Sermon Notes: Interactive Notes That Engage Your Congregation
Your congregation is on their phones. During the sermon, after the sermon, on the commute home—they want to engage with your message in a way that sticks. Static bullet points on a printed handout are fine, but what if your notes could be interactive? Fill-in-the-blank questions, reflection prompts, scripture links, and structured sections that guide people through the message and help them apply it? That’s exactly what Sermon Notes does.
Bring Your Messages to Life in the Mobile App
Sermon Notes is a visual builder that lets you create custom interactive notes for any sermon or teaching series. You design the content once in the control panel, and it appears in your church’s mobile app alongside your sermon library. Congregants can open the notes on their phone or tablet, follow along during the message, fill in blanks, answer reflection questions, and even email their completed notes to themselves for later review. It’s like having a personal study guide that travels with them.
Each sermon note has a title, series name, and publish date. You organize them into sections with headings and descriptions. Within each section, you add elements: rich text blocks (with formatting, links, and images), fill-in-the-blank questions, short answers, paragraphs, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdowns, images, and video. The builder uses a drag-and-drop interface with a live mobile preview, so you see exactly how it will look on a phone before you publish.
Fill-in-the-Blank and Beyond
One of the most popular features is Fill-in-the-Blank. You type a sentence or question and use the keyword [blank] wherever you want an inline input field. For example: “God is [blank]” or “Love thy [blank] where [blank] is the desired form input location.” The system replaces each [blank] with a text field so users can type their answer right in the flow of the content. It’s perfect for key phrases, scripture memory, or reflection prompts.
You can also add Short Answer, Paragraph, Multiple Choice, Checkboxes, Dropdown, and other input types. Combine them with rich text blocks (Title and Description) that support bold, italic, lists, links, and images. Add images and video to illustrate your points. Organize everything into multiple sections so longer sermons stay structured and easy to follow.
Published, Draft, and Mobile App Integration
When you’re ready, you set the note to Published and choose a publish date. Published notes appear in your mobile app’s Sermon Notes list, ordered by date. Draft notes stay hidden until you publish them. You can copy an existing sermon note to create a new one quickly (for example, when you’re reusing a template for a new series). Submissions are tracked so you can see how many people have completed each note. Need help setting this up? Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Sermon Notes feature.
Sermon Notes User Guide
The Sermon Notes feature lives under the Mobile App section of the control panel. From there you create, edit, and manage interactive sermon notes that appear in your church’s mobile app. Each note is built with sections and elements: rich text, fill-in-the-blank, inputs, images, and video. You control the publish date and visibility (Published or Draft), and you can copy notes to reuse templates.
Key Takeaways
- Sermon Notes Builder: A visual, drag-and-drop builder for creating interactive notes with sections, rich text, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple input types.
- Fill-in-the-Blank: Use the keyword
[blank]in text to create inline input fields. Example: “God is [blank]”. - Note Sections: Organize content into sections with titles and descriptions. Add elements (text, inputs, images, video) within each section.
- Rich Text Editing: Use the Title and Description element with TinyMCE for formatted text, links, lists, and images.
- Published vs. Draft: Published notes appear in the mobile app; Draft notes stay hidden until you change the status.
- Mobile App: Sermon notes sync to your church’s mobile app and are displayed in the Sermon Notes list, ordered by publish date.
Table of Contents
- Sermon Notes Overview
- Viewing and Managing Sermon Notes
- Creating Sermon Notes
- The Sermon Notes Builder
- Editing and Deleting
- Form Settings
- Sermon Notes in the Mobile App
- Frequently Asked Questions
Sermon Notes Overview
Accessing Sermon Notes
To open Sermon Notes:
- Log in to the control panel.
- In the left navigation, expand the “Mobile App” section.
- Click “Sermon Notes”.
You’ll land on the Sermon Notes list, which shows all your notes with title, series, published status, date, and submission count. From here you can create a new note, edit an existing one, copy, delete, or reorder.
Sections and Elements
Each sermon note is built from sections and elements. A section has a title and optional description. Inside each section you add elements: rich text blocks (Title and Description), fill-in-the-blank, short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, images, video, and buttons. Sections are ordered top to bottom; elements within a section can be reordered by drag-and-drop. The structure is flexible: you can have one section with many elements, or many sections with a few elements each.
Viewing and Managing Sermon Notes
How to View the Sermon Notes List
From the Sermon Notes page, the table displays each note with:
- Sermon: The note title (clickable link to the public view)
- Series: The series name
- Published: “Published” or “Draft”
- Date: Publish date (MM/DD/YYYY)
- Submissions: Number of completed submissions, or “No submissions yet”
Use the gear icon (or dropdown) next to each row to View Sermon Notes (opens the public page in a new tab), Edit Sermon Notes, Copy Sermon Notes, or Delete.
How to Search and Filter
The table has filter inputs in the header row. You can filter by:
- Title: Type part of the sermon title
- Series: Type part of the series name
- Published: Type “Published” or “Draft”
- Date: Type a date to filter by publish date
Press Enter or submit the form to apply filters. The list defaults to sorting by publish date (newest first).
How to Reorder Notes
Use the handle icon (vertical arrows) on the left of each row to drag and drop notes into a new order. The order is saved automatically when you release the row. This affects how notes appear in the mobile app list.
Creating Sermon Notes
How to Create a New Sermon Note
- From the Sermon Notes page, click “Create Sermon Notes”.
- Enter the Sermon Name (e.g., “Faith in Action”).
- Enter the Series Name (e.g., “James: Living Faith”).
- Select Status: Published or Draft.
- Enter the Publish Date (MM/DD/YYYY).
- Add sections and elements using the builder (see below).
- Click “Save”.
After saving, you’ll be redirected to the edit page. Use the gear icon to open Form Settings for confirmation message and guest access. Use the link icon to open the public sermon notes page in a new tab.
Sermon Name, Series, and Publish Date
The Sermon Name is the title of the note (e.g., the sermon title). The Series Name groups notes together (e.g., “Advent 2024”). The Publish Date determines when the note becomes visible in the mobile app (for Published notes). Notes are ordered by this date, newest first. Use a date that matches your sermon schedule so congregants find the right note for each message.
The Sermon Notes Builder
Adding and Editing Note Sections
Each sermon note starts with one section. To add more sections, click the Add Section button (server icon) in the right-hand toolbar. Each section has:
- Section Title: Required. A heading for the section (e.g., “Main Points”, “Reflection”).
- Description: Optional. Plain text that appears below the title.
Inside each section you add elements. Use the drag handle to reorder elements. To delete a section, click the trash icon at the top right of the section. Deleting a section removes all elements in it.
Rich Text (Title and Description)
The Title and Description element (font icon) adds a rich text block. You can enter an optional title and a description that supports full HTML formatting via TinyMCE: bold, italic, lists, links, images, and more. Use this for sermon outlines, key verses, discussion questions, or any content that doesn’t require user input. You can also add links to Bible verses or external resources.
Fill-in-the-Blank
The Fill In The Blank element creates inline input fields. In the Question Label field, type your sentence or question and use [blank] wherever you want an input. For example:
- “God is [blank]” — one input after “God is ”
- “Love thy [blank] where [blank] is the desired form input location” — two inputs
Click Fill-in-the-blank Help in the builder for a quick reminder. The [blank] keyword is case-sensitive; use it exactly as shown.
Other Element Types
From the Add Question dropdown you can add:
- Short Answer: Single-line text input
- Paragraph: Multi-line text area
- Multiple Choice: Radio buttons
- Checkboxes: Multiple selections
- Dropdown: Select menu
- Money Input: Dollar amount
- Number Input: Numeric value
- Mailing Address: Full address fields
- First & Last Name: Name fields
- Phone: Phone number
- Email: Email address
- Date Picker: Date selection
- Button: Action button (e.g., open URL)
Each input type has a label, optional placeholder, and required toggle. Use these for reflection questions, application prompts, or feedback.
Images and Video
Use the Add Image (photo icon) and Add Video (play icon) buttons to insert media into a section. For images, you can set a URL or upload a file. For video, enter a URL (YouTube, Vimeo, or other). These elements help illustrate your message or provide visual context.
Editing and Deleting
How to Edit a Sermon Note
- From the Sermon Notes list, click the gear icon next to the note.
- Choose “Edit Sermon Notes”.
- Update the Sermon Name, Series, Status, Publish Date, or any section or element.
- Click “Save”.
Changes are reflected in the mobile app as soon as users refresh or reopen the Sermon Notes section.
How to Copy a Sermon Note
To duplicate a note (e.g., to create a template for a new series):
- From the Sermon Notes list, click the gear icon next to the note.
- Choose “Copy Sermon Notes”.
- You’ll be redirected to the edit page for the new copy. The title will have “ COPY” appended. Update the title, series, and date as needed.
- Click “Save”.
The copy starts with zero submissions. Webhook and email notification settings are cleared.
How to Delete a Sermon Note
- From the Sermon Notes list, click the gear icon next to the note.
- Choose “Delete”.
- Confirm when prompted.
The note is permanently removed and will no longer appear in the mobile app.
Form Settings
Publication Status (Published/Draft)
In the builder, the Status dropdown sets:
- Published: The note is visible to the public (in the mobile app and on the giving website) if the publish date is today or in the past.
- Draft: The note is not visible to the public. Use Draft while you’re still building or when you want to prepare notes in advance.
You can also change this in the Form Settings modal (gear icon).
Confirmation Message
When a user completes and submits a sermon note, they see a confirmation message. By default, a standard message is shown. You can customize it in Form Settings: open the gear icon, enter your message in the Confirmation Message field, and save.
Allow Guest Access
By default, users can view and complete sermon notes without signing in (guests). If you uncheck Allow users to view form without sign-in (guests) in Form Settings, only logged-in users will be able to access the note.
Sermon Notes in the Mobile App
Published sermon notes appear in your church’s mobile app in the Sermon Notes section. The list is ordered by publish date (newest first). Users tap a note to open it, complete the fields, and submit. They can optionally email their completed notes to themselves. Submission counts are tracked and displayed in the control panel.
Sermon notes can also be opened from the giving website at /donate/sermonnotes/{id}. When opened from the app with ?in_app=1, the experience is optimized for in-app browsing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I link a sermon note to a specific sermon in Sermon Media?
Sermon Notes and Sermon Media are separate features. Sermon Notes use a title, series, and publish date to organize content. You can match these to your Sermon Media sermons (same title and series) so congregants find the right note for each message. There is no automatic database link between the two; the connection is conceptual.
How do I create multiple blanks in one fill-in-the-blank question?
Use [blank] multiple times in the Question Label. Each occurrence becomes a separate input field. For example: “The Lord is my [blank], I shall not [blank]” creates two inputs.
Can I use the AI Assistant to build sermon notes?
The Sermon Notes Builder includes an AI Assistant (Beta) that can help design or modify your note based on your feedback. Describe what you want (e.g., “Add three fill-in-the-blank questions about the main points”) and the AI will suggest changes. You can undo AI changes if needed.
Who can access Sermon Notes in the control panel?
Sermon Notes requires the Native App Admin role. If you don’t see it, your administrator may need to assign you that role. Need help? Contact support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000.
Do sermon notes support payment or donations?
No. Sermon Notes are designed for interactive study and reflection, not payments. The Payment element is not available in the Sermon Notes Builder. For donations, use the giving pages or custom forms with payment.
Can I reorder sermon notes in the list?
Yes. Use the handle (vertical arrows) on the left of each row to drag and drop notes into a new order. The order is saved automatically and affects how notes appear in the mobile app.