to-one conversation, ticks tell you a message has been delivered and read. In a group you get more: see How to see who has read a message.
• In a group you can also run a quick poll. See How to use polls in a group chat.
• Messaging a child works differently. Only authorised leaders can do it, and every message goes to the child’s parent or guardian for approval first. See How to send a message to a child.
• Children are not part of group chats, so a group conversation will not reach the children in that group. To reach them, message each child individually or send a mailing to the group, and either way every child’s copy goes to their guardian for approval.