How can we help?

Visit the Register page and fill in your church details. You will need:

• Your church's full name (e.g., Grace Chapel International)
• Your name and email address — this becomes the admin login
• A phone number that will receive the OTP verification code
• A strong password (at least 8 characters)

After submitting, you'll receive a 6-digit OTP via SMS. Enter it to verify your account, then set up your 6-digit PIN for future logins.

ChurchConnect has 4 plans. Choose based on your member count and what features you need:

• Free (₵0/month): Up to 50 members, 100 SMS/month. Perfect if you're just starting digitally.
• Starter (₵99/month): Up to 200 members, 500 SMS/month, birthday automation, role management, family groups. Best for small-to-mid churches.
• Growth (₵189/month): Up to 1,000 members, 2,000 SMS/month, AI features, face recognition attendance, unlimited user roles, WhatsApp messaging. Best for active, established churches.
• Enterprise (₵499+/month): Unlimited members and SMS, multi-branch management, REST API, dedicated account manager. For large denominations.

You can view the full comparison at pricing.php.

Go to Members → Import and upload a .csv or .xlsx file. The required columns are:

• name (Required) — Member's full name, e.g. Kwame Asante
• phone (Required) — Ghana format e.g. 0244123456 or +233244123456
• email — Optional but recommended
• date_of_birth — YYYY-MM-DD format, needed for birthday automation
• department — e.g. Choir, Youth, Ushers
• gender — Male or Female

Don't have a spreadsheet? Contact us on WhatsApp (+233 594 453 744) — we'll help you format your existing data at no charge.

The dashboard is the first screen you see after login. It shows real-time key metrics for your church at a glance:

• Total Members — with month-over-month change
• Attendance Rate — percentage from the last recorded service
• SMS Credits — remaining credits in your Arkesel account
• Monthly Income & Expenses — financial summary for the current month
• Upcoming Events — next 3 events on the calendar
• Recent Activity — latest actions taken by your team

Before sending SMS, make sure you have configured your Arkesel API key in Settings → SMS Settings.

To send your first message:

1. Go to Messages → Compose
2. Choose your recipients: All Members, a specific Department, or a Custom List
3. Type your message. You can use {first_name} to personalise each message automatically.
4. Choose Send Now or Schedule for a specific date and time
5. Click Send — a delivery report will appear in Messages → History

You need an Arkesel account before ChurchConnect can send SMS on your behalf:

1. Go to arkesel.com and create a free account
2. Verify your account with the OTP sent to your phone
3. In the Arkesel dashboard, go to API Keys and create a new key — copy it
4. Apply for a Sender ID (your church name, 3–11 characters). NCA approval takes 1–3 business days
5. Top up your Arkesel SMS balance (GHS 5–10 to start)
6. In ChurchConnect go to Settings → SMS Settings, paste your API key and Sender ID, then click Save & Test

WhatsApp messaging is available on the Growth and Enterprise plans. To set it up:

1. Create a Meta Business account at business.facebook.com and verify your business
2. Create a WhatsApp Business app and note your Phone Number ID and Access Token
3. In ChurchConnect go to Settings → SMS & WhatsApp → WhatsApp
4. Enter your API Key / Access Token and Phone Number ID, then toggle Enable WhatsApp on
5. Click Send Test to verify the connection

When composing a message, use the channel toggle to choose SMS, WhatsApp, or Both. WhatsApp messages are sent only to numbers that have WhatsApp active.

When composing a message, choose Select Recipients → Department and pick the department from the dropdown (e.g., Choir, Youth, Ushers).

The system automatically builds the recipient list from all active members assigned to that department. You'll see a count of recipients before sending.

Members are assigned to departments on their profile under Member Profile → Church Details → Department.

Placeholders are replaced automatically with each member's actual data when the message is sent. Available placeholders:

• {first_name} — Member's first name (e.g., "Kwame")
• {full_name} — Full name (e.g., "Kwame Asante")
• {church_name} — Your church's registered name

Example message: "Dear {first_name}, you're invited to our Harvest Thanksgiving this Sunday. We look forward to seeing you — Grace Chapel family."

Each recipient receives a unique, personal message with their name — even when sending to 500 members at once.

A Sender ID is the name that appears at the top of the SMS when members receive it — instead of a phone number. For example, "GraceChpl" instead of +233244123456.

To register a Sender ID:

1. Log in to Arkesel and go to Sender ID → Request New
2. Enter a name 3–11 alphanumeric characters (no spaces). E.g., "GraceChpl", "ChristCHC", "PIWC"
3. Submit — NCA (National Communications Authority) approval takes 1–3 business days
4. Once approved, update your Sender ID in ChurchConnect under Settings → SMS Settings

Your SMS credit balance is shown on the dashboard KPI bar and in Messages → Compose before sending.

Credits are managed in your Arkesel account — ChurchConnect reads your live balance from Arkesel's API. To top up:

1. Log in to arkesel.com
2. Go to Wallet → Top Up
3. Pay via Mobile Money or bank transfer
4. Credits reflect in ChurchConnect instantly

1 credit = 1 standard SMS (up to 160 characters). Messages over 160 characters use 2 credits. Your monthly plan quota and purchased top-up credits are combined.

The kiosk mode is available on the Growth and Enterprise plans. To set it up:

1. Enrol member faces first: Go to each member's profile → Biometrics tab → click Capture Face → allow camera access → take a clear photo
2. Open the kiosk: On any device (tablet, laptop) go to Attendance → Start Kiosk
3. The screen enters full-screen face-scan mode. Members walk in front of the camera — it automatically identifies them and marks attendance
4. A green confirmation appears with their name and photo when a member is successfully checked in

Manual attendance recording works on all plans. Steps:

1. Go to Attendance → Record Attendance
2. Select the service type (Sunday Service, Midweek, Prayer Meeting, etc.) and the date
3. A list of all active members appears — tick the checkbox next to each member who was present
4. Click Save Attendance

Alternatively, use Record by Numbers for a faster aggregate count — enter total Men, Women, Youth, Visitors, etc. without selecting individual members.

ChurchConnect automatically tracks who is absent:

• Go to Attendance → Reports and filter by Absent Members
• Set a threshold (e.g., absent for 2 or more consecutive Sundays) to see members at risk
• Select the absent members and click Send Follow-Up SMS to reach out to them directly

The Automation module can handle this automatically — configure it to send a follow-up SMS whenever a member has been absent for your defined number of services.

Go to Settings → Automation → Absence Follow-Up to enable this.

To record a tithe or offering collection:

1. Go to Finance → Add Transaction
2. Set Type to Income
3. Select the Category: Tithe, Offering, Special Offering, Pledge, etc.
4. Enter the amount in GHS, the date, and optionally the member's name (for tithe records)
5. Add a description if needed, then click Save

Go to Finance → Reports. Available report types:

• Income Statement — total income vs. expenses for a period
• Cash Book — chronological transaction history
• Category Breakdown — income and expenses grouped by category
• Monthly Statement — full month view with opening/closing balance

Choose your date range and click Generate. Then export as:

• PDF — board-ready printable report
• CSV/Excel — for deeper analysis
• Print — directly from the browser

When you type a description for a transaction, the AI analyses it and suggests the most appropriate category automatically.

For example: typing "Electricity bill for December" → AI suggests Utilities (Expense). Typing "Sunday morning collection" → AI suggests Offering (Income).

You can accept the suggestion or override it by selecting a different category from the dropdown. The AI learns from your usage patterns over time.

Go to Events → Add Event and fill in:

• Event Name — e.g., Annual Harvest Thanksgiving
• Date, Time & Location
• Description — shown to members in reminders
• Toggle Enable RSVP — members can confirm attendance
• Set a RSVP Deadline if needed

Click Save. The event appears in your Events list and dashboard. Members receive an SMS invitation if you choose to send one.

When creating or editing an event, scroll to the Reminders section and click Add Reminder.

You can add up to 3 reminders per event. Choose from preset intervals:

• 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour before
• 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours before
• 2 days or 1 week before
• Custom date and time

For each reminder, choose the channel: SMS, WhatsApp, or Both.

Reminders fire automatically at the scheduled time — you don't need to do anything on the day.

Go to Settings → Automation → Birthday SMS and toggle it ON.

Once enabled, ChurchConnect sends a personalised birthday greeting to every member on their birthday at 8:00 AM. The message uses their date_of_birth field from their member profile.

You can customise the birthday message template — click Edit Template and use {first_name} to personalise each message.

Go to Settings → Automation → Absence Follow-Up.

1. Toggle the automation ON
2. Set the threshold: how many consecutive absences trigger the message (e.g., 2 Sundays)
3. Edit the follow-up message template. Use {first_name} to personalise.
4. Choose the channel: SMS, WhatsApp, or Both
5. Click Save

The system runs this check after every attendance record is saved. Members who cross the threshold automatically receive the follow-up message — no manual work required.

Go to Members → Export. Choose your format:

• CSV / Excel — for editing or backup. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application.
• PDF — for printing or sharing. Formatted as a clean member directory.

You can filter before exporting — export only Active members, only a specific Department, or a date range of join dates.

The dashboard shows 4 key metric areas:

• Member Growth: New members added each month, total active members, members who left
• Attendance Trends: Average attendance per service, trend over time, comparison by service type
• Financial Summary: Total income, total expenses, net balance — by month and year
• Communication Reach: SMS messages sent, delivery success rate, credit usage

Use the date range filter to see data for any custom period. Charts can be printed or exported as PDF.

Go to Settings → Team → Invite User. Enter the staff member's email address and assign a role:

• Admin — Full access to all modules (except billing)
• Finance Secretary — Finance and reports only
• Attendance Officer — Attendance module only
• Secretary — Members, events, basic SMS
• Viewer — Read-only access to dashboard and reports

The invited user receives an email with a link to set up their password and PIN. Once done, they can log in and access their permitted modules.

Go to Settings → Roles. Here you can see all defined roles and their permissions.

Click Edit next to any role to adjust its permissions. Toggle individual permissions on/off:

• Manage Members, Manage Finance, Send Messages
• Manage Events, Manage Attendance, View Reports
• Manage Settings, Manage Roles, Manage Documents

Changes take effect immediately — the affected user sees their navigation update on their next page load.

In the message composer (Messages → Compose), click the AI Draft button (sparkle icon).

Describe what you want to say in plain language, for example: "A reminder about Sunday's special harvest service with dress code white".

The AI generates a polished, church-appropriate SMS message. Review it, edit if needed, then click Use This Message to send.

After typing or AI-drafting your message in English, click the Translate button next to the message field.

Select your target language: Twi, Ewe, or Ga.

The AI translates your message instantly. You can then review it, make any corrections, and send it to your members in their heart language.

The translated message appears in the message field, ready to send. Your original English draft is preserved below so you can compare.

Go to Members → Families → Add Family.

1. Enter the family name (e.g., "The Mensah Family")
2. Assign the Head of Family — select the member who leads the household
3. Click Add Members to add other family members from your member list
4. Save the family

Each linked member's profile will now show their family group. You can click through to see all members of the same household.

Go to Documents → Upload. You can:

• Click Choose File or drag-and-drop your file into the upload area
• Supported types: PDF, Word (.doc/.docx), Excel (.xls/.xlsx), PowerPoint, images (JPG, PNG), text files
• Maximum file size: 5 MB per file
• Assign a Category: Constitution, Finance, Minutes, Reports, Media, Branch, Legal, General
• Add a title and optional description

Once uploaded, documents appear in the library organised by category. Use the search bar to find any document instantly.

Departments are created and managed under Settings → Departments.

1. Click Add Department and enter the name (e.g., Choir, Youth, Ushers, Men's Fellowship)
2. To assign a member to a department, open their profile under Members → [Member Name] → Church Details → Department and select the department
3. Or do a bulk assignment: go to the department page, click Add Members and select multiple members at once

Once members are assigned, they appear in the department member list. You can now send targeted SMS to just this group from Messages → Compose → Select Recipients → Department.