Messages & Broadcasts
Overviewâ
The Messages module is how you communicate with your congregation. Shepherd supports three channels: WhatsApp, SMS, and Email. You can send a quick message to a group of members, run a scheduled broadcast, or save reusable message templates.
Go to Messages in the sidebar.
đ¸ [Screenshot: Messages hub showing Compose, Broadcasts, Templates, and Sent Messages tabs]
The Messages Hubâ
| Section | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Compose | Send an immediate message to a group of recipients |
| Broadcasts | View and manage past and scheduled broadcast campaigns |
| Templates | Manage reusable message templates |
| Sent Messages | Full history of all WhatsApp messages sent from your church |
| Replies | Inbox for member replies to your broadcasts |
Sending a Message (Compose)â
Step 1: Choose Your Channelâ
| Channel | Requirements | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Member must have a phone number | Free (uses Twilio) | |
| SMS | Member must have a phone number | Uses SMS credits |
| Both | Sends via WhatsApp first, SMS as fallback | Uses SMS credits for SMS portion |
Step 2: Choose Your Recipientsâ
| Filter | Who It Includes |
|---|---|
| All Members | Everyone with a phone number (excluding Inactive) |
| Active Members | Members with status Active |
| Full Member | Members with Full Member status |
| New Converts | Members with status New Convert |
| Visitors | Members with status Visitor |
| Inactive | Members marked as Inactive |
| Youth | Members with a youth profile |
| Custom | Hand-pick specific members |
| By Group | All members of a specific group |
đĄ Shepherd shows you a recipient count preview before you send.
Branch filter: Available for all recipient types except By Group â limits recipients to a specific branch in multi-branch churches.
Step 3: Write Your Messageâ
WhatsApp Structured Composeâ
When WhatsApp is selected as your channel, the compose area changes to a 3-field structured format:
- Message Title â appears in bold at the top of the WhatsApp message (e.g. "Sunday Service Reminder")
- Paragraph 1 â the main body of your message
- Paragraph 2 â optional follow-up paragraph
A live preview panel shows exactly how your message will appear in WhatsApp â including the church broadcast formatting.
đ¸ [Screenshot: WhatsApp compose screen showing Title + Para 1 + Para 2 fields with live preview panel on the right]
âšī¸ SMS compose is unchanged â it remains a single text box.
You can use variables in your message:
{{firstName}}â replaced with the recipient's first name{{churchName}}â replaced with your church name
SMS Composeâ
Standard single text box. Variables work the same way.
Step 4: Send or Scheduleâ
- Send Now â delivers immediately
- Schedule â pick a date and time for future delivery
WhatsApp Delivery Statusâ
Every WhatsApp message shows a real-time delivery status that updates automatically via Twilio webhooks:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| âŦ Sent | Message dispatched to Twilio |
| đĸ Delivered | Confirmed delivered to the member's phone |
| đĩ Read | Member opened the message |
| đ´ Failed | Delivery failed (see error details) |
No manual refresh needed â statuses update automatically.
Broadcastsâ
Broadcasts are saved message campaigns. Every message sent through Compose is logged here.
Viewing Broadcastsâ
Go to Messages â Broadcasts to see all campaigns. Each broadcast card shows:
- Campaign name and channel
- Status (Draft / Sent / Scheduled / Failed)
- Total recipients, sent count, failed count
- Date created
Delivery Logâ
Every completed broadcast includes a Delivery Log showing exactly who received your message.
- Find a completed broadcast
- Click the "N recipients" button
- A slide-in panel shows every recipient with name, phone, status badge, and time sent
Filter tabs: All / Sent / Failed
âšī¸ Broadcasts sent before 28 Mar 2026 don't have delivery logs.
Sent Messagesâ
Go to Messages â Sent Messages to see every WhatsApp message sent from your church â not just broadcasts, but also:
| Type | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcast | đĸ | Manual broadcast campaigns |
| Birthday | đ | Automatic birthday greetings |
| Anniversary | đ | Membership anniversary messages |
| Pastoral | đ | Messages sent from Pastoral Care |
| Giving confirmation | đ° | Post-giving thank-you messages |
| Service reminder | đ | Automated service reminders |
| Care journey | đ¤ī¸ | Bereavement & crisis care notifications |
| Pledge reminder | đŗ | Pledge payment reminders |
The table shows: Date | Recipient | Type | Message preview | Delivery status badge
đ¸ [Screenshot: Sent Messages page showing the full table with type icons and coloured delivery status badges]
Reply Inboxâ
When members reply to your broadcast messages via WhatsApp, their replies are collected in Messages â Replies.
From here your team can:
- See all incoming replies with member name, message preview, and timestamp
- Mark replies as read
- Identify members who need follow-up
đ¸ [Screenshot: Reply Inbox showing member replies with read/unread indicators]
Message Templatesâ
Save commonly used messages as templates.
Creating a Templateâ
- Go to Messages â Templates â click + New Template
- Fill in: Name, Category, Channel, Content (use
{{variables}}) - Save
Using a Templateâ
When composing a broadcast, click Use Template â select â message body is pre-filled.
SMS Creditsâ
| Package | Credits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 100 SMS | GHS 10 |
| Standard | 500 SMS | GHS 45 |
| Value | 1,000 SMS | GHS 80 |
| Bulk | 5,000 SMS | GHS 350 |
Top up at Messages â SMS Credits via Paystack. Credits are added instantly.
Scheduled Messagesâ
When composing, select Schedule â pick date and time â click Schedule. Scheduled messages appear in the Broadcasts list with a Scheduled badge.
Permissionsâ
| Action | Required Role |
|---|---|
| View messages & broadcasts | Staff, Pastor, Admin, Super Admin |
| Send messages | Admin, Super Admin |
| Manage templates | Admin, Super Admin |
| Top up SMS credits | Admin, Super Admin |
Tipsâ
- â
Personalise every broadcast with
{{firstName}}â dramatically improves engagement - â Build a template library for common messages (Sunday reminders, event announcements, etc.)
- â Check the Delivery Log after every broadcast â if members report not receiving messages, look for đ´ Failed entries
- â Use WhatsApp for most messages â it's free and has better open rates than SMS
- â Check the Replies inbox regularly â members who reply deserve a response