Who runs this: the church admin or team lead, at a regular team meeting.
Goal: everyone leaves with a working account — activated together, in the room, with helpers — not a link to figure out alone at home.
Why this order matters: people flag unexpected texts as scams (rightly), and most older adults prefer a person nearby when setting up something new. So we announce the message before it arrives, show the app before asking anyone to sign up, and put helpers in the room for the sign-up itself.
Before the meeting
- Print a member one-pager for each person — use the one-pager generator to fill in your church's details first.
- Collect an email address for everyone attending, and a cell number for anyone you want texted (the text is optional but helps people who don't check email).
- Confirm you can sign in as an admin on your own phone or laptop.
- If you can, set up a screen or TV to mirror your phone or laptop for the demo. Holding up a phone works for a small room.
- Think ahead about who your tech deputy could be — a team member who's comfortable with phones and patient with people (you'll name them in part 4).
- Ask 1–2 comfortable folks beforehand to be floor helpers during sign-up.
Part 1 — Announce the invitation (2 minutes)
Tell the room, before anything is sent:
“In a few minutes you're going to get an email — and some of you a text — inviting you to the app our team is starting to use. I'm sending it, right here, from this room. It is not spam and it is not a scam. Here's exactly what it will say.”
Then read the actual messages aloud. This is what the app sends today:
The text message (only to people whose cell number you entered)
{Your name} added you to the {Church name} safety team on The Safer Church. Create your account: {link} Reply STOP to opt out.
The email — subject line “You're invited to The Safer Church”
{Your name} has invited you to join The Safer Church safety team app. Click below to create your account and get started.
[Create Your Account]
Your church shortcode is shown below. Keep it handy — you'll need it to sign in again from the home page if you're ever signed out.
Point out two things:
- The text comes from a regular sending number, not a name they know — that's why you're reading it out first.
- The shortcode is in the email (and on the printed sheet you're about to hand out), not in the text.
Part 2 — Show the app first (5 minutes)
Hand out the one-pagers, then give a two-minute tour on the screen before anyone signs up. People sign up more willingly for something they've seen. Show, in this order:
- Situation Room — the home page. “This is where team updates and reports land. SITREP is just team shorthand for a situation report — a short ‘here's what happened’ note. POI means person of interest.”
- My Schedule — “This is you. Your upcoming shifts, and where you accept or decline them.”
- Messages — “Team messages land here, and by email too. Urgent safety alerts can also come by text.”
Keep it to three screens. The point is familiarity, not training.
Part 3 — Activate accounts together (10 minutes)
Now send the invitations, live:
- On your device: Admin → Invite User. Enter each person's email (and cell number, if you have it), pick their role — most people are Member — and tap Send Invitation.
- Tell the room: “Check your email — or your texts. It should be there now.”
- Everyone follows the numbered steps on their one-pager, with helpers circulating:
- Tap Create Your Account in the email or text.
- Fill in name and cell number; choose a password (at least 10 characters — a short phrase works well). Suggest they write it on the sheet's password box now and keep the sheet at home.
- Enter the 6-digit code texted to them. If it doesn't arrive: Resend code, or Call me instead for an automated voice call.
- When someone finishes, have them bookmark the page or add it to their home screen while a helper is next to them.
Common snags, and the fix
| Snag | Fix |
|---|---|
| “I don't see the email” | Check spam/junk. Still nothing? Check the address on your Admin → Invitations list, fix it, and resend. |
| “The code never came” | Tap Resend code; if texts aren't landing, Call me instead reads the code by voice. |
| “It says my password isn't allowed” | The app checks passwords against known data breaches. Pick a different, longer phrase. |
| Wrong cell number entered | Revoke that invitation (Admin → Invitations), send a fresh one with the right details. |
| No smartphone / no email | Pair them with the tech deputy after the meeting; the app also works from any home computer's browser. |
Part 4 — Name the tech deputy (2 minutes)
Before you close:
“One more thing — {Name} is our tech deputy. If the app ever fights you, or you get a new phone, or you just want your home screen set up, {Name} is your first call, not your last resort.”
Have everyone write the deputy's name and number on their one-pager if it wasn't pre-filled.
After the meeting
- Open Admin → Invitations. The Pending list is everyone who hasn't finished signing up — chase those this week while the meeting is fresh. Invitations last 7 days; Resend issues a fresh link (works on expired ones too). See the lead cheat-sheet for the full rundown.
- Anyone who missed the meeting: send their invitation anyway, and give them a one-pager Sunday with the tech deputy standing next to them.
- Keep the leftover one-pagers — they're your new-member packet from now on.
Why it's built this way: pre-announcing an expected text is the single best counter to smishing suspicion (Rahman et al., arXiv:2212.13312); 73% of adults 65+ prefer someone nearby when setting up new technology (Pew Research, Barriers to Adoption, 2017); and written-down-at-home passwords are a legitimate strategy for older adults (arXiv:2502.11650).