The Digital Receptionist in Calling™ by Text In Church is your church's automated phone attendant.
When someone calls your Text In Church number, the Digital Receptionist greets them with a welcome message and lets them press a number to connect with the right ministry or staff member.
This article walks you through how to build one from scratch, set up your actions, and troubleshoot common issues.
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What Is a Digital Receptionist in Text In Church?
A Digital Receptionist is an automated phone menu that greets callers when they dial your Calling™ by Text In Church number.
It plays a recorded welcome message and presents a list of options — for example, "Press 1 for Service Times, Press 2 to Plan a Visit, Press 3 for Prayer Requests." Callers press a number on their keypad to be routed to the right place.
You can build your Digital Receptionist from scratch (covered in this article) or use a pre-built template.
Once set up, you assign it to your Calling™ phone number so it's the first thing callers hear.
Note: pressing * repeats the current menu, and pressing 0 returns the caller to the main menu at any time.
How Do I Set Up a Digital Receptionist from Scratch in Text In Church?
Follow these steps to create your Digital Receptionist:
Sign in to Text In Church.
Select the Calling section of your account.
3. Click on Digital Receptionist.
4. Click the Add New button in the top right corner.
5. Select Create from Scratch.
6. Click Next.
7. Enter a name and description for your Digital Receptionist so you can easily identify it later.
8. Click Continue.
9. Fill in your church information to automatically populate your Actions, or skip this step if you prefer to fill it in manually.
10. Click Done.
11. Review the sample Welcome Script and make any changes.
Then click Add Action to set up what happens when a caller presses a number — for example, "Press 1 to hear our Service Times and Locations."
All changes are saved automatically as you work.
You can click the Active button to activate or deactivate your Digital Receptionist at any time.
To configure Pro Voice Studio settings, click the settings wheel next to Active — this lets you generate natural-sounding AI voices or record your own (a microphone is required for recording).
What Actions Can I Add to My Text In Church Digital Receptionist?
When you click Add Action, you can choose from a set of pre-built options or create a custom action:
Service Times and Locations — shares when and where your services are held.
Plan a Visit — allows callers to plan a visit to your church in the future.
Staff Directory — helps callers find a specific staff member.
Team Directory — routes callers to the team that can answer their question.
Prayer Request — lets callers leave a voicemail with their prayer request.
Service Opportunities — shares ways to get involved and lets callers leave a voicemail.
Leave a Message — allows callers to leave a voicemail for you to return.
Urgent Request — forwards callers directly to a care pastor.
Custom Action — lets you create any other option you need for your ministry.
Each action also supports additional options:
Send a Text Message — sends a text of your choice to the caller.
Add to Group — adds the caller to a Group in your Text In Church account (requires a Text In Church subscription).
Forward to — forwards the incoming call to a selected Caller after the recording plays.
Capture a Voicemail — records the caller's voicemail and sends an email notification to the User you select.
How Can I Set Up a Human Receptionist to Receive Calls in Text In Church?
You can route callers directly to a real staff member using the Forward to option inside any action.
This is how you set up a "human receptionist" experience — after the greeting plays, the call is transferred to a live Caller on your team.
To set this up, click Add Action in your Digital Receptionist, then choose the action type (or use Custom Action).
Inside the action settings, enable Forward to and select the Caller you want to receive the call.
When a caller presses that option, the call will ring that staff member directly after the recording plays.
This is useful for routing calls to your church office, a pastor, or any staff member who should be reachable by phone.
Make sure the Caller you select has the mobile app set up and notifications enabled so they don't miss incoming calls.
What Should I Do If Pressing 1, 2, or 3 Does Not Work in My Digital Receptionist?
If callers report that pressing a number on their keypad does not trigger the correct action, here are the most common causes and fixes:
The Digital Receptionist is not active. Check that the Active toggle is turned on. If it is deactivated, callers will not be able to reach your Digital Receptionist
The Digital Receptionist is not assigned to your phone number. Go to your Calling™ settings and confirm that this Digital Receptionist is assigned to the correct number. An unassigned receptionist is not active.
The action was not saved. All changes save automatically, but confirm each action appears in the list before testing. If an action is missing, re-add it.
The caller's phone is in DTMF mode. Some phones do not send tones during a call. Ask the caller to make sure they are pressing keys while the recording is actively playing, not before it begins.
The number option is not configured. If a caller presses a number that has no action assigned to it, nothing will happen. Add an action for that number or let callers know which numbers are available in your welcome script.
If the issue persists after checking these items, reach out to Member Support via chat or email at support@textinchurch.com, and the team can investigate further.
Still have questions? No worries, we're always happy to help!
Send us a chat message or email our Member Support team at support@textinchurch.com
