App Hierarchy - On-Board Leadership
The Newman Connect App is structured much like your ministry. It has an "Administrator" role which has full access to the app and its features in order to oversee operations within the app. This Administrator user can see all groups, all group chats, and all events and have control to block, limit and delete most anything on the app.
The second level in the app hierarchy is the "Group Leader". This access level allows a person access to create a group and manage everything within that group. They can set up events, accept/reject/invite new members and manage chat messages within that group's chat.
Best Practice: most staff and ministry leaders should be given "Group Leader" access. This can be assigned by clicking on the member's profile, clicking the 3 dots in the upper right-hand corner, and changing member type.
The third level in the app hierarchy is the "Member". Most of your app users will be Members and will have the ability to view the Home screen posts, events, and groups. Members are able to chat with other members and within the groups to which they belong.
Creating Groups & Events
The Newman Connect App is run by groups. You can create a group for anything that involves people and fun. Ex: Men's Group, Women's Group, FOCUS group, bible study, retreat group, etc.
After onboarding your leadership team and giving them the "Group Leader" access, it is important to discuss a group strategy. Perhaps you already have this in your ministry.
Group Leaders can start creating groups and adding events to the app. They can create welcome messages, group descriptions, and prepare invitations. Once the group is set up, invite your students to join. Remember, group leaders can only control what happens in their groups. Admins can control what happens in all groups.
Best Practice: take advantage of the private/public feature of the groups. If you have 25 bible studies, make them private and let the leader privately invite their members. This will help delete the clutter 25 bible study groups will bring to the app.
Adding Students
Once you have your ministry set up on the app and all groups and events are created, it's time to invite your students.
At Newman, we have a full suite of marketing materials that you can use. Everything from posters to social media posts.
Note: Be sure that you've updated to the latest version of the app! Every release offers new functions and features, and while we don't anticipate the functionality to be affected in different versions, it's always best to use the latest.