Push Notifications: Engage Your Congregation Through Mobile
Your congregation carries their phones everywhere. Whether they’re at work, at home, or on the go, a well-timed notification can cut through the noise and bring your church’s message right to their fingertips. Push notifications are one of the most direct ways to reach people who have installed your church’s mobile app—and when used thoughtfully, they can drive attendance, share urgent updates, promote events, and deepen engagement in ways that email and social media simply cannot match.
Why Push Notifications Matter for Churches
Unlike email, which often sits unopened in an inbox, push notifications appear on the lock screen and notification center of a user’s device. They’re immediate, visible, and designed for quick action. For churches, that means the ability to remind members about tonight’s small group, announce a last-minute service change, invite people to an upcoming baptism class, or share a moment of encouragement from your pastor. The key is relevance: when your congregation knows they can trust your notifications to be timely and useful, they’re more likely to open the app and stay connected.
OnlineGiving.org’s Push Notifications feature integrates with your church’s native mobile app (powered by the platform) to deliver targeted messages to app users. You choose who receives each notification by selecting notification channels (topics or interest groups that users subscribe to in the app), and you can optionally filter by session history, location, or other engagement criteria. This means you can send a message to everyone who subscribed to “Youth Events” or narrow it down to users who haven’t opened the app in the last 30 days.
From Announcement to Action: Rich Content and Deep Links
Push notifications are more than plain text. You can add an image to make your message stand out, set a custom action button label (e.g., “Register Now” or “Learn More”), and configure a deep link so that when a user taps the notification, they’re taken directly to a specific page inside the app—whether that’s a giving page, an event page, a sermon, or an external URL. This turns a simple alert into a guided experience that drives engagement and action.
You can also schedule notifications for a future date and time. The system sends the message at the earliest time you specify (actual delivery may be slightly delayed by the provider). Once sent, you can view delivery status, including how many devices were successfully reached, and the system keeps a history of past notifications so you can review what was sent and when.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Push Notifications feature.
Push Notifications User Guide
The Push Notifications feature in the OnlineGiving.org control panel lets you create, schedule, and send targeted push notifications to users of your church’s native mobile app. You choose the message content, add optional images and deep links, select which notification channels (audience segments) to target, and optionally filter by session history or geolocation. Notifications are delivered through the platform’s integration with OneSignal.
Access requires the Native App Admin role. From the left navigation, go to Push Notifications under the Mobile App section. The admin URL is /admin/pushnotifications. If your church has not yet configured the mobile app (e.g., header logo), you may see a setup page instead; contact OnlineGiving.org to get started with the mobile app.
Key Takeaways
- Create notifications with title and message: Set a title (up to 60 characters), message body (up to 235 characters), optional image, and optional action button label.
- Target audiences with notification channels: Select one or more notification channels to filter recipients by their subscribed interests (e.g., Youth Events, Sermons, Giving).
- Schedule delivery: Choose the earliest date and time when the notification can be sent. Actual delivery may be slightly delayed.
- Add rich media and deep links: Upload an image, set a custom action button label, and configure a deep link so users tap through to a specific app page or URL.
- Filter by session and location: Optionally filter recipients by last session, first session, session count, session time, or geolocation (latitude, longitude, radius in meters).
- Track delivery status: View the notification list with status (queued, active, complete, failed) and successful delivery count when available.
- Manage history: Edit or delete notifications that have not yet completed; view past notifications in the list with send and completion dates.
Table of Contents
- Viewing Push Notifications
- Creating a Push Notification
- Editing a Push Notification
- Delivery Status and History
- Deleting a Push Notification
- Push Notification Analytics & Events
- Frequently Asked Questions
Viewing Push Notifications
The Push Notifications page displays a table of all notifications you have created. Each row shows key information including when the notification was scheduled to send, when it completed (if applicable), the title and message, the filters applied, the channels targeted, and the current status.
Notification List and Columns
Send After: The earliest date and time when the notification can be delivered. This is the scheduled send time you configured when creating the notification.
Completed At: When the notification was fully delivered (or if it failed). Shows “Not Yet Completed” for notifications still in the queue or active.
Title: The notification title shown in the notification bar on the device.
Message: The notification message body.
Filters: Labels indicating which filters were applied, such as location, last session, first session, session count, or session time.
Channels: The notification channels (audience segments) that were targeted.
Status: Current status of the notification (queued, active, complete, failed) and, when complete, the number of successful deliveries.
Use the actions menu (gear icon) on each row to Edit Notification or Delete Notification. Edit and delete are only available for notifications that have not yet completed; completed notifications are locked for record-keeping.
Searching and Filtering
You can filter the list by Send After date range, Completed At date range, title, message, and status. The table header includes input fields for each filter. Enter a value and press Enter or submit the form to apply filters. Click the “X” on any filter chip to remove it. Use the results-per-page dropdown to show 10, 20, 50, or 100 rows. The default sort is by Send After and Completed At in descending order; click column headers to change sort.
Creating a Push Notification
Click Create New Notification from the Push Notifications page to open the creation form. The form is divided into two main columns: left (Notification Earliest Delivery and Notification Content) and right (Filter Recipients by Notification Channels, Geolocation & Session, Filter Joining Operator, and Description of Filtered Recipients).
How to Create a Push Notification
- Log in to the control panel.
- Click Push Notifications from the left navigation under the Mobile App section.
- Click the Create New Notification button.
- Complete the form fields (see sections below). You must select at least one notification channel or filter.
- Click Save to create and schedule the notification.
Notification Content
Notification Title: Required. A short title (max 60 characters) displayed in the notification bar or panel on the device. Keep it concise and attention-grabbing (e.g., “Tonight’s Small Group” or “Service Update”).
Notification Message: Required. The main message body (max 235 characters). A character counter shows the current length as you type. If you exceed 235 characters, the field will highlight in red. Be clear and actionable.
Notification Image (optional): Upload an image to display with the notification. Supported formats include PNG and JPEG. The image appears in the notification when the device supports it.
Mobile App Notification Page: Choose where the user should go when they tap the notification. Options include app pages (e.g., Give, Sermons, Events), external URLs, or in-app web views. Depending on your selection, you may need to enter a URL, select a page, or add optional page parameters.
Action Button Label (optional): Customize the label on the action button (max 30 characters). The default is “More Information.” You can change it to something like “Register Now” or “Watch Now” to match your call to action.
Scheduling Delivery
Notification Earliest Delivery: Select the earliest date and time when the message can be sent. Use the date picker and time picker to set the date and time (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY and HH:MM AM/PM). The selected date/time is the earliest the notification can be delivered; actual delivery may be delayed slightly by the provider. You cannot schedule a notification in the past.
Targeting by Notification Channels
Which notification channels should be included in filter? Select one or more notification channels from the dropdown. Channels are topics or interest groups that mobile app users subscribe to when they install or use the app. Examples might include “Sermons,” “Youth Events,” “Giving,” or “General Announcements.” Only users who have subscribed to at least one of the selected channels will receive the notification.
You must select at least one channel (or use at least one session/location filter). The form will not submit if no filters are selected. The “Description of Filtered Recipients” panel updates dynamically to show a summary of who will receive the notification based on your channel and filter selections.
Targeting by Session and Location
You can optionally narrow the audience further using session and location filters. Each filter has a toggle switch; enable it and fill in the required values.
Last Session: Filter by when the user last opened the app. Choose a relation (> or <) and enter the number of hours ago. For example, “Last Session > 168 Hours Ago” targets users who haven’t opened the app in the last 7 days.
First Session: Filter by when the user first opened the app. Same relation and hours-ago format.
Session Count: Filter by total number of app sessions. Choose a relation (>, <, =, or !=) and enter the number of sessions.
Session Time: Filter by total time spent in the app (in seconds). Choose a relation (> or <) and enter the value in seconds.
Location: Filter by geolocation. Enter latitude, longitude, and radius in meters. Only users whose last known location was within the specified radius of the point will receive the notification. Useful for location-based announcements (e.g., campus-specific messages).
Filter Joining Operator: When you use multiple filters, choose how they are combined. AND means all conditions must be true for a user to receive the notification. OR means any condition can be true.
Rich Media and Deep Links
Rich media includes the notification image and the action button label. Deep links are configured in the Mobile App Notification Page field. When you select “page,” you choose an in-app page (e.g., Give, Sermons, Events), and optionally add page parameters. When you select “web” or “in-app-web,” you enter a URL. The app can also support links to specific ChMS integrations (e.g., Ministry Platform events, Rock RMS groups) when those integrations are enabled.
The deep link ensures that when a user taps the notification, they land directly on the relevant content instead of a generic home screen. This increases engagement and conversion.
Editing a Push Notification
You can edit a notification only if it has not yet completed delivery. If the status is queued, active, or pending, use the actions menu and select Edit Notification or click the edit link.
How to Edit a Push Notification
- Log in to the control panel.
- Go to Push Notifications.
- Find the notification in the list.
- Click the actions menu (gear icon) and select Edit Notification.
- Update the form fields as needed.
- Click Save to apply changes.
When you save an edit, the system cancels the previous notification with the provider and creates a new one with your updated settings. The completed-at timestamp is cleared, and the status returns to pending, then queued, as the new notification is processed.
Completed notifications cannot be edited. They are locked for historical record-keeping.
Delivery Status and History
Status Values
Pending: The notification has been saved but not yet submitted to the provider.
Queued: The notification has been submitted to the provider and is waiting to be sent.
Active: The notification is being processed or delivered.
Complete: The notification has been fully delivered. The successful delivery count (when available) is shown next to the status.
Failed: The notification could not be delivered. Common reasons include zero subscribers matching the filters (e.g., “All Included Players Are Not Subscribed”) or provider errors. Check the error message and adjust your filters or channels.
The system periodically checks the provider for status updates. When you view the list, the status may refresh automatically.
Successful Delivery Count
When a notification completes successfully, the provider returns statistics including the number of devices that received the message. This count is displayed in the Status column (e.g., “Complete (1,234 Successful)”). Use this to gauge reach and engagement.
If you see an error such as “Found zero mobile app users subscribed with provided criteria (filters). Please adjust criteria (filters) and try again,” it means no users matched your channel and filter selections. Ensure your channels exist and that users have subscribed to them in the app.
Deleting a Push Notification
You can delete a notification only if it has not yet completed. Use the actions menu and select Delete Notification. Confirm the deletion when prompted.
How to Delete a Push Notification
- Log in to the control panel.
- Go to Push Notifications.
- Find the notification in the list.
- Click the actions menu (gear icon) and select Delete Notification.
- Confirm the deletion when prompted.
When you delete, the system attempts to cancel the notification with the provider (if it was already queued) and then removes it from your list. Completed notifications cannot be deleted.
Push Notification Analytics & Events
The mobile app tracks several push notification events that appear in your analytics:
- Push Notification: Index Page — when members open the push notifications inbox
- Push Notification: [title] — when members view a specific notification
- Push Notification: Manage Channels — when members manage their notification preferences
OneSignal automatically tracks delivery rates and open rates for each notification. You can see the delivery count and status directly in the Push Notifications list in the control panel. The Status column shows the number of successful deliveries.
Push notification lifecycle:
- Sent — OneSignal queues the notification for delivery
- Delivered — notification arrives on the member’s device
- Received (foreground) — if the app is open, the notification appears and is saved to the inbox
- Opened (tapped) — member taps the notification, which navigates to the notification detail or deep link
Delivery history is tracked per device and automatically cleaned up after 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I send a notification to a channel with no subscribers?
The notification will fail with an error indicating that zero mobile app users matched the criteria. You may see a message like “Found zero mobile app users subscribed with provided criteria (filters). Please adjust criteria (filters) and try again.” Ensure your notification channels are set up in the mobile app and that users have subscribed to them. You can also try broadening your filters or removing some filters to reach more users.
Can I change the notification after it has been sent?
No. Once a notification has completed delivery, it is locked. You cannot edit or delete it. The record remains in the list for historical reference. If you need to send a corrected or follow-up message, create a new notification.
How accurate is the scheduled send time?
The date and time you select is the earliest the notification can be sent. Actual delivery may be delayed slightly by the provider (OneSignal) and by device and network conditions. For most use cases, delivery is very close to the scheduled time.
What happens if I use both session filters and location filters?
You can combine multiple filters. The Filter Joining Operator (AND or OR) determines how they work together. With AND, a user must match all enabled filters. With OR, a user must match at least one. For example, “Last Session > 168 hours ago” AND “Location within 5000 meters of campus” would target users who haven’t opened the app in a week and are near your campus.
Do I need a mobile app to use push notifications?
Yes. Push notifications are delivered to users of your church’s native mobile app (powered by OnlineGiving.org). If your church has not yet set up the mobile app (e.g., header logo and other configuration), you will see a setup page instead of the Push Notifications list. Contact OnlineGiving.org at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000 to get started with the mobile app.
Who can access the Push Notifications feature?
Access requires the Native App Admin role. If you do not see Push Notifications in the left navigation, your account may not have this role. Contact your church administrator or OnlineGiving.org support to request access.
Need help setting up push notifications or the mobile app? Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000. We offer courtesy setup assistance for churches using OnlineGiving.org.