Manage a Group

Groups are long-term communities in BookFellows that provide members access to studies and foster connections among people with shared interests. This guide covers creating groups, managing membership, and configuring group settings.

Understanding Groups

What Are Groups?

Groups serve as organizational communities in BookFellows:

• Study Access: Control which studies are available to group members
• Community: Connect members with shared interests or affiliations
• Discovery: Members can browse and select studies released to their groups
• Long-term: Groups persist across multiple studies and classes

Groups vs. Classes

Groups:

• Long-term persistent communities
• Provides member access to multiple studies
• Managed by group manager
• Members join and stay long-term
• Focus on long-term community and study access

Classes:

• Temporary collaboration for one study
• Duration of a single study
• Administered by class manager
• Members join for specific study
• Focus on shared study experience

Group Roles

Group Manager:

• Creates and manages the group
• Invites and removes members
• Assigns and edits member roles
• Maintains group settings

Group Member:

• Access to studies released to the group
• Can browse group’s library
• Can join classes within the group
• Can create classes using group studies

Group Leader:

• Has all functions of a regular group member (see above)
• Helps support the group
• May facilitate discussions or be a leadership point of contact

Group manager and group leader are often the same person

It is not unusual, particularly for small groups, for the group manager and leader to be the same person.

Prerequisites

You just need to join BookFellows and log in.

Create a Group

Set up a new group for your community.

Before You Begin

Consider:

• Who will be in your group (church, book club, organization, etc.)
• What types of studies you’ll offer
• Your group’s purpose and focus
• The expected memmbership of your group and overlap with other groups

Create Your Group

1. Navigate to Groups from the main menu

2. Click Create a Group

3. Fill in group details:

   • Group Name: Descriptive name (e.g., “First Church Bible Study” or “Literature Book Club”)
   • Description: Explain the group’s purpose, focus, and community
   • Group Code: A short code that will be shared with members to join the group (optional)
   • Capacity: Set the maximum number of members your group can have (1-1000)
   • Cover Image: Upload a logo or representative image (optional)

4. Click Create Group

What Happens After the Group is Created

You become the group manager:

• Full control over group settings
• Ability to invite members
• Can assign roles
• Manage study access (future feature)

Your group is created:

• Ready to add members
• Can configure settings
• Any member can release studies to the group

Track Group Studies

Understand which studies your group members can access.

View Group Studies

See all studies available to your group:

1. Go to your group
2. Click the Studies
3. View all studies released to this group
4. Click on a study to view more details

Understanding How Studies are Released to Groups

Current system:

• Study creators release studies to specific groups
• Released studies appear in group members’ libraries
• All group members get access
• Can select a study to start a solo study or start a class

Your role as group manager:

• Can’t directly add/remove studies
• Encourage creators to release to your group
• Can create your own studies and release to group

Manage Group Membership

Add, organize, and manage your group membership.

View Group Members

See all current members:

1. Go to Groups
2. Select your group
3. Open the Members tab
4. View list of all members with:
   • Name and profile
   • Role (Manager, Leader, Member)
   • Join date

Add Members

Bring new people into your group.

Add Members Directly

New group members must already be a BookFellows member

New group members must already be a BookFellows member. They cannot be added to a group until they have joined BookFellows.

• Open the Members tab
• Click on the Select Member field and start typing the name of the member you want to add
• As you type, you will see a list of members that match your search
• Select the member from the list
• Select the role for the member (Member, Leader)
• Click the Add button
• Member is added to the group
• Repeat for each member you want to add

Share Group Code

1. From the group landing page, select Edit from the action menu (⋮)
2. Note the group code in the edit form (If there is no code, you can add one)
3. Copy the code
4. Share through your preferred channel (email, text, announcements, etc.)
5. Show members how to join the group by using the code

Benefits of group codes:

• Easy to share with large groups
• Self-service joining (no need for the manager to add them one at a time)
• Member can join the group just after joining BookFellows
• No need to collect emails
• Good for public announcements

Edit Group Membership Details

Update a member’s role within the group:

1. Find the member in your members list
2. Click the options menu (⋮) on the right side of the member row and select Edit
3. Update the member’s role (Member, Leader)
4. Add any notes about the member (optional)
5. Click Update Member

Remove Members

Remove someone from your group:

1. Find the member in the members list
2. Click the options menu (⋮) on the right side of the member row and select Remove
3. Confirm the action

What happens:

• Member can no longer see studies released to the group in the Library
• Removed from group member list
• No change to any studies they’re actively engaged in (solo or in a class)
• Can rejoin group again with a code or manually by the manager

Use cases:

• Member requests to leave
• No longer part of organization
• Inactive for extended period
• Transferred to different group

Group members can leave on their own

They can do this by clicking the Leave button from the action menu (⋮) on the group landing page. This is only for group members. Group managers must remove themselves from the group using the process described above.

Update Group Settings

Configure and modify your group.

Update basic group information:

1. Click Edit from the action menu (⋮) on the group landing page
2. Modify:
   • Group Name: Descriptive name (e.g., “First Church Bible Study” or “Literature Book Club”)
   • Description: Explain the group’s purpose, focus, and community
   • Group Code: A short code that will be shared with members to join the group (optional)
   • Capacity: Set the maximum number of members your group can have (1-1000)
   • Cover Image: Upload a logo or representative image (optional)
3. Click Update Group

When to update:

• Group name needs clarification
• Purpose or focus changes
• Better description needed
• New group code is needed
• Capacity needs to be adjusted
• New cover image is needed

Transfer Group Management

Hands off management of the group to another member.

1. From the group landing page, select Transfer from the action menu (⋮)
2. Type in the exact email address of the member you want to transfer to and click Find Member
3. If the member is found, you will see a confirmation message and the option to Transfer Group
4. Click Transfer Group to confirm the transfer
5. New manager takes over all duties

Delete a Group

Permanently remove a group.

Before You Delete

Consider alternatives:

• Transfer management to someone else
• Remove inactive members instead

Understand consequences:

• Permanent: Cannot be undone
• Member access: All members lose group access
• Studies: Members lose access to studies released to the group in the Library

When to Delete

Consider deleting when:

• Group served its purpose and ended
• No active members remaining
• Duplicate group created by mistake
• Merging with another group
• Organization no longer exists

How to Delete

1. From the group landing page, select Delete from the action menu (⋮)
2. Read the warning carefully
3. Confirm deletion
4. Group is removed immediately

What happens:

• Group is deleted permanently
• All members removed from group
• Member access to studies released to the group in the Library ends
• Group code becomes invalid and cannot be used to join the group

Best Practices

For Creating Groups

Choose clear names:

• Descriptive and specific
• Include organization or focus
• Easy to remember
• Searchable (future feature)

Write helpful descriptions:

• Explain group purpose
• Describe typical studies, if applicable
• Set expectations
• Include contact information

Plan membership approach:

• Decide on invitations vs. group code
• Consider group size
• Plan for growth
• Think about moderation needs

For Managing Members

Welcome new members:

• Send welcome message
• Introduce group purpose
• Share how to access studies
• Explain how classes work

Stay organized:

• Track member status
• Remove inactive members periodically
• Update roles as needed
• Maintain accurate membership

Foster community:

• Encourage interaction
• Facilitate connections
• Promote group classes
• Celebrate member engagement

For Group Growth

Start small:

• Begin with core members
• Build community first
• Grow gradually
• Maintain quality over quantity

Promote your group:

• Share group code strategically
• Personal invitations
• Announce in relevant places
• Word of mouth

Sustain engagement:

• Regular study releases
• Variety of topics
• Active classes
• Member communication

Next Steps

Choose your path forward:

Release a Study Make studies available to your group

Need help? Contact support at rich@bookfellows.net