Updates

Your small groups now have a place to talk.

Three kinds of group, one directory, and a real-time chat that lives in your church's app instead of a group text nobody can find.

Most church groups live in a group text. One for the Tuesday study, another for the elder board. Six months later nobody can find the message about where you're meeting, and whoever joined last week can't scroll back far enough to catch up. The people are committed. The place they talk was never built for it.

Groups are now a full part of WayHouse. Every group gets a roster, a noticeboard, and a chat.

Three kinds of group, one directory.

An elder board isn't a book club. So the type you pick decides who can see a group and how someone gets in:

  • Official, for an elder board or finance committee. Hidden from the directory, invite only.
  • Ministry, for worship, hospitality, or missions. Listed publicly, and a leader approves each request.
  • Community, for small groups and the men's breakfast. Listed publicly, and anyone can tap Join.

They sit in one directory your members can browse, so nobody has to ask around to find out what exists.

A chat that keeps up with the week.

Every group has a real-time chat inside the app your church already uses. Messages arrive as they're sent, and a notification carries them without dragging anyone into their email. Mute it in settings like anything else.

Announcements stay put.

A chat is a stream, and streams lose things. So each group also keeps announcements: any member can post one, and pin the one that matters. The next gathering sits above the list, so opening a group tells you when you're meeting first.

Your groups were never the problem. The group text was.

Leaders can lead without an admin account.

A group leader who isn't on staff can now approve the people asking to join and put the next gathering on the calendar. Neither was possible before, so every small decision walked back through the church office. Now it doesn't, and nobody has to hand out an admin login.

Groups are on every plan, including the free one, which runs up to five. Paid plans have no limit. Chat lives on the phone today: on a laptop you get the announcements, roster, and events, with chat a tap away in your pocket.

If your church is already on WayHouse, groups are in the app right now. Start with the study that's been living in a group text.

Related: The best church management software for small churches · A prayer wall your church will actually open

Try WayHouse for your church.

Free under 100 members. Setup takes about five minutes, with no credit card needed. Want to talk it through first? We're glad to help.