WhatsApp Bot
Overview
Shepherd has a powerful WhatsApp Bot that lets your members interact with your church directly from WhatsApp — no app download, no login, no dashboard needed. Members can check in to services, give, pray, book appointments, rate services, and more — all by sending simple messages.
The bot is powered by your church's Twilio WhatsApp number and runs 24/7 automatically.
📸 [Screenshot: Example WhatsApp conversation showing HELP menu response with available commands]
Getting Started (for Members)
Members save your church's WhatsApp number and send any message to start. The bot introduces itself and walks them through registration.
First-Time Registration
When an unregistered number messages your church:
- Bot asks for their preferred language (English, French, Twi, or Pidgin)
- Bot asks for their full name
- Member is registered as a Visitor in your database
- Bot confirms: "Welcome to [Church Name], [First Name]! 🎉"
If the member is already in your database (added manually by staff), they're recognised by phone number and greeted by name immediately.
All Available Commands
📋 HELP
HELP — Main menu of all available commands
HELP MORE — Extended/hidden commands
✅ CHECKIN
CHECKIN [4-digit code]
Check in to a service using the code displayed at church.
Example: CHECKIN 4829
Bot replies: "✅ Checked in to Sunday Morning Service! You're #47 today. God bless!"
The 4-digit code is shown on a screen at your church entrance and rotates automatically every few minutes.
🙏 PRAY
PRAY [your prayer request]
Submit a prayer request to the pastoral team.
The request appears in Pastoral Care → Prayer in the dashboard. When staff mark it as "Praying" or "Answered", the member receives a WhatsApp notification.
Privacy options: Is this private or shareable? If shared: anonymous or named?
💰 GIVE / TITHE
GIVE [amount] — Give an offering
TITHE [amount] — Pre-selects the Tithe category
Flow:
- Bot shows giving categories
- Member selects a category
- Bot confirms: "Send GHS 50 to [Church] for [Category]? Reply YES or NO."
- Member replies
YES→ MoMo prompt sent → giving recorded automatically
📊 HISTORY / BALANCE / STATEMENT
HISTORY — View your giving history (last 5 records)
BALANCE — View your current year giving total
STATEMENT — Request a full giving statement
📖 BOOK
BOOK
Book a pastoral appointment. Bot shows available appointment types, then available time slots (from Pastoral Care → Availability). When the pastor confirms, member receives a WhatsApp notification.
⭐ FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK
Rate today's service (1–5 stars), choose a category (Sermon/Worship/Welcome/General), add an optional comment. Feedback appears in Pastoral Care → Feedback.
👤 PROFILE / UPDATE
PROFILE — View your current profile
UPDATE name John Doe — Update your name
UPDATE email john@example.com — Update your email
UPDATE address 12 Main Street — Update your address
UPDATE occupation Teacher — Update your occupation
🏠 VISIT
VISIT
Request a pastoral visit. Bot asks for visit type (Home / Hospital / Other) and a brief reason. The pastoral team is notified and a visit request appears in the Pastoral Care → Visits dashboard.
🤝 PLEDGE
PLEDGE [amount] [frequency] [title]
Create a giving pledge. Example: PLEDGE 200 MONTHLY Building Fund
Frequencies: WEEKLY / MONTHLY / QUARTERLY / ANNUALLY
PLEDGE STATUS — View your active pledges and progress
PLEDGE HISTORY — See your past pledges
💬 Replying to Broadcasts
Members can reply directly to any broadcast message in WhatsApp — no special command needed. The reply is captured and appears in the Messages → Replies dashboard for your team to review and follow up on.
🌍 LANG
LANG
Change your preferred language: English / Français / Twi / Pidgin. All future messages from the bot arrive in your chosen language.
🔑 MYQR
MYQR
Get your personal QR code for fast check-in at events or services that use QR scanning.
⛪ CHURCHES / SWITCH
CHURCHES — List all your registered churches (if member of more than one)
SWITCH [code] — Switch to a different church
Interactive Menus
On supported WhatsApp accounts (Ghana 🇬🇭, Nigeria 🇳🇬, Cameroon 🇨🇲 confirmed), the bot uses interactive list menus and reply buttons — tappable options instead of typing numbers. Other countries fall back to numbered text menus.
Languages Supported
| Language | Activation |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 English | Default |
| 🇫🇷 French | Send LANG → select Français |
| 🇬🇭 Twi | Send LANG → select Twi |
| 🌍 Pidgin | Send LANG → select Pidgin |
Feature Access by Plan
| Command | Minimum Plan |
|---|---|
| CHECKIN (basic) | All plans |
| GIVE / TITHE | Rooted and above |
| HISTORY / BALANCE | Rooted and above |
| BOOK (appointments) | Growing and above |
| FEEDBACK | Growing and above |
| PLEDGE | Flourishing and above |
| STATEMENT | Growing and above |
Custom Commands
Go to Settings → Church Profile → Custom Commands to add your own keywords:
- Keyword:
ADDRESS - Response:
Our address is 12 Redemption Road, Bamenda. Sunday service starts at 9:00 AM. 🙏
Custom commands appear in the HELP MORE menu automatically.
Quick Reference Card
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
HELP | Main menu |
HELP MORE | Extended commands |
CHECKIN 1234 | Check in to service |
GIVE 50 | Give GHS 50 |
TITHE 200 | Tithe GHS 200 |
HISTORY | Recent giving |
BALANCE | Year-to-date total |
STATEMENT | Full giving statement |
PRAY [request] | Submit prayer request |
BOOK | Book pastoral appointment |
FEEDBACK | Rate today's service |
PROFILE | View your profile |
UPDATE name [name] | Update your name |
PLEDGE 100 MONTHLY Tithe | Create a pledge |
PLEDGE STATUS | View your pledges |
LANG | Change language |
MYQR | Get your QR code |
CHURCHES | List your churches |
VOTE | Cast ballot in active election |
VOTE STATUS | Check if you've voted + ballot token |
NOMINATE [Name] for [Post] | Nominate a member during nominations phase |
NOMINEES | List approved nominees for current election |
| (reply to broadcast) | Reply captured in Messages → Replies inbox |