Families & Households
Overview
The Families module lets you link individual members together as a household unit — connecting a head of household, their spouse, children, and other relatives. This gives you a family-level view of your congregation, useful for pastoral care, giving records, and family communications.
Go to Families in the sidebar.
📸 [Screenshot: Families page showing household cards with member count and family name]
What Is a Family Record?
A family (household) is a named group of members who belong to the same home unit. Each member can only belong to one family at a time.
Each family has:
- Family Name — e.g. "The Boateng Family"
- Address — home address
- City — city or town
- Phone — household phone number
- Notes — private pastoral notes about the family
- Members — linked members with their role in the family
Creating a Family
- Go to Families → click + Create Family
- Fill in:
- Family Name — required
- Address, City, Phone — optional but recommended
- Notes — optional private notes
- Click Save
The family is created with no members yet. Add members in the next step.
📸 [Screenshot: Create Family dialog with name, address, and notes fields]
Adding Members to a Family
You can add either:
- a registered member who already exists in the member directory, or
- an unregistered person who belongs to the household but should not yet have a full church member profile.
- Open the family card → click + Member
- Choose whether you are adding a Registered Member or an Unregistered Person
- If registered, search for the member by name
- If unregistered, enter their basic details directly in the form
- Assign their role in the family:
| Role | Use |
|---|---|
| Head | Head of household |
| Spouse | Partner/spouse of the head |
| Child | Son or daughter |
| Parent | Parent of the head |
| Sibling | Brother or sister |
| Relative | Other relative |
| Other | Any other relationship |
- Click Add
Repeat for each family member. You can add as many members as needed.
💡 A registered member who is already in another family will need to be removed from that family first.
When to use an unregistered person
Use an unregistered household entry when you want to reflect the real family structure without adding someone to the church directory yet.
Common examples:
- a spouse who does not attend your church
- a child who has not yet been registered as a member
- a relative living in the home temporarily
- a family member you want visible for pastoral context, but not as an active member record
Unregistered people:
- appear inside the household record
- are marked as Unregistered
- do not become full members automatically
- do not appear as normal member profiles in the directory until you create a proper member record for them
Viewing a Family
Each family card shows:
- Family name and address
- Total member count
- List of members with their role and phone number
Click on a family to expand it and see the full member list with roles.
If a household includes people who are not in the church directory yet, Shepherd labels them as Unregistered so your team can tell the difference immediately.
Editing a Family
- Click the Edit (pencil) icon on the family card
- Update name, address, city, phone, or notes
- Click Save
Removing a Member from a Family
- Open the family card
- Click the Remove (×) button next to the member
- Confirm
The member is not deleted from your database — they are simply unlinked from this household.
The same is true for unregistered household entries: removing them only removes them from the household record.
Deleting a Family
- Open the family card → click the Delete (trash) icon
- Confirm
Deleting a family does not delete the members — it only removes the household record. All member profiles remain intact.
Why Families Matter for Pastoral Care
- Home visits — knowing who lives together helps your team plan pastoral visits and bereavement care
- Family giving — you can view total giving from all members of the same household
- Communications — send a message to "the head of household" directly from their profile
- Accountability — mentors and care teams can see the full family picture when supporting a member
Tips
- ✅ Always assign the Head role first — it makes the family card easier to read
- ✅ Add a phone number to the family — useful when the household has a shared/home phone
- ✅ Use Notes for family-level context — e.g. "Lost father in 2024, mother is primary carer"
- ✅ Link children to their parents' family — it helps with kids/youth ministry tracking
- ✅ Use unregistered household entries sparingly and intentionally — they are best for family visibility, not for replacing proper member registration