The Incoming Email feature lets you receive emails directly inside Text In Church by setting up email forwarding from your existing email address. Once connected, messages sent to your church email address will appear in a dedicated inbox so your team can manage email conversations right alongside your texts.
Setting up incoming email requires a few steps both inside Text In Church and inside your email provider. This article walks through the full process using Gmail as an example.
Jump To
Step 1: Add Your Incoming Email Address in Text In Church
In Text In Church, go to Settings and find the Incoming Emails section.
Click + Add New.
The Email Forwarding wizard will open on Step 1: Incoming Email Address.
In the Email Address field, enter the email address you want to forward messages from (for example, info@yourchurch.com).
In the Inbox Name field, give this inbox a name your team will recognize.
Click Continue →.
Important: Emails forwarded to this inbox will be visible to all users with access to your Text In Church account. Do not use an email address that receives private, sensitive, or confidential information.
Step 2: Add the Forwarding Address in Gmail
After clicking Continue →, Text In Church will display a unique forwarding address on Step 2: Set Up Automatic Forwarding. You will need to copy this address and add it to Gmail.
Click the copy icon next to the forwarding address to copy it.
Open Gmail in a new tab or window and click the Settings gear icon.
Click See all settings.
Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
Under Forwarding, click Add a forwarding address.
Paste the Text In Church forwarding address into the field and click Next.
Google may ask you to verify your identity. Complete the verification if prompted.
Click Proceed on the confirmation popup. Google will send a confirmation email to the Text In Church forwarding address.
Note: These steps use Gmail as an example. If your church uses a different email provider, the steps will look different but the general flow is the same add the Text In Church forwarding address as a forwarding destination in your email settings.
Step 3: Confirm Email Forwarding in Text In Church
After Google sends the confirmation email, return to Text In Church. The wizard will be on Step 3: Confirm Your Email Forwarding, where TIC will display the confirmation email it received from Google.
In the confirmation email shown inside Text In Church, click the confirmation link to open it. It will take you to a Google page confirming the forwarding request.
Click Confirm on the Google page.
Return to Text In Church and click I've Clicked the Link →.
Step 4: Complete Verification
After clicking I've Clicked the Link →, Text In Church will send a verification email to your Gmail address. Gmail will forward that email back to Text In Church to complete the process.
A Verification In Progress… spinner will appear. This can take up to 4 minutes. The verification email travels from Text In Church → your email provider → back to Text In Church. That round trip can take up to 4 minutes and is not something Text In Church controls.
Once verification is complete, your new inbox will appear in Messages alongside your phone lines.
Troubleshooting
Why does Gmail show forwarding as disabled right after I confirmed it?
This is a known Google behavior. After you click the confirmation link, Gmail can reset the Forwarding setting back to Disable forwarding and remove the forwarding address even though you just confirmed it.
Solution: After clicking the confirmation link in Google, go back to Gmail → Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP. If forwarding is set to Disable forwarding or the forwarding address field is empty, do the following:
Select Forward a copy of incoming mail to.
Re-enter the Text In Church forwarding address in the field.
Click Save Changes.
Return to Text In Church and continue the setup.
As a best practice, always check this setting after clicking the confirmation link before coming back to Text In Church.
Why is verification taking so long?
Text In Church sends a verification email to your email provider, which then forwards it back to Text In Church. That full round trip can take up to 4 minutes. This is normal; please wait before attempting to restart the process.
Google asked me to verify my identity when I tried to add a forwarding address. What do I do?
Solution: Google occasionally requires additional identity verification before allowing a new forwarding address to be added. Follow the on-screen steps to verify; typically, this involves a code sent to your phone or through the Google app. Once verified, you can complete the forwarding setup.
Verification failed, what do I do?
Solution: The most common cause is that Gmail disabled forwarding after you confirmed it (see above). Re-enable forwarding in Gmail, save your changes, and resume the setup in Text In Church.
Still having trouble? Reach out to our team; we would love to help assist!