Documentation

Find answers, guides, and resources to help you make the most of Communicate.

← Back to Documentation

Quick Start Guide

Get started with channels, categories, colors, campaigns, scheduling, and templates.

#initial-setup #organization #channels #categories #scheduling #campaign-management #templates

Quick Start Guide

Welcome to the Communicate App! This guide will help you get up and running quickly, so you can start organizing your church communications efficiently.

Your Quick Start Guide to Communicate App

Get Up and Running in Minutes – Watch Our Step-by-Step Walkthrough!

New accounts may also see the in-app Get started flow. Anytime after that, open Help → Setup Guide for a short tour (Owners, Admins, Managers, and Editors).

1. Initial Setup

Before you schedule communications, set up Channels and Categories. Optionally add brand colors under Colors.

Who sets this up: Channel create/edit and Colors management need Owners, Admins, or Managers. Categories are managed by Owners, Admins, and Managers. Editors can create campaigns and communications once the framework exists; Viewers use Calendar and Campaigns read-only.

Plus churches with multiple locations: Turning on multi-campus later adds workspaces (Global vs campus), global vs campus-owned campaigns, and richer schedule tools on global campaigns. Until then, follow this guide as a single campus. See Multi-campus (Plus) when you are ready.

Setting Up Channels

Channels are the mediums you plan against—Email, Instagram, Pre-Service slides, and more.

  • Open Channels in the sidebar. Click New, pick a Channel type from the catalog, or Create Channel for a custom one.
  • Optionally set Channel Preferences (preferred day, time, blocked days) per campus—Essentials and Plus; needs channel edit access.
  • On Plus, you can add Channel Schedules for repeating send slots on the Calendar.

Setting Up Categories

Categories organize campaigns and make filtering easier on the Calendar, Timeline, and Campaigns list.

  • Open Categories → New. Common examples: Outreach, Events, Youth Ministry.
  • You can add or rename categories later as your strategy evolves.

Optional: Colors

Open Colors in the sidebar to save brand colors for campaign and communication pickers. See Color Palette.

Tip: In User Settings → Profile → Start of Week, choose Sunday or Monday so Calendar and Timeline weeks match how your team plans.

2. Creating a Campaign

With channels and categories in place, create your first campaign.

Adding a New Campaign

  • From Campaigns or New: On the Campaigns list, click New. Or open sidebar New → Create → New Campaign (with multi-campus on in the Global workspace: New Global Campaign / New Campus Campaign).

  • From the Timeline (Quick Add): On the Timeline, click and drag a date range in the date row (day cells under the week labels). When you release, the Add Campaign modal opens with those dates pre-filled—add title, category, color, and create. You stay on the Timeline. Dragging or resizing existing campaign bars on the Timeline is Plus.

  • Essential fields: Title, start and end dates, category, and color. Then you can schedule communications right away.

  • More later: Target audience, event details, images, and copy can wait until you need them.

3. Scheduling Communications

On the campaign page

Use the Communication Schedule at the bottom of the campaign page to plan one campaign at a time—drag channels into the grid, then open each communication to edit Content, status, and details.

On the Calendar

Open Calendar for every scheduled communication across campaigns (and standalones). Use it when you’re adjusting timing or covering several campaigns at once. See Communications and Calendar.

4. Utilizing Templates

Templates speed up scheduling and keep patterns consistent. Templates are a Plus feature.

  • Smart Templates (recommended) — timeline-based plans anchored to campaign Start or End; placement respects Channel Preferences when you apply.

  • Legacy Templates — classic week-and-day grid; still available but being deprecated.

  • Where to go next:

5. Help and support

Click Help at the bottom of the sidebar:

  • Setup Guide — in-app walkthrough (Owners, Admins, Managers, and Editors)
  • User Docs — opens this documentation site
  • Training Videos — video tutorials
  • Feature Request — suggest improvements
  • Report a Bug / Contact — same roles as Setup Guide

Viewers see a shorter Help menu (User Docs, Training Videos, Feature Request).

6. Additional Resources

For more detailed guidance, explore our Documentation. If you have further questions, reach out to us at [email protected].

Quick Tips

  • Campaign naming: Keep names simple and descriptive (e.g. “Easter” or “VBS 2025”).
  • Start small: Essentials first—title, dates, category, color—then add brief and assets.
  • Consistent week start: Align Start of Week and campaign start days so templates and weekly planning stay predictable.
← Back to Documentation