When it comes to small groups, joining a group usually means gaining access to some potentially sensitive information, like meeting locations and fellow member contact data. That's why, as a default, Groups requires an administrator or a leader to review a membership request and decide whether to add someone to the group.
However, there are other groups in your church that are open to anyone who wants to join, like classes, where the membership process is less like an application and more like a signup. For these types of groups, you can use the new Open Signup option.
Enable Open Signup
From Settings, scroll down to the Enrollment section at the bottom of the page to find the new setting.
Upon checking the box, you'll see a warning message asking you to review your member contact data settings. After confirming this message, your group is open-signup ready!
Joining An Open-Signup Group
With this setting enabled, visitors select Join this group, verify their email address then blammo! They're in the group. No waiting around for someone to respond.
The email verification process is smart. If someone with an existing People profile signs up for an open group with their e-mail address, the signup will sync the existing profile instead of creating a new one.
Let us know what you think!