Bible Class Registration

Bible Class Registration helps your church manage classes that change regularly—like quarterly adult Bible studies, Sunday school classes, or midweek studies.

Overview

Bible Class Registration is designed for classes that:

• Change regularly — Quarterly rotations, seasonal studies, or periodic curriculum changes

• Need capacity planning — Know how many people to expect for seating, materials, and refreshments

• Require attendance tracking — Track who attends each week (when the Attendance feature is active)

• Welcome visitors — Allow public registration through your Lightpost website

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Understanding the Structure

Bible Class Groups

A Bible Class Group represents a time period when classes are offered—typically a quarter, semester, or season.

Field	Description
Name	Descriptive name (e.g., "2024 - Quarter 2", "Fall 2024")
Start Date	When classes begin
End Date	When classes end
Sign-up Active	Whether members can currently register

Important: Only one Bible Class Group can have sign-up active at a time. When you activate sign-ups for a new group, all other groups are automatically deactivated.

Bible Classes

Individual Bible Classes exist within a group. Each class has:

Field	Description
Title	Class name (e.g., "Gospel of John Study")
Description	Full class details
Room/Location	Where the class meets
Day of Week	Which day the class occurs
Teachers	Assigned teachers for the class
Attendance Type	Category for grouping (e.g., "Adult Classes", "Youth Classes")
Enable Sign-up	Whether members can register for this class
Hidden	Hide from members (admin and attendance only)

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Creating Bible Class Groups

Creating a New Group

1. Go to Bible Classes in the admin panel

2. Click New Class Group

3. Enter the group details:

   • Name — Use a clear, memorable name (e.g., "2024 - Quarter 3")

   • Start Date — First day of the class period

   • End Date — Last day of the class period

   • Make sign-ups active — Check to enable member registration

4. Click Create Class Group

When to Create a New Group

Create a new group when:

• A new quarter or semester begins

• You're rotating to new class topics

• Teachers or schedules are changing

• You need fresh registration counts

Managing Multiple Groups

The Bible Classes index shows all groups with:

• Number of classes in each group

• Total registrations across the group

• Date range

• Sign-up status (Active or Disabled)

Click any group to view and manage its classes.

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Creating Bible Classes

Adding a New Class

1. Open the Bible Class Group

2. Click New Class

3. Fill in the class details:

   • Class Title — What the class is about

   • Description — Details, prerequisites, what to bring, etc.

   • Room Number / Location Name — Where the class meets

   • Teachers — Select one or more teachers

   • Day of the Week — When the class meets

   • Attendance Type / Group — Category for organizing classes

4. Set options:

   • Allow members to sign-up — Enable registration from the mobile app

   • Hide this class — Only visible in admin for attendance tracking

5. Click Create Class

Copying Classes from Previous Groups

Save time by copying classes from a previous group:

1. Open the new Bible Class Group

2. Click the dropdown next to New Class

3. Select Copy from previous class

4. Choose the previous group to copy from

5. Select the specific class to copy

6. Optionally check Copy registrations to bring over existing registrants

7. Select which class's registrations to copy (can be different from the class template)

8. Click Copy Class

This is especially useful when:

• The same classes run each quarter

• You want to pre-register returning students

• Teachers and locations remain consistent

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Managing Registrations

Viewing Registrations

From the group view, each class shows:

• Registration count — Number of people registered

• Sign-up badge — Green if sign-ups enabled, gray if disabled

• Hidden badge — Shown if class is hidden from members

Click Registration on any class to see and manage the full list.

Adding Registrations Manually

1. Click Registration on the class

2. Use the User Search to find members

3. Select members to add

4. Click Save Registration

Removing Registrations

1. Click Registration on the class

2. Click the X next to any registered person

3. They are removed immediately

Registration by Family

When members register through the app, they can register themselves and family members in one step. Each family member gets their own registration entry for accurate headcounts.

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Attendance Tracking

When your account has the Attendance feature active, Bible Class Registration integrates directly with attendance tracking.

How It Works

• Each class is linked to an Attendance Type (e.g., "Adult Sunday School")

• Registered members appear in attendance lists

• Attendance can be taken from the admin panel or mobile app

• Attendance history is preserved for reporting

Taking Attendance from Mobile App

Teachers and administrators can take attendance directly from the mobile app:

1. Open the mobile app

2. Navigate to attendance tracking

3. Select the Bible class

4. Mark members as present or absent

5. Attendance is recorded instantly

Printable Attendance Sheets

Generate PDF attendance sheets for taking attendance on paper:

1. Open the class in admin

2. Click Attendance (PDF icon)

3. A sheet generates with:

   • All registered members listed

   • Columns for each week of the quarter

   • Checkboxes pre-filled with recorded attendance

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PDF Reports

Registration by Class

Shows all registrations organized by class:

1. Go to the Bible Class Group

2. Click Registration by Class for an attendance type

3. PDF shows each class with its registered members

Registration by User

Shows all registrations organized by member:

1. Go to the Bible Class Group

2. Click Registration by User for an attendance type

3. PDF lists each member and which classes they're registered for

Attendance Sheet

Individual class attendance tracking sheet:

1. Click Attendance on any class

2. PDF generates with:

   • Class name and location

   • Registered members

   • Weekly date columns

   • Pre-filled attendance marks

Use these reports for:

• Capacity planning

• Printing materials lists

• Teacher preparation

• Historical records

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Member Registration

From the Mobile App

When sign-ups are active, members see Bible Class Registration on their home screen:

1. Member opens the app

2. Views available classes with descriptions, teachers, and locations

3. Selects classes for themselves and family members

4. Confirms registration

Members can:

• See their current registrations

• Register for additional classes

• Unregister from classes (while sign-ups are active)

Registration Status

Members see their registration status:

• Registered (green) — Currently signed up for classes

• Not Registered (yellow) — No classes selected yet

After registering, members see:

• Day of week for each class

• Class title

• Room/location

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Public Website Registration

Visitors can register for classes directly from your Lightpost website without logging in.

How It Works

1. Visitor views available classes on your website

2. Enters their name and email

3. Selects desired classes

4. Submits registration

Admin Notification

When a visitor registers:

1. An email notification is sent to administrators

2. The email includes:

   • Visitor's name and email

   • Selected classes

   • Link to add them to the system

3. Admin manually adds the visitor to the appropriate classes

Use Cases

• First-time visitors exploring your church

• Returning guests planning their visit

• Community members interested in Bible studies

• Outreach for publicly offered classes

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Class Visibility Options

Public Classes

By default, classes with sign-up enabled are visible to:

• All church members in the mobile app

• Visitors on your Lightpost website (if website integration is enabled)

Hidden Classes

Hidden classes are useful for:

• Attendance-only tracking — Classes that don't need registration

• Internal organization — Staff or leadership classes

• Ongoing classes — Where the same people attend without registration

Hidden classes:

• Appear in the admin panel

• Can have attendance recorded

• Don't appear in member or public views

• Can still have registrations managed by admins

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Best Practices

Planning Your Groups

• Name groups clearly — "2024 Q3" or "Fall 2024" works well

• Set accurate dates — Helps with attendance sheet generation

• Activate sign-ups early — Give members time to register before classes start

Managing Classes

• Use attendance types — Group similar classes (e.g., "Adult", "Youth", "Children")

• Assign teachers — Helps members choose classes and helps you track responsibility

• Include locations — Members need to know where to go

• Copy from previous — Save setup time each quarter

During the Quarter

• Monitor registrations — Check counts before ordering materials

• Print attendance sheets — Have backups for when technology fails

• Take attendance regularly — Data is most accurate when recorded weekly

After the Quarter

• Generate reports — PDF reports preserve historical data

• Create new group — Set up the next quarter before sign-ups need to open

• Copy registrations — Bring forward members who typically return

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can members register for multiple classes? Yes, members can register for as many classes as they want, on different days of the week.

What happens when I activate a new group? The previous group's sign-ups are automatically deactivated. Only one group can accept registrations at a time.

Can I see who's registered without printing a PDF? Yes, click Registration on any class to see the full list with the ability to add or remove members.

Do visitors get automatically added to classes? No, when visitors register through the website, an email is sent to administrators who then manually add them to the system and classes.

Can teachers see their class registrations? Teachers with admin access can view registrations. Teachers without admin access see registrations through the mobile app if they have attendance permissions.

What if someone registers but doesn't attend? Their registration remains, but their attendance record will show they were absent. This helps identify inactive registrants.

Can I delete a registration? Yes, click the X next to any name in the registration list. You can also use the mobile app to unregister members.

How do hidden classes work? Hidden classes don't appear to members but can still have attendance tracked. Admins can manually add registrations if needed.

Can I limit class size? Currently, there's no automatic capacity limit. Monitor registration counts and manually close sign-ups when full.

What happens to registrations when a group ends? Registrations are preserved for historical reference. Create a new group for the next period and optionally copy registrations forward.