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
- Open the family card → click + Member
- Search for the member by name
- 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 member who is already in another family will need to be removed from that family first.
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.
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.
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