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Apr 16, 2019
Phase 1 Update: Milestone 9 of 15
We are on milestone 9. New ETA for beta testing is May 15th. Here’s a video update.
Web App (V2), Forecast
Apr 14, 2019
Phase 1 Delayed
We apologize for the delay. As of April 15th, 2019, we are on milestone 8 of 14 for our new Hub (communication hub – Inbox). It’s a major revamp. It started out in September 2018 with our designer and front-end developer, but we are closer towards the end than we ever were. The earlier milestones…
Web App (V2), Forecast
Mar 5, 2019
Removal of legacy ‘send immediately’ option
The PastorsLine ‘smart syncing’ feature for integrations makes ‘send immediately’ obsolete. Previously: As soon as new contacts entered our system, we synced them with the integration. If the contact names were missing, we added placeholders. Currently: We no longer sync new contacts immediately with the integration. We now wait for confirmation of their contact details…
Web App (V1), Contacts, Integrations, Fixes
Mar 4, 2019
Detection of Answering Machines/Voicemail
When sending a voice message, sometimes a human answers and sometimes a machine. Our process for differentiating between the two was not working accurately. On occasion, PastorsLine voice messages would begin before the answering machine or voicemail system began recording. We have recoded this section. Now, voice messages should work more intelligently. More about answering…
Web App (V1), Voice, Fixes
Mar 1, 2019
Elvanto: Groups vs. People Categories
In PastorsLine, you can collect people into groups and give those groups names. So does Elvanto. Elvanto also has the option of ‘People Categories’. There are pre-defined categories such as “Congregation, Visitor/New People and Community Contacts”. You can also create your own. A person can be in one People Category at a time. Now, when…
Web App (V1), Features, Integration - Elvanto, Integration -
Feb 28, 2019
Elvanto: Archived/inactive or deleted contacts
You have marked some Elvanto contacts as archived/inactive or deleted. PastorsLine does not import these contacts.
Web App (V1), Integrations, Fixes, Integration - Elvanto
Feb 27, 2019
Keywords: Release and resuse
There are some keywords which are ‘just right’. You want to use them each time you run similar campaigns. Example: The keyword ‘VBS’ for Vacation Bible School last summer, this summer, next summer, etc. With PastorsLine, you can release a keyword after a campaign has finished. This frees up the keyword for the next campaign.…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Feb 21, 2019
Admin plus
PastorsLine recognizes that there is often mobility in church staffs. People come and go. This can mean that churches need to change PastorsLine owners. ‘Admin plus’ addresses this need. It is quick but secure, with confirmations on both ends. More details here.
Web App (V1), Settings, Features
Feb 19, 2019
Filters: Contacts without a mobile number
PastorsLine (PL) is basically a texting app. Thus, a contact’s mobile phone number is a critical piece of information. As a result, we did not allow you to create a contact without a mobile number. MailChimp (MC) is primarily an email app. Following the PL-MC integration, PastorsLine revised the ‘contact-mobile phone number’ rule. Our system…
Web App (V1), Integrations, Fixes, Integration - MC
Feb 19, 2019
CCB selective resyncing
It happens on occasion that some groups do not sync successfully. PastorsLine used to notify you of the issue and then do a complete resync. Now, we are tracking at the group level. This means that in the event of a glitch, we will notify you and then only resync the group(s) which did not…
Web App (V1), Fixes, Integration - CCB
Feb 18, 2019
Redirect when logged out
You are logged out. You type in an address (URL) of a PastorsLine page you wish to access. This fix ensures that you will arrive at the requested address even if your go through the login process. We do this by keeping the particular location appended to the URL, so we can always redirect you…
Web App (V1), Fixes
Feb 18, 2019
Disabled integration: preserve history
As you realize, when you disable an integration, PastorsLine removes the associated groups and contacts. This made the history for these groups and contacts show up with blanks in the name field. So, you could not tell which history was for what. In the Inbox, the associated number showed up as having no messages. This…
Web App (V1), Integrations, Fixes, Integration - CCB, Integration - MC, Integration - PCO, Integration - Elvanto
Feb 12, 2019
Group sent statistics
After you send a group message, PastorsLine sends you an email message with the statistics of that ‘send’. Part of those statistics are duplicates and failed numbers. We have made the failed numbers statistic more accurate. 1. We identify the failed numbers (numbers that we could not send to) as landlines or unformatted numbers. 2.…
Web App (V1), Groups, Fixes
Jan 14, 2019
Phase 1 Launch Planned (April 15th, 2019)
Our aim is to complete our new, redesigned, communication hub inbox named The Hub. More specifically… * In the newer, revamped web app, you should have the ability to do everything you already do in our current version of the PastorsLine Inbox . * You should be able to manage groups, contacts, and voice from…
Web App (V2), Forecast
Dec 13, 2018
Unsubscribe contacts with multiple failed messages
Next to the Undelivered Message icon (red triangle with an exclamation point inside) is an ‘X‘. This X allows you to delete unseen, undelivered messages. If you click on this ‘X’, the Confirmation box will pop up. As before, you can clear all unseen undelivered messages. Now you can also choose to unsubscribe contacts if…
Web App (V1), Contacts, Features
Dec 11, 2018
Option: Not to be Charged for Incoming Messages
Now, you have the option to switch how PastorsLine charges you for incoming messages. Default option: Pay for incoming and outgoing messages, and unused credits roll over each month. New option: Pay for outgoing messages only (incoming are free), but unused credits do not roll over. To help you choose...The new option (non-rollover) may be…
Web App (V1), Settings, Features
Nov 30, 2018
Polls: New view which doesn’t use Groups
Before: PastorsLine stored the data from each poll under its own tag. There was one tag for each answer. So, three answers would generate three tags. On the Groups page, you would see a graph showing the data for each tag. Now: PastorsLine stores the data from each poll under the relevant Campaign. So, IN…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Nov 28, 2018
Tighter User-URL Authentication
PastorsLine wants to keep your account(s) and data as safe as possible. It is important to make sure that users have permission for the URLs they want to access. We have tightened our authentication processes. Now, there is less chance of anyone falling through the cracks. Examples of benefits from the the increased authentication… 1.…
Web App (V1), Settings, Fixes
Nov 23, 2018
Easily Identify New Imports to a Group
Sometimes, it is useful to know which people you have just imported. So, when you import members into a group, PastorsLine also makes a separate group containing the new imports. Let’s say you have the group, Bible Study with 15 members. You import several new members into this group. Now, your Bible Study group will…
Web App (V1), Groups, Features
Nov 21, 2018
Groups: Delete with or without Contacts
Deleting a group has two parts. One part is the group itself. The other part is the contacts in that group. Now, you can delete just the group or BOTH the group AND the contacts in that group. By checking the box and then clicking Delete, you will delete this group name, AND the members…
Web App (V1), Groups, Features
Nov 15, 2018
Contests: Separate view for each contest
Before As the above image shows, on the Groups and Keywords page, there was one running list which showed all your contests. So, the results of your latest contest were in the same view as those of your previous contests. Now As the above image shows, each contest now has its own view. You can…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 23, 2018
PCO: Setting primary number
Since PastorsLine is primarily a texting app, the contact’s primary number should be a mobile number. When we import contacts from Planning Center (PCO) into PastorsLine (PL), we make the contact’s mobile number the primary number. In other words, we may override the number listed as primary in the PCO file. Example: In PCO, the…
Web App (V1), Integrations, Fixes, Integration - PCO
Oct 1, 2018
Polls: Customize the number (amount) of answers
Polls is a powerful feature which allows you to collect data and engage with your lists. In the last update, we included automated polls. In this update, we inform you that you can now customize how many answers you give for a question. Previously, each question had to have four answers. Now, you can disable…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Data Capture and resend
Data capture is great…if people complete the process. So did they? Or are they stuck somewhere in the middle? We’ve made it easy to check who is at which stage. You can also send a text message or resend a data capture message to gently push those ‘in process’ towards completion. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Manually add Contacts to your AM Campaigns
One option to create a group or contacts list is for those interested to text a keyword to your PastorsLine phone number. However, this does not work for all people or all campaigns. So, you now have the option to manually add contacts to campaigns. Learn more
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Data Capture
(Digital Connect Texts) Improvements Data Capture works where the trigger begins with a keyword. It’s a powerful way to capture the names, phone, email and birthdates of your audience. Before, this was the only option. Now, you can manually add people or groups into your Data Capture campaign and trigger the same workflows. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Big feature: Smart Syncing
We noticed the following challenges with our two-way integrations: There was an issue with duplicates in the account(s) of your external application(s)—for now, your CCB and/or PCO account(s). Most external apps required a minimum of first and last name + a phone number. To solve that, we created a dummy name consisting of first name…
Web App (V1), Groups, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Keywords
We added a new Multiple Keywords option People make spelling mistakes, and autocorrect does, too—sometimes ‘helping’ with the wrong word. That’s why PastorsLine lets you specify multiple keywords for the same campaign. First-time guests can text “welcome / welcom / welkom / wellcome” etc. to trigger the same process. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Groups, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Changes to Resyncing
1. Resyncing is done in the background. As a result, you can add additional groups to the resync queue while the resync is happening. You can also continue with other PastorsLine tasks. 2. Depending on your integration, there are different resyncing options (see green box). Our recommendation is to resync recent changes: PastorsLine compares our…
Web App (V1), Integrations, Fixes
Oct 1, 2018
Multicampus
More than multiple users with roles, multicampus gives you another organization level for your church. This option is for ministries such as: a pastor who has several different church plants; churches with a main church and several divisions or locations; churches who regularly partner with other churches; churches which are a group of churches under…
Web App (V1), Settings, Forecast
Oct 1, 2018
View at which stage each person has reached in your AM Campaigns
So you created a campaign, and people opted in. Where are they in the campaign process? You are now able to find out whether the person has completed the campaign or is still active (in process). If active, you can see which next step they are due to receive and decide which action, if any,…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Managing Contacts
Manually Process/Manage Duplicate Contacts A typical example of duplicate contacts are families that share a phone number/email members. Of course, when you send a text message, you only want to send it once and to the relevant family member. Now you are able to see which of your contacts have duplicates, so you can set…
Web App (V1), Contacts
Oct 1, 2018
Coming up…
Our PastorsLine team is working on lots of things but here are the big 3. MailChimp Integration We know. This was supposed to be in place already. The thing is that some of our To-Do list got re-prioritized because we felt that our smart syncing feature was more pressing. But now, with our smart syncing…
Web App (V1), Forecast
Oct 1, 2018
Clone your Campaigns
For many churches, most of the campaign settings remain the same from campaign to campaign. That means once you’ve taken the time to set up your first campaign, you can clone it to reduce your ‘new campaign setup time’. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Oct 1, 2018
Mobile Apps
We have reported that we are 40% done with Phase 1.1 of our new revamped app. Phases will be released over the next few months, but we hope to give a better mobile app experience by December 2018. However, one thing we have allowed you to do now is to access the full website from…
Mobile App, Forecast
Oct 1, 2018
Automated polls
Now, you can set up and schedule polls that will reach your contacts by email. Automated email polls give you a very natural option to integrate into one of your automated messages campaigns (AMCs). For example, think about using polls as part of your first-time guest follow-up process. You can ask your guests an unintrusive…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Features
Sep 28, 2018
Keyword visible on projected poll
One way that churches get people to opt in to polls is to project the poll live on a big screen during a sermon or event. If the poll has a keyword (optional), this keyword will be visible when the poll is projected. As you can see in the image below, the keyword for this…
Web App (V1), Campaigns, Fixes
Sep 6, 2018
Reinvite Users
You sent a user an invite. He or she did not respond. Before, you would have to do the whole process again: delete this user, add him or her again, and issue an invite. Now, you can just click on the Reinvite icon (two red arrows in opposite directions) to resend the invite link.
Web App (V1), Features, Users
May 1, 2018
Future future
More integrations: It’s our aim to integrate with as many ChMSs that you are likely using. Elvanto, Ministry Platform and ACS are closer to the top of the list of integrations to explore. We already integrate with PCO and CCB. Even our current integrations have future features we hope to release. We strongly believe in…
Web App (V1), Forecast
May 1, 2018
Log renovations (beta)
We are moving towards a unified table view with filters. Not only more visually accessible but will be populated by more useful data. In addition, you’ll have a more accurate view of how you are using your credits. Note, this is still in beta and we are consistently tweaking this based on real data.
Web App (V1), Logs
May 1, 2018
Lookup number
Currently, if you send a group message, you are charged for each message sent whether or not it was a landline, VOIP or mobile phone. Our vendor charges us for each attempt. Now you can check your imported numbers to classify whether they are landlines, VOIP (like Google numbers or another PastorsLine number) or mobile.…
Web App (V1), Numbers
May 1, 2018
More badges and notifications
You’ll notice lots of additional badges (icons) and notifications around to give you more sticky info about your contacts, groups, and numbers for maximum connectivity and communication. Why sticky? Because the info is connected to the item, not the website page, making it visible no matter where you are. For example, badges tell you whether…
Web App (V1), Contacts
May 1, 2018
Text Enable your Church Landline (US. Only)
The final major feature we launched (in live beta) is the ability to text-enable your church landline number. We think this is great for many churches that still use landline phones—from large, established churches with several paid office staff to the small church where the Pastor does everything and the secretary volunteers only a day…
Web App (V1), Features
May 1, 2018
On the way…
Mail Chimp integration: This is huge on our list. It’s possibly one of the most requested features. Long overdue. It’s the next main thing we will be working on. Mobile app: As you know pastorsline.com/app, we launched a Phase 1 app a few months ago. It does what it is supposed to do but it’s…
Web App (V1), Forecast
May 1, 2018
2-way Integration with Planning Center People App
Our PCO integration now works 2-ways and is in public beta: not only can you pull your list and people into PastorsLine but you can also capture data using digital connect texts and push those back into PCO. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Integrations
May 1, 2018
Inbox: Scrolling back
We previously only showed you the 10 most recent messages. This was to ensure our Inbox worked faster. For many churches, that was sufficient. But often, many pastors might want to easily see the full history of the communication. Now you can. We still load the 10 most recent messages, but if you scroll up,…
Web App (V1), Inbox
May 1, 2018
Inbox: Undeliverable message filter
Even though we always showed you which messages were delivered, queued or failed, this was only seen if you opened specific conversations or if you visited the report section. Now, we’ve made our failed message badge more visible so you know exactly what went out and what didn’t. The failed message badge is a red…
Web App (V1), Inbox
May 1, 2018
Automated Messages Improvements
We launched our Automated Messages Campaign module. You can now manually or automatically trigger a series of follow-up texts. This works perfectly with our Digital Connect Texts as well, so you can also capture the person’s number, name and email, and add those to our system. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Campaigns
May 1, 2018
View options for your Automated messages campaigns and Data capture:
Our campaigns modules are powerful but they had lacked good visibility. E.g. Say a number of your subscribers texted in WELCOME to your local number. You are asking for name and email (phone is always captured), but they stopped after giving you their name. Now what? How do you know ALL those who stopped at…
Web App (V1), Inbox
May 1, 2018
Voice Broadcast: Voicemail machine detection
Voicemail is great but there’s a catch—your message and the voicemail could be out of sync, causing the start of your message to get chopped off. PastorsLine now has an algorithm that can detect voicemail machines. We can then sync, so your messages get recorded in full. (This service costs 1 additional credit per message.)…
Web App (V1), Voice
Mar 1, 2018
On the way…
Automated Messages: As we reported, automated messages are big and getting bigger. We want your church to be able to make the most of this powerful tool. It’s currently in public beta. Planning Center (PC): At the moment, we have a 1-way integration which is nice but 2-way would be nicer, right? In the works!…
Web App (V1), Forecast
Mar 1, 2018
Switching between multiple numbers
Using more than one phone number under one account? Getting messages from multiple numbers may confuse your contacts. PastorsLine now checks and prompts you when the number you are planning to send from is different than the number you sent the last message from. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Numbers
Mar 1, 2018
Filtering conversations by number
We’re hoping that your digital strategy is working excellently and that your Inbox is full. If you are working with several phone numbers, that may mean a lot of messages. To see only the messages you are interested in at the moment, you can now filter Inbox messages by phone number. And since we are…
Web App (V1), Numbers
Mar 1, 2018
Creating nicknames when using multiple numbers
For many people, it is easier to associate a purpose with a name rather than a string of numbers. So, for churches with several numbers, PastorsLine has added a ‘nickname feature’. You can add a nickname to each of your phone numbers to help you remember which number belongs with which use. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Numbers
Dec 1, 2017
The Welcome Hub
Our newly-designed welcome hub makes it even easier to send new messages and search for those already sent. Learn more…
Web App (V1), Inbox
Dec 1, 2017
On the way…
Planning Center (PC): Our next major focus is on this popular church management system (ChMS). We are working on an integration that will let you pull in your PC lists and contacts. We are also exploring the possibility of a link to the PC check-in buddy. Church Community Builder (CCB): We would like to increase…
Web App (V1), Forecast
Dec 1, 2017
Three Column View
From the Inbox, pulling up a new msg or sent msg will turn your PastorsLine screen into a three-column view: The leftmost column will show all of your previous conversations. The middle column will be the msg you chose (with all of its history). The huge update is the far right column: here you have…
Web App (V1), Inbox
Dec 1, 2017
Mark All Unread Messages As Read
Familiar from emails and social media, right? But here’s the thing: this blanket sweep is not recommended for churches who are using msgs as a means to improve their communication with their ministry. Where it IS useful is for churches who are running campaigns because then, most of the msgs will be in answer to…
Web App (V1), Campaigns
Dec 1, 2017
Inbox Filter
It is the ongoing response to msgs which strengthens your relationships with your church members and first-time visitors. So, PastorsLine makes sure that all new or unread msgs are listed at the top of the Inbox list. We happily noticed that some churches are actively using the ‘campaigns’ option to get their ministries more involved.…
Web App (V1), Inbox
Dec 1, 2017
Conversation Box
This is the place where the relationships are built and nurtured. One of your requests was an automatic scroll to the most recent msg—Done ✓ . We’ve also added some useful information to the msg history. For example: on a msg sent by a subscriber—which number they used and to which member of your team…
Web App (V1), Inbox
Dec 1, 2017
New Admin Options
Now, you control which of your team members can add or edit new contacts to the PastorsLine database. You can also see all of your team members and which numbers they are assigned to. Adding new users is easier, too. And now to the forecast of what you can look forward to soon. Learn…
Web App (V1), Logs
Aug 1, 2017
Multi-user Options
Our multi-user feature has been running for several weeks and our church partners are loving the flexibility. It goes beyond just allowing additional users. We believe in an open, simple concept and offer two main roles. An admin who can see everything or a user who only sees the conversation that is set to that…
Web App (V1), Groups
Aug 1, 2017
Trial
If you have tried our product or plan on doing so, you can now extend your trial after 30 days to get an additional 14 days. Just enter the coupon code GRACE on the billing page when logged in and select a plan. You will pay only $1 and can cancel before the 14th day…
Web App (V1), Settings
Aug 1, 2017
VOICE
PastorsLine is focused on texting for churches but offers voice forwarding and voice broadcasting. It’s a great way to turn your local number into a tool that can be used. Here’s what added/changed. When sending out a voice broadcast (a robocall), we automatically include the instruction for your subscribers to opt out. Based on…
Web App (V1), Voice
Aug 1, 2017
The critical fixes that affect you
We have put in dozens of hours tweaking our system and responding to bugs over the last few months. Here are the most important ones you might be interested in. Within our multi-user option, our core philosophy is that users can edit but not delete. We missed an option where users could have deleted individual…
Web App (V1), Integrations
Aug 1, 2017
Data capture (FKA autoresponder)
Digital connect texts are where you can capture follow-up data via text without having to send your guests or members to a link (digital connect cards). In our experience, digital connect texts see higher engagement as they mirror exactly the way people communicate on their phones. PastorsLine has offered this option called “data capture” (FKA…
Mobile App, Numbers
Aug 1, 2017
Church Community Builder (CCB)
If you are already using Church Community Builder (CCB) to build community, engage people, and help grow disciples, but not quite as satisfied with CCB’s Twexting™ feature, we have built a solid integration. Here’s what added/changed. With our 2-way integration, we immediately send data over to CCB once it is found. New data from CCB…
Web App (V1), Integrations
Aug 1, 2017
Minor Features Added
Each table has options to show a predefined number of records. Before, the default was 5. We have changed this to 25. This is less confusing. We also added a 1000 record filter that should allow you to see more records on the same page and export them as needed. We are personally excited with…
Web App (V1), Integrations
Jun 1, 2017
Webinar Replay and Office Hours
Would you or anyone from your church be interested in joining me LIVE for a Q & A-styled office hour to get your questions answered about our Church Community Builder (CCB) integration and/or PastorsLine? If so, we organized an easy way for you or anyone from your team to: Choose a time that works best…
Web App (V1), Inbox
Jun 1, 2017
Guest Follow-up Process
Learn how First Baptist Orlando is using CCB and PastorsLine to effectively follow up with first time guests at their church. pastorsline.com/integration-ccb/#guest. The simple text template is powerful and has increased conversations by 3x.
Web App (V1), Integrations
Jun 1, 2017
Auto-syncing
Any data from PastorsLine is automatically pushed into your CCB app. However, we only sync new data from CCB when you login. You also have an option to manually update a specific group you are working with by clicking on Sync Now within the PastorsLine application. We temporarily turned off autosyncing on login as we…
Web App (V1), Groups
Jun 1, 2017
Duplicates handling
It’s no secret that most CCB users probably have tons of duplicate data within their applications. And once you sync that data with ours…well, we’ve most likely randomly selected one of the duplicates and discarded the others. (For us, duplicates are two or more CCB individuals who had the same phone number.) Some of our…
Web App (V1), Numbers
Apr 1, 2017
Mobile App
Talking about the mobile app, have you tried it yet? Whether or not you prefer using the desktop version, I would recommend installing and signing into the app. This will allow you to know (once push notifications are turned on) when someone has replied. Also, you can engage with them, wherever you are, whenever you…
Mobile App, Inbox
Apr 1, 2017
Voicemail
Did you know that your PastorsLine number can receive incoming calls? Powerful, right? You can place your number on your website and tell people to TEXT or CALL. Then, forward that call to your church office or your cell phone. What we have done is to improve the call forward handling. Incoming calls will ring…
Web App (V1), Voice
Apr 1, 2017
Decreased Credit Usage
If you are sending one 160 character SMS, that’s equal to 1 credit. If you add a picture (up to 2 images), that will cost an additional 1 credit. This has decreased from 2 credits per picture message (MMS). We also decrease your voice broadcast credit from 3 credits to 2 credits per minute. Our…
Web App (V1), Inbox
Apr 1, 2017
Groups
Previously, when sending to select contacts on your list, we created an ad hoc and assigned a generic name. E.g. You might want to send a quick text to Jane, John, Joe and Paul. You can now assign a name to this group so you can easily recognize it in the future. Additionally, you can…
Web App (V1), Groups
Apr 1, 2017
Upcoming?
Multiuser We are about 40% through this feature. Pretty soon, you will be able to invite your entire team to use PastorsLine. We are thinking about four main roles. Admin (that’s the default role we assign all users) – You can do and see everything. Each admin added will have complete control and will need…
Web App (V1), Forecast
Apr 1, 2017
Time Zone
We improved the way this was being handled. It’s more of a fix but now you can easily switch between the time zone settings to ensure the data is reported accurately. You can also know exactly when the messages are being send / scheduled. You would only notice this change if your ministry is mobile…
Web App (V1), Logs
