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Texting is a super powerful way to reach people. SMS (Text) messages are read and responded to faster than any other communication method.
Text In Church allows you to send a text message to individuals or groups quickly.
You can also schedule these messages in advance, saving you time and eliminating the possibility of forgetting to do it in “real-time.”
Getting Started:
Sign in to Text In Church and click on the Messages Section
Click "Create New Message"
Select “Text Message” for the type of Message.
(Optional) Create a title for your Text Message.
❗ NOTE: This title will only be visible in your account and can be helpful for finding messages that have been sent or are pending later.
Select Begin to move into the message builder
Step 1: Send a text message to?
Choose who should get the text message (you can opt to send to Group(s) or specific people.)
Click in the search bar to view a drop-down menu of Groups and People, or type in the search bar to quickly find a Group or Person.
Click the name of a Group or Person to add them as recipients of this message.
Click the “x” next to a name to remove them from this message
Select the check-box by “Send to all contacts” to have your message sent to all opted-in People Records
Click Next to move on to the next step. Don’t worry; if you need to make changes before sending, you can click back on that step to edit it.
Step 2: Create Your Message
Click inside the box to begin composing what your message will say.
Click any of the Variables to insert a special code to pull a person's first name and/or other details from their people record to personalize the message.
Click Links to add the link to a Connection Card, Connect Page, or a shortened Link from your Text In Church account.
Attaching Media
You can also attach media such as images to texts. However, we'd recommend doing it only if the image really adds to the message at hand.
You can add an image to your SMS (text) message. In the Create your Text Message step, click on "Add Media." Please note that you can only attach an image, not a file or other attachment.
Important Notes:
Smaller images work best as it is less data to be transferred via message. We suggest messages of 500 kb or less.
.JPG or .JPEG is the recommended file type to attach to a Text Message, though you can still attach .PNG and .PDF file types to Text Messages, some recipient's devices may not accept these, so it's best to use .JPG or .JPEG files.
❗ As a note: attaching a photo to your text message can make the delivery rate lower.
Cell phone providers reserve the right to not deliver text messages whenever they choose to and don't have to report that they failed to deliver.
Read Text In Church's Solution to Cell Phone Carrier Filtering. For maximum delivery rate, don't include photos. An option would be to do a follow-up email with a photo if needed.
Click Next to move to the next step. If you need to make changes before sending, you can click on that step to return to it.
Step 3: Send From What Phone Number?
Click Edit to choose how you would like to send your message, either by one of your local 10-digit numbers.
You can send links and attachments through your 10-digit local number.
Learn more about using multiple phone numbers here!
Step 4: Schedule or Send Now
Click “Send Now” to send your message immediately to your recipients.
Click “Schedule” to select a specific date and time in the future to send your message.
Once scheduled, your message can be found in the Pending tab of the Messages section. You can make changes or cancel the pending message from here.
Step 5: Confirm Sending Selection
Click Confirm to finalize the process and return to the Messages section of your account.
