PIWC Takoradi · Digital Platform

Operating Blueprint: who runs what, and how the work flows

One reference for every team. It maps each role to the tools it owns, shows the weekly workflows end to end, and defines who hands off to whom — so nothing waits on "someone" doing it.

1The teams and what they own

Every feature on the platform has exactly one owning team. If it's in your card, it's your queue — nobody else is watching it.

Front line · Sunday

Ushers

  • Check-in kiosk — open with PIN before service; works offline once loaded
  • Member check-in — QR self-scan or name search at the desk
  • Guest capture — record first-timers & returning visitors with a phone number
  • Attendance board — live counts during service
  • Service close — the usher team lead closes the service after each meeting, locking attendance and triggering absence follow-ups
  • Reports — attendance & membership exports (PDF/Excel/CSV)
KioskAttendance boardService closeReports
Oversight · Weekly

Pastors & Elders

  • Approvals queues — membership applications, member submissions, prayer requests
  • Broadcasts — push + SMS + email to the whole church from one composer
  • Reports — attendance & membership reviews for presbytery (ushers prepare the exports)
  • Pastoral care — private case queue for sensitive follow-up
Admin dashboardApprovalsReports
Care · Within 48 hours

Deacons & Deaconesses

  • Visitor Connections — every first-timer the ushers record lands here
  • Absence Follow-ups — members absent at service close; system emails first, you call the concerns
  • Contact logging — every call noted on the record so the team never double-calls
Visitor queueAbsence queue
Community · Ongoing

Small Group / Home Cell Leaders

  • Join requests — approve within 3 days; the platform sends the welcome email
  • Group roster — your live member list
  • Group push — meeting reminders to your own group only
  • GPS home-cell finder — routes nearby members to your cell
Group Join RequestsGroup broadcast
Children · Sunday

Sunday School Team

  • Children's kiosk — family check-in at the desk (offline-capable)
  • Medical notes — allergies shown at check-in; brief the teacher every time
  • Authorised pickup list — release only to adults on the child's list; unlisted collector = hold the child, call the guardian
Children's kioskCheckout control
Media · Weekly

Content Managers

  • All content — sermons, announcements, events, services, live streams, resources, ministries: create and edit, never delete
  • Service timers — build and run the service agenda timer
  • Deletion stays with the church office — a safety net, not a limitation
Content HubService timers
Money · Weekly / monthly

Finance Officer

  • Donations — confirm offline gifts; Paystack gifts reconcile automatically
  • Pledges — mark fulfilled or cancelled
  • Transactions & budgets — expense approval workflow above threshold
  • Finance report — monthly summaries & exports
Finance & Giving
Platform · As needed

Church Office / Admin

  • Content — sermons, events, announcements, media gallery, resource library
  • People data — member records, families, duplicate review
  • Site settings — page covers, homepage hero, mail/SMS/payment settings
  • Roles & permissions — who can see and do what (Super Admin only)
Content HubSettingsSystem
Everyone

Members

  • Self check-in — scan the event QR from their own phone
  • Dashboard — profile, children, giving, prayer requests, submissions, availability pauses
  • Onboarding — piwctakoradi.org/onboard activates an account with DOB + phone/email
Member dashboardPWA app

2Responsibility matrix

For each workflow: who does the work, who is accountable that it happened, and who is kept informed automatically by the platform.

WorkflowUshersPastors / EldersDeaconsGroup LeadersSunday SchoolContent MgrFinanceOffice / Admin
Sunday check-in & guestsDAII
Service close & attendance reportD A team leadIID
Visitor follow-up (48h)IAD
Absence follow-upADI
Children's check-in & checkoutAD
Membership applicationsD ADI
Group join requestsID A
Giving, pledges & offline donationsID A
Sermons, events & announcementsADD
Church-wide broadcastsD Aown group onlyD
Pastoral care casesD AD assigned
Member data & onboarding linksID A
D Does the work A Accountable it happens I Informed automatically (bell / email / dashboard)

3The Sunday operating rhythm

The one day everything meets. Order matters — each step feeds the next.

Before service
Kiosks open

Ushers open the event kiosk with the PIN; Sunday School signs into the children's kiosk. Do both once online — after that they survive any network outage. Ushers · Sunday School

Doors open
Check-in runs

Members self-scan the QR or give a name; families check in together in one stop. Guests are recorded as first-time or returning — the phone number politely asked for powers the follow-up call. Children are checked in with medical notes shown. Ushers · Sunday School

During service
Live counts

Attendance builds live on the dashboard and attendance board — leadership sees the room fill without leaving their seat. Pastors & Elders (watch)

Home time
Controlled checkout

Every child released only to an adult on their authorised pickup list. Unlisted collector: hold the child, call the registered guardian. One in, one out, every time. Sunday School

After service
Service close

The usher team lead closes the service. Check-ins become the attendance report; every absent member gets an automatic email and surfaces in the Absence Follow-ups queue. Nothing to hand in. Usher team lead

Monday
Queues worked while the weekend is fresh

Deacons open Visitor Connections and call every first-timer within 48 hours. Pastors work Approvals — applications, submissions, prayer requests. Deacons · Pastors

4The follow-up pipelines

Two pipelines run automatically after every Sunday. The platform does the noticing; people do the caring.

Visitor pipeline 48-hour clock

Sunday
Guest recorded

Usher captures name + phone at the door.

Ushers
Instant
Queue + bell

Visitor lands in Visitor Connections; admins get a bell notification.

Platform
≤ 48 hours
Personal call

Deacon calls while interest is highest — mention what they wrote on the form.

Deacons
Ongoing
Email drip + log

Welcome email series runs automatically; every contact logged on the record.

Platform + Deacons

Absence pipeline System-triggered

Service close
Absentees detected

Members not checked in are identified automatically.

Platform
Automatic
Check-in email

Each absent member gets a signed link: fine / travelling / needs support.

Platform
The queue
Concerns surface

"Needs support" and repeat absences appear badged in Absence Follow-ups.

Deacons
If serious
Escalate to care

Convert to a private Pastoral Care case — assigned, tracked, closed.

Pastors

New member pipeline Self-service first

Any time
Application submitted

Member applies from their dashboard; admins get a bell.

Member
Review
Approve / decline

Pastor reviews in the Approvals queue.

Pastors
Approved
Welcome + activation

Welcome email and personal activation link (SMS) go out; /onboard re-sends it with DOB + phone/email.

Platform
Belonging
Into a group

Directory or GPS finder → join request → leader approves within 3 days.

Group Leaders

5Escalation map

When something is beyond your queue, this is where it goes. Escalating early is a strength, not a failure.

Ushers Office / Pastors

Kiosk PIN issues, duplicate member records spotted at the door, a guest claiming to be a member (soft-bypass alerts already reach admins automatically).

Sunday School Pastors immediate

Any pickup dispute or unlisted collector who won't wait. Hold the child, call the guardian, and bring a pastor or elder in on the spot.

Deacons Pastoral Care

A visitor call or absence response that reveals a crisis — bereavement, illness, hardship. Escalate to a private case; it leaves the general queue and gets assigned.

Group Leaders Deacons / Pastors

A group member gone quiet or in need beyond the group — raise it rather than carry it alone.

Finance Pastors

Expenses above the approval threshold route to the approval workflow automatically; disputes or unusual gifts go to leadership.

Anyone Office / Admin

Wrong member data, access problems, "I can't see the menu I need" — the office fixes records and permissions.

6Communication rules

ChannelWho can sendReachUse it for
Broadcast (push + SMS + email)Pastors, Elders, Admin, OfficeWhole church, or filtered by role / ministry / groupAnnouncements, event calls, urgent notices. One composer, all channels, logged.
Group pushSmall group leadersTheir own group onlyMeeting reminders, group news.
Admin bellThe platform (automatic)Admin rolesNew applications, visitors, prayer requests, pledges, offline donations — no one has to go looking.
Automatic emailsThe platformIndividualsWelcome drips, absence check-ins, activation links, birthday wishes.
One rule: if the platform already sends it (welcome emails, absence check-ins, activation links), don't duplicate it manually. Your effort goes where automation can't — the phone call, the visit, the prayer.

7Golden rules — every role

Log it or it didn't happen

Every call, visit, and decision goes on the record. That's how the team avoids double-calling and how nothing gets forgotten when people rotate.

Work your queue weekly

The badge counts in the Approvals sidebar are the to-do list. A queue at zero on Sunday night means the week starts clean.

Open kiosks online first

Both kiosks keep working through an outage — but only if they were opened while connected. Make it the first thing you do on arrival.

Phone numbers are gold

A guest record without a phone number can't be followed up. Ask politely, every time.

Privacy is trust

Pastoral care cases, private prayer requests, and giving records are visible only to the roles that need them. Never screenshot or forward them.

When members ask, point to /onboard

"I didn't get the activation message" — piwctakoradi.org/onboard with date of birth plus phone or email re-sends it on the spot.