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Group Join Requests

When a group is configured with an approval-based join policy, people can submit requests to join. Group leaders and administrators review these requests and approve or decline them. This gives your church control over group membership while making it easy for people to express interest in joining.

Training Video​

Group Join Requests and Group Calendars in B1 · Watch on YouTubeNext video: Setting Up Services and Attendance in B1

Before You Begin

  • You need permission to manage groups, or you need to be a leader of the specific group. See Roles & Permissions for details.
  • The group must have its join policy set to Request (approval required). See Creating Groups for how to configure join policies.

Understanding Join Policies​

Groups can have three different join policies:

  • Open -- Anyone can join immediately without approval
  • Request -- People submit a join request that requires approval
  • Closed -- Nobody can request to join (members must be added manually)

When a group uses the Request policy, all join attempts go through the approval workflow described on this page.

Viewing Pending Requests​

For Group Leaders​

  1. In B1 Admin, open the Jump menu and choose People > Groups
  2. Click on the group name
  3. The Members section shows how many requests are pending (for example, "1 pending"). Click All members -- pending requests for this group appear under Pending Requests at the top of the member list

For Administrators​

Administrators with group management permissions can view pending requests across all groups:

  1. In the Jump menu, choose People > Groups
  2. Click the pending requests button in the page header (for example, "3 pending requests"). It only appears when there are requests waiting.
  3. The Pending Join Requests page lists every pending request church-wide, with the group each person asked to join next to their name. Click Groups at the top of the page to go back. When nothing is waiting, the page shows No pending requests.

Reviewing a Join Request​

Each join request shows:

  • Person's name and photo -- The person requesting to join (and, on the church-wide page, the group)
  • Optional message -- A personal message explaining why they want to join (if provided)
  • Request date -- When the request was submitted

To review a request:

  1. Read the person's message if they provided one
  2. Click on the person's name to open their profile if needed
  3. Decide whether to approve or decline

Approving a Request​

  1. Click Approve on the join request
  2. The person is immediately added to the group as a member and the request disappears from the list
  3. The requester receives a notification that their request was approved
  4. The request is marked as approved in the system
tip

When you approve a request, the person becomes a regular group member. You can later promote them to group leader if needed from the Group Members page.

Declining a Request​

  1. Click Decline on the join request
  2. In the Decline Request dialog, optionally enter a Reason (optional) (up to 500 characters)
  3. Click Decline
  4. The requester receives a notification with your decline reason (if provided)
  5. The request is marked as declined
info

Providing a decline reason helps the person understand why their request wasn't approved and may encourage them to try again later or explore other groups.

Approving from the Tasks Page​

Every join request also creates a task under Serving → My Work, titled "Person requested to join Group." It's assigned to the group's leaders. If the group has no leader yet, it goes to any staff with the Group Members > Edit permission, or to your church's domain admins if no one has that permission. Staff and admins who get the task this way also receive a notification that links straight to it.

Opening the task shows the requester's name, the group, and their optional message, with Approve and Decline buttons right on the task card (Decline opens the same optional reason field described above). This gives leaders a second, notification-driven way to act on a request without opening the group's member list.

Deciding a request from either place -- the group's member list or its Tasks card -- closes it everywhere, so leaders never see a stale task for a request someone already handled.

Notifications​

The join request system automatically sends notifications:

  • When a request is submitted -- All group leaders receive a notification. If the group has no leader, the staff or admins assigned the task are notified instead (see above).
  • When a request is approved -- The requester receives a confirmation
  • When a request is declined -- The requester receives a notification with any decline reason

Notifications appear in the user's notification center on B1.church and in the mobile app. In B1 Admin's notification bell, clicking a join-request notification (or its View Details) opens the group on your church's B1.church site in a new tab.

Managing Requests from the Member Side​

People can manage their own join requests from B1.church:

  • View the status of their pending requests on the group detail page
  • Cancel a pending request if they change their mind
  • See if their request was approved or declined

Best Practices​

  • Respond promptly -- Try to review requests within 24-48 hours so people aren't left waiting
  • Be clear in decline reasons -- Help people understand next steps or alternative options
  • Check profiles -- Review the person's profile to see if they're a good fit for the group
  • Communicate expectations -- Make sure your group description clearly states who the group is for