Your church's own domain can do two things in Text In Church. Emails can come from your church's address instead of the default Text In Church sender. Shortened links can use your own web address, like links.yourchurch.org/welcome, instead of a Text In Church link.

Both build trust with your members, and sending email from your domain also helps deliverability. You'll add each domain on the Email Domains page, verify it with DNS records, and start using it.

Note: If you don't see Email / Domains under Settings, reach out to Support.
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You'll need a domain you own (Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook addresses won't work) and access to your DNS provider, like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Google Domains. DNS records are settings at your provider that tell the internet where your domain points.

Text In Church will show three CNAME records: one sender record and two DKIM records. You'll add each one at your DNS provider to prove you own the domain.

Someone else manages your DNS? At the bottom of the DNS Configuration screen, use Email Instructions to My Team to send the records to the person who manages your domain. Choose a Recipient Type and Recipient, then click Send.

Heads up: Some DNS providers automatically add your domain to the end of the host. After saving, double-check the hostname isn't duplicated.

If your domain is already verified on another Text In Church account, you'll see an extra TXT record on the DNS Configuration screen. Add it the same way as the CNAMEs.

Tip: DNS changes can take from a few minutes up to 48 hours. If verification fails right away, wait 15 to 30 minutes and try again.

Once your domain is verified, it turns on automatically. You'll see its Enabled toggle switched on in your Email Domains list. From there, any email you send through Messages uses your domain in the From address.

If you send before verification finishes, the email waits in Pending Messages and goes out automatically once your domain is verified.

With a link domain, the shortened links you create in the URL Shortener can use your church's web address. For example, links.yourchurch.org/welcome instead of a Text In Church link. People can see the link comes from you, which makes them more likely to tap it.

Choose a subdomain. A subdomain is an address that adds a word in front of your main domain, like links.yourchurch.org. The domain you use for short links can't be used for anything else, because every visit to it is forwarded to Text In Church. If your website is www.yourchurch.org, use a subdomain like links.yourchurch.org. If you enter a main domain, you'll see: "The redirect domain must be a subdomain (e.g. redirect.example.com)."

After the record is found, Text In Church sets up a secure (SSL) certificate for your domain. The status shows Waiting for SSL Certificate while this happens, usually for a few minutes. You'll get a notification when it's ready, and the status changes to Verified. Your link domain turns on automatically, and the Type column shows it as Redirect.

Use your domain in the URL Shortener

Every verified, enabled link domain appears in that drop-down, along with the built-in Text In Church domains.

Short links are unique to each domain, so you can use /welcome on your domain even if another church uses it on theirs.

To learn more about creating and tracking short links, see URL Shortener.

Your account can have more than one email domain and more than one link domain. Click Add New on the Email Domains page and follow the same steps. The Type column shows whether each domain is for email or is a Redirect (link) domain.

Each type has one Primary domain. The first domain you add of each type becomes Primary automatically. To change it, click the ... menu next to a domain and choose Set Primary.

For email, Text In Church uses your Primary email domain when the From address isn't on one of your verified domains. Primary doesn't apply to short links. Every verified, enabled link domain is available in the URL Shortener.

The same domain can also be verified on more than one Text In Church account at once. Additional accounts will see an extra TXT record during DNS setup.

Email / Domains is under Settings > System and is available on the Messaging Suite plan. If you're on Suite and still don't see it, reach out to our Support Team for more help enabling this feature.

Wait 15 to 30 minutes for DNS to update, then click Verify Domain again. Make sure each record's Host/Name and Value/Points To exactly match what Text In Church shows. If your domain is shared across accounts, confirm you also added the TXT record.

Some DNS providers add your domain automatically. Edit the record at your provider and remove the duplicated part.

Check that your domain's Enabled toggle is on. Once your domain is verified and enabled, Pending Messages go out automatically.

New sending domains often land in spam at first while inbox providers learn your reputation. Ask a few members to mark your first messages as "Not spam" and add your sending address to their contacts.

Text In Church is setting up a secure certificate for your link domain. This usually takes a few minutes but can take longer. You'll get a notification when it's done, and the status changes to Verified. You can click Verify Domain to check the status anytime.

A link domain appears in the URL Shortener only after its status is Verified and its Enabled toggle is on. Check the Email Domains page to see where it is in the process.

The full message reads: "This email domain is already in use by another account. If you believe this is an error, please contact support." The domain is already set up on another Text In Church account. If you believe that's a mistake, reach out to our Support Team and we'll help you sort it out.

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