One powerful feature of Text In Church is the ability to manage and streamline prayer requests.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to effectively use Text In Church for handling prayer requests within your community.
There are a lot of ways to handle prayer requests but we suggest two Groups:
"Collect" which helps gather requests and notify your staff, and "Reach" which asks for prayer and provides encouragement monthly.
Want to watch a quick video that can help walk you through this setup step-by-step? Click here!
Collecting Prayer Requests
1. Create a new Group with the Keyword Pray.
2. In the People section, create a Contact Custom Field dedicated to prayer requests. This ensures organized and efficient tracking of these specific needs.
3. Generate a Connect Card (From Template "Prayer Request Playbook™ - Collect")
4. Edit the Long Text question, select Smart Save, and link the question to the Contact Custom Field.
This facilitates the automatic organization of the submitted requests and the ability to communicate requests quickly.
5. Create a Workflow (From Template "Prayer Request Playbook™ - Collect")
6. Edit the first Workflow step and include the Contact Custom Field Variable in the message
7. Inform your community about the designated Keyword, QR code, or link to use when submitting a prayer request.
Clear communication enhances participation and engagement!
Reach out for Requests
Another awesome way to connect with your congregation is to check in with them and ask for prayer requests!
We suggest segmenting your congregation into smaller Groups to allow you to respond quicker with fewer requests at a single time.
Some ideas of segmented Groups could be by life stage (empty nesters, parents, singles, etc) or alphabetical (first or last name).
Establish the Group(s) you will be asking for prayer requests. This allows for more targeted and manageable communication
Create from a template the Workflow "Prayer Request Playbook™ - Reach"
Choose a start date for the Workflow to trigger. The Workflow will begin sending your messages on this date.
Note - Consider rotating your groups by week to evenly distribute the prayer request process. Example: 1st Tuesday, 2nd Tuesday, etc)
Connect the Workflow to the desired Group
If you've segmented your congregation into multiple Groups, repeat the process for each one.
Note - Depending on the number of people and the time you have to set aside to respond and pray, you could have one group.
By leveraging Text In Church's features for prayer requests, you can enhance communication, streamline the prayer process, and foster a sense of community within your congregation.
Take advantage of the tools available to make prayer a central and accessible aspect of your church's engagement strategy!
