GoodNewsVoice

1. What GoodNewsVoice is

GoodNewsVoice is the church's system for looking after its people. It keeps the list of members, newcomers, givers and partners. It sends messages by SMS, email and Telegram. It records services and attendance. And it keeps the church accounts.

You only see the parts your work needs, so your menu may be shorter than someone else's. That is on purpose: it keeps people's private information safe. If you need something you cannot see, ask the church administrator.

2. Signing in for the first time

Your first email from GoodNewsVoice has a Set your password button. Tap it, choose your password, and you are in.
After that, open the church's GoodNewsVoice web address. Choose your branch, then type your email and password.
A 6 digit code is emailed to you. Type it in to finish signing in. It works once, for 10 minutes. If it does not arrive, check your spam folder or press Send a new code.
On your own computer or phone, leave Trust this device for 30 days ticked, and you will not be asked for a code there for 30 days. Untick it on a shared computer.

Never share your password or a sign-in code with anyone, not even someone from the church office or the system's support team. Nobody legitimate will ask for them. If you get a code you did not ask for, someone may know your password: change it and tell the Senior Minister.

Forgot your password? Press "Forgot password?" on the sign-in page. A link is emailed to you. It works once, for one hour.

Prefer an authenticator app? It is optional: Settings, Sign-in security. Once it is set up you can type the app's code instead of the emailed one.

Locked out? After five wrong passwords or codes the account is locked for 15 minutes. Wait, then try again, or ask the administrator.

3. Finding your way around

The menu on the left lists what you can use (on a phone, open it with the menu button). Each person's menu is different.
The Dashboard is your first page. Needs you today lists jobs waiting for you. How we are doing shows the figures you are allowed to see. What you can do has shortcuts to your usual jobs. Coming up shows the next events.
At the bottom of the menu you will find the language picker, Sign Out, and links to the privacy notice, your data rights and cookie settings.
Support in the menu sends a message to the people who look after the system.
Press Get started guide in the menu or on the dashboard to come back here at any time.

Do you see a message saying you are missing a permission? Nothing is wrong with the system. Your account is not set up for that job yet. Ask the administrator, say what you need to do, and they can give you that right.

4. Your first ten minutes

Sign in with your password and the code emailed to you.
Take your data protection training (My training, in the menu): about half an hour of short lessons for your role, a quick check, then the confidentiality undertaking, a promise to keep people's information private. It is repeated once a year.
Look at your menu and your dashboard so you know what is yours.
Choose your job on this page (the buttons at the top) and read that section.
Do one real task from it, with someone beside you if you can.
Write down who to call if something goes wrong: the Data Protection Officer, and the church administrator.

5. Add or find a member

Open Members. To find someone, type part of their name or phone number in the search box.
To add someone, press Add Member, fill in their name and phone number (with the country code), and an email if they have one, then Save.
To change details, open the person and edit them. Changes are recorded.

Notes, home addresses and second contacts are visible only to people whose account has that right. If you can see them, treat them with extra care, and write a note only when it helps you look after the person. Never put a prayer request or a health detail in a message.

If a person says "please stop contacting me" or "please delete my details", do not do it yourself. Record the withdrawal in the Consent card on their record if you can, and tell the Data Protection Officer the same day.

6. Welcome cards and following up newcomers

A visitor fills in a welcome card on their phone from the church's QR code, or an usher enters it for them (Events, Follow up, Welcome cards). Every card needs the person to tick that the church may contact them.

For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian must agree. The card asks for their name and a tick. Without both, the card is not accepted.

Open Events, Follow up, My follow-ups. You see the newcomers assigned to you, with the ones that need a call at the top.
Call, visit or message them. Be warm and brief. Do not quote their prayer request back in a message.
Open their card and log what happened: reached, no answer, or postponed. Set a date for the next contact.
Three unanswered attempts in a row mark a person as unreachable. When someone is settled, the evangelism lead moves them to the next stage.

You can only open the cards assigned to you. Someone else's card shows an error. That protects people's prayer requests.

7. Record attendance

Open Events, Attendance.
Choose the service, then enter the numbers: men, women, children, online, and first-timers.
Save. The dashboard then shows the last service and how it compares with before.

Counters can also send their numbers from a link without signing in. Those arrive for you to look at and confirm. The dashboard tells you when a week's attendance is missing.

8. Send a message

Open Communications, Compose.
Choose who gets it (a group, or particular people) and the channel: SMS, email or Telegram.
Write the message. Start with a greeting, for example "GoodNews to you". Use a saved template if there is one (Templates). Placeholders such as the person's first name fill themselves in.
Check the list of people before you press Send. A message cannot be taken back.

Sending needs its own right, separate from writing. If you can write but not send, ask the administrator.
People who have withdrawn consent for a channel are left out automatically.
Reminders (Communications, Reminders) send a message on a schedule.
Never put prayer requests, health or family troubles in a message, a group chat or an email subject.

9. Forms: census, registrations, feedback

Open Forms and press New form. Start from a template (member details update, receipt email for givers, partner registration, event registration, feedback, volunteers, prayer request) or a blank form.
On Questions, word and order the questions. Fills in connects an answer to the record, for example a member's phone. Show this only if hides a question until another answer is given.
On Settings, say what the answers are for. People see it at the top of the form.
Press Open the form. On Share you get its short link and QR code: download it, or print a poster.
To reach particular people, send personal links by SMS, email or Telegram. Each opens already filled in with what we have on record, so people only correct what changed. Remind those who have not answered.

Phone numbers and consents update the record at once; a new email is saved once the person taps the confirm button sent to it; names, birthdays and the rest wait in Answers, To review for you to approve.
A partner registration finds or adds the partner, links their member and giver records and records the pledge by itself.
An event registration keeps count of places, puts people on a waiting list when full, and sends each person a link to cancel. Tick people as they arrive.
Every change from a form can be traced, and a detail can be put back with Undo.

10. Record money, requests and receipts

Income: open Finance, Giving, Record income. Enter the date, the giver, the amount, how it was paid and what it is for. Save.
Spending: ask for a payment under Finance, Payment requests. A person with approval rights approves it, and then the payment is recorded against the request.
Receipts and statements: a giver can be sent a receipt or a yearly statement from their record.
Reports: Finance has a dashboard, a statement and reports. Printing keeps a clean page.

Finance and partner screens are visible only to people the Senior Minister has given those rights. Downloading a file of giving data needs its own right, and every download is logged.

A mistake is corrected, not erased: the correction keeps the original and says why. If a month has been closed, ask someone with the right to reopen it.

11. Look at reports

Open Reports.
Choose Monthly report, Annual report or Overview.
Pick the month, and whether weeks run Monday to Sunday or follow the calendar month.
Press Print for a one-page copy.

12. Running the system

Add a person: Settings, Users and permissions, Add User. Choose the role that is closest to their work. It gives a sensible starting set of rights.
Adjust their rights: press Rights on their row and tick or untick. Each right is one job, so you can give more as a person grows into the work.
Forgot their password, or cannot sign in: press Reset sign-in. They are emailed a link to set a new password. If they used an authenticator app and lost the phone, press Reset authenticator.
Someone leaves, or a device is lost: press Deactivate. This ends all their sessions at once.
Watch what happens: Settings, Security shows sign-ins, failures, rights changes and downloads. Serious events are also emailed to you.

Only the Senior Minister can give or remove finance and partner rights, and nobody can change their own rights. If you need money rights for someone, ask the Senior Minister.

Once every quarter, with the Data Protection Officer, look at who holds the sensitive rights (Data protection, Overview) and remove any that are no longer needed.

13. Keeping information safe

People trust the church with what they believe, what they pray for, and what troubles them. These rules protect that trust.

Use people's information only for your church work. Curiosity is not a reason to look.
Keep your sign-in private. Sign out on a shared phone or computer.
Do not copy, photograph, print or forward member information unless your work needs it.
Check who will receive a message before you send it.
Prayer requests, pastoral notes and children's details are for the few people whose work needs them.
Respect a person's choices. If they asked us to stop contacting them, stop.
Tell the Data Protection Officer at once if you lose a device, send something to the wrong person, or think someone else has seen information they should not. Reporting a mistake is never punished.

14. When something goes wrong

What happened	What to do
I forgot my password	Press "Forgot password?" on the sign-in page and use the emailed link.
My sign-in code did not arrive	Check your spam folder, then press "Send a new code". Any code from the last 10 minutes works.
I lost my phone	Tell the administrator and the Data Protection Officer if the phone was signed in to the system. If you used an authenticator app on it, type a recovery code, or ask the administrator to reset your authenticator.
I am locked out	Wait 15 minutes, then try again. If it keeps happening, tell the administrator.
I sent a message to the wrong people	Tell the Data Protection Officer straight away. Do not try to fix it quietly. Say who it went to and what it said.
A page says I am missing a permission	Your account is not set up for that job. Ask the administrator, and say what you need to do.
Something looks wrong or broken	Use Support in the menu and describe what you were doing and what you saw. Do not send passwords or people's details.
Someone asks to see, correct or delete their information	Be kind, take their name and contact, and pass it to the Data Protection Officer the same day. They can also use the "Your data rights" page.
I think someone else knows my password	Change it now (Forgot password), and tell the Data Protection Officer.

15. Words you will see

Member: Someone on the church roll.
Newcomer: A first-timer or new convert who filled in a welcome card, being followed up.
Partner: Someone who has pledged to support the church regularly.
Giver: Anyone who has given. Their giving records are private to finance.
Rights (permissions): The separate jobs your account may do. The administrator gives them one by one.
Sign-in code: A 6 digit code emailed to you after your password, as a second step. It works once, for 10 minutes.
Authenticator: An optional app on your phone that shows a 6 digit code you can use instead of the emailed one.
Recovery code: A one-time code for when you cannot use your authenticator.
Welcome card: The short form a visitor fills in on their first visit.
Consent: A person's agreement to be contacted or to have something done with their information. They can withdraw it.
Data Protection Officer: The person who watches over how the church handles personal information, and who you tell if something goes wrong.

16. Questions people ask

Why can my friend see things I cannot?

Each person gets only the rights their own work needs. It is not about who is more important. If you need a right, ask the administrator.

Can I use it on my phone?

Yes. The pages are built to work on a phone. Sign out when you have finished on a phone you share.

Do I have to use the authenticator?

No. Everyone gets a sign-in code by email. The app is optional: Settings, Sign-in security.

What if I make a mistake in a record?

Fix it. Changes are recorded, so nothing is lost. For money, use the correction option, which keeps the original and gives a reason.

Who can see what I do?

Sign-ins, rights changes, downloads of people or giving data, and changes to records are logged. This protects you as much as anyone.

Where do I read how my own information is used?

The privacy notice, linked at the bottom of the menu and at the foot of the sign-in page.

Still stuck? Ask your church administrator, or use Support in the menu. For anything about people's private information, speak to the Data Protection Officer.