Webinar #1: 10/14/21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jL-Me6CCH8
PATH progress & issues
Facebook & WhatsApp Contacts - opportunities and limitations
Webinar #2: 10/21/21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lrxMEQkw7o
Conversations vs. Emails
Notifications
Disciple vs. Ongoing Contact
Archiving / Closing a Contact
Resources: Templates & Bible Studies
Using PATH Training to brush up
Webinar #3: 10/28/21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJjlsX9kcZU
Reassigning Contacts
Spiritual Growth (What do I do?)
Asking Questions
Updating MY Profile
Webinar #4: 11/18/21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42VNnv6AHIg
PATH's Map of My Contacts on the Home Screen (how to disable)
Documents
Templates
Security
Support/Resources
Search
Questions and Answers from Webinars found below And at https://gmolink.com/link/path-faq
Questions from Webinar 1 (10/14/21)
Q: When I archive duplicates I can’t find them to unarchive them.
A: The browser’s CTRL-F “find” function works in Archived. However, like your Contacts list, your Archived Contacts list only shows a limited number of Contacts at first, until you scroll down to the bottom, at which point it will refresh with several more. The browser “find” function will only search the visible part of the list, so we suggest scrolling down to the end of the list again and again, until all your Archived Contacts have been loaded, to ensure you find the one you are searching for - you will know you have reached the end when your scroll-bar remains at the bottom.
Q: I can't copy & paste text into my message. For example, in my first message back to the contact, I can't copy their name - I must type it in. I intend to write a follow-up message (after 10 days, if I’ve received no response from the first message).
A: On the first message, you can either 1) copy/paste their name from the Profile, or 2) type the {contact} or $contact variables into the message field the way you do in your Templates. If you’re referring to automated reminders for Second Touch or Expiring Disciples, those have not been implemented. (See the PATH-FAQ, "Did my 'Expiring Disciples' and 'Second Touch' reminders go away?")
Q: How can I see the contacts I had to move to the Archive?
A: To see contacts you have Archived, click on “Contacts” and then “Archived” from the Categories list. Like your Conversation list, this list will need to be refreshed at the bottom of the scroll multiple times if it is lengthy.
(This is also answered in the PATH-FAQ (See "What is Archived?")
Q. Can you set a DIRECT link to the help desk from PATH’s screen versus multiple strokes as currently required?
A: The Help Desk / Volunteer Resources site is actually a separate system, so there’s no way to go directly to an item on the site. Instead, use the menu on the left side of the screen and click “Help,” then “Support.” Wait a few seconds for the Volunteer Resources page to load (sometimes the page has to load PATH again instead, so you may have to click Help and Support twice) and then you are in. For “Help Desk” questions meant to be answered by the PATH volunteer support team, please send an email to: omhelpdesk@gmomail.org.
Q: Could updates on FAQ’s be dated so we can just read the latest without re-reading.
A: That’s a great suggestion. We are planning to organize the FAQ’s by topic soon. There are updates that are completed daily so we know it’s a lot to keep up with.
Q: Why do my WhatsApp Contacts all start with a 36-character alphanumeric code and the word “QUESTION?”
A: This is a way to unite a WhatsApp account with a form submission in PATH. The code is submitted from both the form and the Contact’s WhatsApp account, and the system merges the submissions.
Q: Overall I like - seems like response rate is much higher...And I was able to find long-time contacts that had dropped off in ARC - some from 10+ years ago & send them messages
A: Thanks for the encouragement! We’re glad you like our new system. Please remember that the person may have changed their email address after 10 years.
Q. About replying to FB: Does our reply to them show up in messenger as well? Also... The ability to create a template by clicking on the 3 dots to the left of a message I have already sent is not working. When I click on the dots, the create a template window comes up but when I click on Save a message comes up at the bottom of the screen that says "Internal Error". So the template doesn't save.
A: All our messaging in “Facebook” is through Facebook Messenger and is private.
Creating a template from a recently-sent message using the “3 dots” is a known issue that has been reported, Please try that function again later.
Q: Will the Bible studies be converted into Pdf Documents so we can attach them to our response? Currently I am taking a study and printing it to PDF.
A: For now we have no plans to convert the Bible Studies to PDF. Before we send a PDF document to anyone, we need to ask them first to see if they are willing to receive such because the “download” of that “data” may be something they cannot afford or do not want to pay for.
Q: “Subject line” was helpful to remind me what was last sent to a contact on the list of Contact at a glance without opening each contact message. Will it be brought back on the list of contact pages?
A: Of all PATH’s messaging channels, only email allows a subject line, so the subject line has been omitted on Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS, etc. for clarity. Please remember that the “Subject Line” for a contact may not be the best place to keep notes for ourselves - especially if they are in sensitive areas or even in sensitive homes.
Q: Please post the Facebook links on the FAQ for LTJ 30DNS, Gospel, etc on FAQ.
A: This is a good suggestion; even if it isn’t specifically a PATH feature, PATH means more OMs than ever are taking Facebook Contacts, so we’ll do this.
Q: What is pinning?
A: Pinning a contact is similar to placing a paper document at the top of a stack of papers with a paperclip. Pinning makes that contact always stay at the top of your list to remind yourself to check on them. Currently this feature has been turned off because it is not working properly. Tech will fix this option and it will return at a later time. The icon for pinning is a paperclip.
Q: How do we get to the discipleship templates? Like Verification, Assurance, Holy Spirit etc.
A: All of these templates are found on the Helpdesk / Volunteer Resources page (Click “Help->Support”) Under Discipleship (Steps of Discipleship)
Q: Where can we find Bible studies to share with contacts?
A: Click on Help in the menu on the left side then click on Support. From there, you can get to the Help Desk/"Volunteer Resources" site where the Bible studies are. (Note that some are experiencing this opening another PATH window first. Please just click "Help->Support" again immediately. It should open the page at that time.)
(This is also answered in the PATH-FAQ (See "How do I get help if I need it? Where are the Bible Studies?")
Q: I LOVE PATH! It's a great time saver and easy to use. No more closing out many duplicate emails, Praise GOD. I've added quite a few disciples and PATH has confirmed that they are Disciples...but NONE of them are showing in my Disciples section. My Disciples section remains BLANK (no additions). Is this something that IT is working on?
A: Thanks for the encouragement about PATH! Making someone a disciple is something we must do through the Profile button at the top right of the Contacts screen. If you have a current person who has been in “disciple” status with you for a long time, you can add them to your Disciples list by clicking the “Options” and then “Add to my disciples” - you will receive a pop-up that asks if they have requested it of if you want to send them the invitation to become that. For someone who has been a disciple for a while, you can click that they requested it. Then that person will be in your Disciples box,but they will also show in your Contact box.
(This is also answered in the PATH-FAQ (See "Where are my Disciples?")
Q: WhatsApp contacts- when I send a message to them, I always get a message on PATH, "internal error" Should we ignore it?
A: Please don’t ignore these messages. When you get that “internal error” message, please check to see if your message has exceeded the character count for WhatsApp. (WhatsApp also has a 24-hour window in which you can send a message. It’s too late to send after 24 hours has passed since the Contact’s last message to you.) It’s also possible that the Contact has changed their account since submitting their original message.
Q: If you copy and paste the Bible study it will exceed the count?
A: Each of the lessons in the Bible Study list will give you a character count for that lesson. So you know ahead of time whether you will need to break it into two (or more) pieces to be able to send it.
Q: Where is the GMO Spiritual Guide?
A: To find the Spiritual Reference Guide in PATH you would go to the menu on the left side and click on Help. Then click on Support. It will take a few seconds to refresh the screen but it will lead you to the Volunteer Resources like we had in ARC. Search for “Spiritual Growth Quick Reference Guide” in the search bar and the article containing that information will be there.
Q: Can we add a document to a FB response?
A: Yes, since PATH’s “Documents” show up in Facebook Messenger as URLs, this is an effective way to share a document with a Facebook user.
Q: Some Facebook contacts message us incoherent messages. Such as “Yes,” (is their message to us.) Can we view the Facebook communication that the contacts are viewing so we know what they are referring to?
A; Since Facebook is “social media” a conversational reply from us will be far more effective than any template we can send. Therefore, knowing that whatever they saw was about Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation/forgiveness/eternal life, we can make some broad assumptions in how we answer them. Ask them a question about who Jesus is to them, or what did they see in our ad that you can explain further.
Q: I have not received any emails like I used to get under ARC. Do I need to do something?
A; If this is about email notifications of messages from Contacts, we believe this feature is functional in PATH. Please write to omhelpdesk@gmomail.org if your contacts are writing you back but you’re not being notified via email about their replies. If this is about Contacts being less responsive in PATH than in ARC, It’s true that since PATH’s launch, we have been advertising less aggressively. This means that fewer Contacts are available. However, there are usually enough that you’ll be able to pull new contacts as they become available throughout the day and begin new discipleship relationships.
Q: Editing messages in the Timeline would be great, as there might be errors before and I would want to fix things in the timeline if I wrote something by mistake.
A: Thank you for this interesting suggestion for a PATH feature enhancement. Please feel free to share ideas for improvements to PATH at http://pathsurvey.globalmediaoutreach.com/
Q: Will we be able to share videos on WhatsApp?
A: Yes, but only in the sense of sharing a URL to the video. PATH does not connect your WhatsApp account (or any of your other social media accounts) to the Contact and has no way to share WhatsApp videos to a Contact. Note that Contacts can use this same method to share URLs back with you. Although they’re not made clickable in PATH, if you copy them out and paste them into your browser window, you could inadvertently run a malware installer or see explicit content. Please use great caution.
Q: Is it OK if the message I want to share, like from the Got Questions article, to send 2 or even 3 sequential messages to a recipient with a more limited number of characters?
A: While it is okay to send that kind of message to someone who has asked, we would suggest that not be done on a first reply since that would mean we are making huge assumptions that we know what they are asking for. Draw them into conversation first to be sure you understand what they truly have asked.
Q: I get a message occasionally: “do I want to send a request for a contact’s testimony.” Where does that testimony go? To us or to GMO? I’ve had people respond with their testimonies to me directly when I ask for them in PATH. Should Forward those to someone? Thanks!
A: Learning to prepare your own testimony is a wonderful way to train yourself in how to share the Good News. The way the testimony form is structured (My life before Christ / How I came to follow Christ / My life since surrendering to Christ) helps a Contact get ready to do this. The submitted testimony becomes part of the Contact’s record after their submission. (You should be able to see it at the bottom of their profile.) In order to let GMO know you have a Contact who has submitted an encouraging Testimony, you can mark it “Good Story” by choosing “Options” from the tab in their profile.
Q: Why is the character limit on emails shorter than some of the lessons? Breaking a lesson up into multiple emails doesn't work since there is no guarantee that the emails will arrive in the same order as they were sent and emails don't have the same "continue" feel that Facebook or WhatsApp messages do. They really are very distinct and the reader has to switch between them. Think of most of the lesson in one email and the questions in a second email!
A: Very few of the Bible Study lessons are more lengthy than the character limit for email, which is about 700 words. Considering that over 90% of our Contacts are from outside the United States, with English as their second language, and over 90% of them are using a mobile device to communicate with us, asking them to read a 700-word message on a small screen may be a lot to ask of them. It’s easy to overwhelm ESL readers with content. Even if it is true and excellent, material that is unread or not understood is not truly spiritually helpful to them. Please consider simplifying and/or abbreviating what you send or at least sending it in episodes rather than a single message.
Q: Can you please share question examples for conversations in Facebook? It would be helpful as we get used to this new platform.
A: The Mentors developed a resource called “Asking Better Questions” with questions to help you assess the Contact’s relationship with God, begin talking about discipleship, and just get to know your Contacts in meaningful ways.
Q: Is there still the ability to close a contact? I have dealt with some repetitive advertising from a contact that won't respond to my trying to engage them. Any other suggestions to deal with this sort of thing would be helpful.
A: There’s currently no “Close” for a Contact as there was in ARC. We are working on such a feature, but repeated advertising from a Contact who isn’t engaging in spiritual conversations with you may be an opportunity to consider if the “Abusive” reassignment option might be appropriate.
Q: We need a logical way to end a sequence of messages. For example you answered their question and they responded with "thank you.”
A: There’s currently no “Close” for a Contact who persistently thanks you or agrees with an “Amen” to every message you send. You can Archive such Contacts, but if they write again, they will go back to your Conversation list. While we wait for a true “Close” feature, one suggestion mentioned in the Webinar was to adopt the mindset of someone looking to make disciples. There’s a balance between sowing broadly (being productive in sharing as much as possible) and caring for Contacts who are showing eagerness to hear what you have to share. Neither strategy looks at a “clean inbox” as a goal. For Contacts who keep engaging with you, you might consider looking for ways to keep the conversation going in ways that challenge them to grow spiritually. What did the Lord show you in your most recent devotional time with Him? Would it be possible to ask the Contact a meaningful question that would allow you to share what you have learned?
Q: In Path I thought we would be able to see what the contacts see. Be it a video or ad. Is that true? As that would help in responding.
A: We are hoping to be able to add some visibility into the ad seen by the Contact in a future release of PATH, but this feature has not yet been developed.
Q: How long does one continue to write if there is no response at all to any of the messages?
A: We recommend a second touch within 24-48 hours, but each Contact’s engagement with you is going to be different. Email Contacts often agree to receive the weekly devotional, Look To Jesus and 30 Day Next Steps messages. If they reply to any of these messages from GMO, their responses will be sent to you.
Q: Something I've found highly effective in Facebook is to send the "Second Touch" about 12 to 20 hours after my first response.
A: This is a great practice. While we wait for an automated reminder for Second Touches, the built-in Calendar (Settings->Calendar) can help you create reminders to do this. Here’s a video demonstration of how to do this!
Q: It would be great if we could copy the link where contact came from ( like www.Godlife.com or any other landing pages ) so that we can check out what they have seen.
A: ARC featured a clickable link in the Contact’s initial message. This is a feature we plan to add to PATH as an enhancement after we’ve had time to work through the issues that have been discovered since release.
Q: I have seen a PATH pop-up to send a Testimony request to a disciple after sending a reply. Why? I did not request it.
A: PATH includes reminders to you to help you manage the Spiritual journey of your Contacts. You’ll occasionally get reminders to make profile entries or assess their Spiritual Growth steps as well. You may click OK and dismiss the reminder if you’re not ready to take these suggested steps.
Q: Please add a cursor position at the bottom of the message entry area so we easily know where to break the message up without guessing!
A: Thank you for this interesting suggestion for a PATH feature enhancement. Please feel free to share ideas for improvements to PATH at http://pathsurvey.globalmediaoutreach.com/
Q: How do you send the 30 day step to contact?
A: For Facebook Contacts, you can use the following links: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28, Day 29, Day 30. For email, please send out the content from the pages on GodLife: https://godlife.com/en/30-day-next-steps rather than simply directing them to the pges.
Q: I was trying to add someone to my Disciples but it said that Contact was already there but I did not see him.
A: The Disciples list operates in the same way that the Conversations list and the Archived list do, in that a very lengthy list needs to refresh after you have scrolled to the very bottom. It’s possible that your list was long enough that you did not see your already-added Disciple because you had not yet done this. If this is not the case, please write to omhelpdesk@gmomail.org and share your username and the Disciple’s full name so that we can investigate.
Q: Is there a way to delete a contact that is troublesome?
A: You can reassign spam Contacts or verbally abusive / argumentative Contacts to “Abusive” - or if you have trouble answering, you can reassign to your leader or a specialty group.
Q: I liked the reminders that people are expiring. It was a good reminder to keep in touch with them. Is that available?
A: These haven't yet been implemented in PATH, since we launched and immediately had more trouble than we expected. We do expect these to return once the basics are working better in PATH.
(This is also answered in the PATH-FAQ (See "Did my 'Expiring Disciples' and 'Second Touch' reminders go away?")
Questions from Webinar 2 (10/21/21)
Contacts:
Q: What does the number beside contacts mean?
A: The number beside the Contacts menu option in the left side blue field is your personal count of conversations waiting for your response.
Q: Why are there no contacts shown in the new contacts?
A: This is a good question. Online Missionaries are doing a great job of quickly responding to all the new contacts coming in and we are balancing the contacts with OM capacity. If you see a 0 under Available Contacts, please know that this is not a malfunction in PATH, a signal of low funding of our ministry or low interest in the part of the Contacts.
Q: How do I close contacts?
A: This is answered in the FAQ. See "How do I close a Conversation without answering?"
Q: I find it best to respond to shaded contacts in my Contacts Page rather than clicking on the Notifications (Bell) icon. The Notifications number keeps increasing. Is it a problem?
A: If you never read your notifications, you'll increasingly find this feature less useful. Even if you don't use the click-through feature, reading them will keep them from showing as numbers on your notifications bell. (Every 2 weeks, notifications will be purged.) Click the message and then the X in the box if you don’t want to use notifications to click through to the actual message.
Q: Contacts have very rarely answered queries about spiritual growth, i.e do they go to church, are they reading in the bible, prayer, etc. they respond but not about these things. How do you ask?
A: This is a great question. Not just what was asked but in how it was phrased. If the question had been, "Do you have a list of questions to ask Contacts in order to assess their spiritual growth?" it would be possible to just answer, "Yes" or "No" and not elaborate. Sometimes Contacts do this to us because they're not interested in those things. Sometimes they just don't understand. It's important to remember that they have their own reasons for connecting with us. We may have better reasons for working with them, but if we push our agenda too hard without serving theirs, they're unlikely to engage with us. People want to be heard. They want their feelings validated. They want to be affirmed in the good steps they're taking. If we learn to ask questions in a way that is truly caring and curious about them as a person, it will help our ministry greatly. This guide may help with some ideas. We're working on more content along these lines.
Q: At reassign, there’s a blue arrow on the Right. I pressed this to reassign to my leader. My screen went blank/white. I had to reboot to get into Path and lost the contact reassigned. It also didn’t arrive at my leader. Can you explain please.
A: The description sounds as if the Contact got reassigned and the leader simply could not find the Contact. This is common because "Reassign to My Leader" has challenges. (Improvements are coming November 15)
Q: What is the process of reassigning Contacts and accepting them?
A: We're planning to demonstrate this in the next webinar. The process is a little more detailed than in ARC. There isn't yet a way to provide a reassignment "reason" in the process, and final reassignment to another account is conditional on their acceptance of the Contact. In ARC, it wasn't possible to reassign "closed" Contacts (after they'd been answered). You'd have to wait until the Contact wrote you back. That isn't true in PATH.
Issues with Contacts
Q: Am I correct in thinking that with the new software, contacts have been having trouble getting through? I had no emails from my contacts for 6 weeks, until last Saturday
A: This sounds like a question about Contacts' replies to your messages. I am not aware of issues with Contacts' replies not showing up in PATH after replying to an OM's message. We are diligently investigating leads related to such complaints, so if you have cases in which you receive a message from a Contact asking if you received a previous message, please forward your name, username and the Contact's full name to omhelpdesk@gmomail.org.
Q: Some of my contacts are not in my list. I couldn't trace them. What should I do?
A: If you are a Community Leader, use the CRM to inspect the Conversations in your own Profile to see if those names are attached to your account. If they are, it could be a simple matter of scrolling to the bottom of your Archived Contacts list and waiting for the screen to refresh until all refreshes are exhausted, meaning your entire list has been loaded. Then you can use the browser's Find command (CTRL/CMD-F) to search for the name.
Q: Why do I see “Take Request” at the bottom of the conversation screen? Is it part of the process to reassign?
A: Yes, the "Take Request" button is your way of acknowledging that you accept the reassignment of a Contact.
Q: I have many doubled contacts. Why is that?
A: A process running outside of PATH was duplicating Contacts for some time. This process has been stopped, and we thought we'd compiled a list of all remaining duplicates and merged them. If you still have duplicates, please write to the omhelpdesk@gmomail.org with your username and a list of your duplicated contacts with their full name so that the tech team can schedule merging them for you.
Switching a Contact’s Channel of Communication
Q: In cases where someone enters via whatever app only allows 1600 characters, is it okay to suggest that they may try to communicate with me, their established OM, via a different app that allows more characters? This is once they’ve been established with me.
A: In today's testing (10/22/21) we discovered an issue with switching from WhatsApp to email. Switching from WhatsApp to SMS works, but SMS is an even more restrictive communication channel. Once we have resolved this issue, then, yes, it would be appropriate to see if they want to switch to email. We will update you when the issue is resolved.
Q: One of my contacts (long time relationship) wants to use WhatsApp. How can a person change media?
A: Go to the Contact's profile, then choose the "Options" tab. "Switch Contact Channel" is one of the options. When you click this, you'll be invited to choose the channel the contact wants to use. Select WhatsApp and an invitation will be sent to your Contact.
Q: I tried to change channel for a contact and it didn't seem to work. Any idea?
A: There are some known issues with this feature - switching Facebook or WhatsApp Contacts to email isn't currently working, for instance. I believe the other way around does work. (Switching to SMS does work.)
Q: Is WhatsApp more secure than email for contacts?
A: Depending on what you mean, WhatsApp is said to be more secure than email. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook corporation, which has been under scrutiny for some time for its data mining practices. Many of the major free email vendors also engage in this practice. But most email doesn't offer end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp (and several other OTT [over-the-top] messaging protocols) does.
Asking Questions, Content and Bible Studies
Q: Do we find the Asking Better Questions document in the FAQs?
A: Yes, the "Asking Better Questions" document created by the Mentors is available in the FAQ (Under "Can you please share question examples for conversations in Facebook?")
Q: If, in the question/comment line, they say "yes," or, "send more videos," what are they seeing? Or what question are they answering?
A: Sometimes, it's easiest to just ask the Contact what they mean. If our advertisement appeared on a gaming site, they may have assumed we were affiliated with the site. If they messaged our Facebook page, they might be saying "Yes" to that day's posted content.
Q: Is Next Steps the same as 30 Day Next Steps? If yes, then why is the Facebook version different from the Volunteer Resources version? Can you update Volunteer Resources with the Facebook link?
A: "Next Steps" is meant to be the same content as 30 Day Next Steps. The Facebook material shared is a teaser and not the complete material. Links for the Facebook teaser videos for the 30 Day Next Steps and Look To Jesus follow-ups have been posted on the Volunteer Resources page.
Q: I just went through the 7-step New Believers' Guide w/someone who trusted Jesus to save them in May, but needed help knowing how to know God's working in them; it really helped. But, pasting those in takes a while; I have put the links to each page in my Helpful LInks now, but if these FB or WhatsApp users can't get those automatically, could Links or Templates?
A: We're working on a solution for these kinds of Contacts, but in the meantime, your solution for using Helpful Links or personal templates is a good one. Sending a contact the link will get them to the content, however, the Contact’s profile will not be updated with their progress. You can update their progress manually in their profile as they go through the lessons.
Q: I would like a place in the Contact’s profile to log what Bible studies they have done; the one they are doing; and ones they have requested. Right now I have to hijack another location.
A: Great news! Such a place exists. It's the "Timeline," found in the Contact profile. It's a great place to make notes to yourself about what you and the Contact are working through. Click Add note and log the Bible study. It automatically adds your username and a Timestamp to each entry and organizes it.
Q: Are there plans to make sending Bible lessons easier with fewer steps?
A: There are no specific plans to change how Bible lessons are sent at the moment. Links were organized in a single page on the Volunteer Resources page in the spring in order to make it more convenient to reach the landing pages for the 2,014 studies. Word counts were added on those landing pages for each study.
Q: Are there any plans to simplify the wording in the lessons. I have to do it by hand.
A: Virtually all of the Bible studies on the Volunteer Resources site are the product of our wonderful volunteers, and there are plans to edit them to fit more of the communication channel limitations. The first priority will be editing the (very few) that are too lengthy for email.
Q: Can I send a Bible study link to a contact that only has a 160 character limit?
A: Yes, this is a good option for SMS Contacts. Unfortunately the GMO Bible studies are behind a login, so you cannot send links to them to your Contacts. Two simple suggestions:
GodLife's YouTube channel has a collection of great teaching, including 141 devotional videos from Pastor Jesse Bradley, 74 summaries of our Weekly Devotion from GodLife's featured authors, 11 Q&A videos from Pastor Jesse, and an overview of each book of the Bible by Pastor Dorman Followwill.
Pastor Ray Stedman was a friend of Dr. J. Vernon McGee (of Through the Bible Radio), and a mentor to Luis Palau and Chuck Swindoll. His website has Bible study material and messages compiled from his 40-year service at Peninsula Bible Fellowship in Palo Alto, CA.
Q: How many personal Templates can we create in PATH?
A: There's currently no set limit for personal templates. If we end up with too many for the system to handle, we may have to impose one.
Working with Disciples
Q: I went into PATH. It appears that I have to send a Request to my disciple in order to change them from Ongoing to Disciple. Everyone has transferred over as Ongoing, so a couple of young ladies are really Disciples. Do I have to send a Request or can't I just change it myself to Disciple? I didn't see how.
A: For those Contacts already known to be disciples, it's easy to use the "Contact Requested" option of "Add to My Disciples." This option does not send them a request but simply changes their status to Disciple and adds them to your list.
Q: I tried to add someone as a Disciple and it replied that contact is already a Disciple; yet I click on Disciples and do not see them.
A: There are at least two reasons this may have happened. If you chose "Send Request," which would send your Contact an invitation to join you in a discipling relationship and they refused or never clicked to respond, they would not be added to your list. (You would see an entry in your Timeline if they clicked "No.") But also if you're a very active disciple-maker and have a lengthy list, the Disciples list functions much like the Contacts and Archive lists, displaying only a screenfull and refreshing when you scroll to the bottom. It's also possible to remove someone from your Disciples list by Archiving them. They return to your list when unarchived.
Working with PATH
Q: When I am in a conversation with a contact and I am done, sometimes when I click the Back Arrow in the upper left corner of the conversation PATH will try to go back and not land on the previous screen but just gives me a blank screen. So I changed from Firefox to Safari and found the same problem with the contact. Is it possible to put the path to the page in the header of the page so I can click on any of the links taken to get to the destination page so I can go back up the chain to Contacts? Example: Contacts > General > John Doe.
A: The Back arrow in PATH should send you to the previous view of PATH that you saw; however we have had a few problems with this button. In fact, I was able to reproduce this problem when we reviewed this question in the webinar. We're continuing to work on this feature and refine how this button works.
Q: The archive option is not available on any of my computers for the click and drag option. It used to be but it is gone now. Any ideas?
A: Clicking and dragging in that way is an unfamiliar action on a computer (it's much more common in smartphone apps) so it may take some practice. It should be working on both computers and apps.
Q: How are you copying and pasting from within PATH in the webinar?
A: PATH doesn't provide a traditional "i-beam" cursor, since the PATH Conversation stream isn't editable in-place. But you can still click to the outside of a message and drag across the paragraph to highlight the portion of the conversation you wish to copy. Then use CTRL/CMD-C, the "Copy" item from the "Edit" menu, or a right-mouse-click to pop up a contextual menu to copy, then use CTRL/CMD-V or the "Paste" option from one of the menus and it will paste into the Message editing box.
Q: If I normally interface with PATH via a laptop, am I able also to follow on with GMO access to PATH using an iPhone? How is that done?
A: PATH should function on your smartphone (including iPhone) in a browser just as it does on your laptop. An app for iPhone and Android is planned.
Q: Can we turn on Closed Captioning for these webinars for our hearing impaired OM’s? Or are they turned on?
A: YouTube creates automatic subtitles for English, but it appears this feature had been turned off in our account. This has now been corrected.
Q: Is there an archive within PATH of the various announcements? Because if I click “read” but then forget the numbers and links needed, I need to go back to that announcement.
A: PATH doesn't maintain an archive of announcements. If you do not “Mark Read” you will have the opportunity upon each login to record the numbers and links needed. If you have specific links or values you need, it may be that the volunteers at the OM Helpdesk can supply those to you.
Q: When will OM training resume?
A: Assuming you mean recruiting and training new Online Missionaries, this is a part of the PATH system that hasn't been completed yet. Our priority is helping our existing OMs migrate to the new system. For current OMs, we will continue to have training webinars to help you get more familiar with all the features of PATH and will be posting videos and documents to help you.
Q: How can we retrieve statistical data like year to date totals of messages in and out?
A: Community Leaders will be able to set their "My OMs" screen in the CRM to a range (in this case January 1, 2021 to October 21, 2021) and will be able to see statistics like this. (Some of these stats are not yet functioning properly but, since they're derived from data in the database, accuracy will not be lost.)
PATH questions from Webinar 3 (10/28/21)
Contacts:
Q: I will have double Contacts and then, a few days later they are gone. Then, a day or two later they come back. What about this?
A: More than one issue was resulting in duplicate Contacts in the past. We believe all of these issues have now been solved, (which is probably why your double Contacts are now merged), but if you're continuing to see duplicates, please let us know at omhelpdesk@gmomail.org.
Notifications:
Q: If I go directly to Contacts and handle Contact messages, the notifications about this Contact don't disappear and remain forever. Is this issue on the list of issues to be addressed? Because they are currently still there, I have over 600 notifications. How do I bulk delete them?
A: The system is being programmed to purge old notifications every two weeks. An enhancement has been requested to allow a "Mark Read for all."
Q: Is there a way to clear the alerts (bell icon) as a whole rather than one by one?
A: The system is being programmed to purge old notifications every two weeks. An enhancement has been requested to allow a "Mark Read for all."
Close Contacts And Archive:
Q: How do you close duplicates?
A: For duplicate MESSAGES from a single Contact, we don’t (yet) have a way to Close and write "Duplicate" as in ARC. The duplicate Contacts issue has been fixed. If you still have duplicates, please share your username and the Contact's first and last name at omhelpdesk@gmomail.org
Q: Is "close" coming back? They are an active Contact I don't want to archive, but I also don't need to respond. I don't want to archive them and I don't need to respond. Also could be instead of "Close", "No answer needed". Clicking "Archive requires training, while "No answer needed" (or something similar) is intuitive and does not require training.
A: We've had several requests for this feature and have asked the Tech team to schedule it as an improvement to PATH. For now, the best option is still Archive. Remember that if an Archived Contact writes back, they will return to your ongoing Conversations from Archive.
Q: Maybe a search option for the Archive would help.
A: This is a good suggestion. Search for Archived Contacts is a planned improvement for PATH. We do not have an expected date for this enhancement at this time.
Q: What happens if I archive a Disciple?
A: The status of Disciple is not lost, but after archiving, it disappears from your Conversations list. It can be found in your Archived Contacts. it reappears in your Disciples list when unarchived.
Q: Instead of (or in addition to) an "Archive" button, can we have a 'No need to reply" or Close button instead?
A: In light of the lengthy list of fixes since PATH's launch, we opted for a (simpler) modification to an already-existing feature instead of an entirely new one as a way to address this need. A Close button is a planned improvement to PATH
Q: How do I unarchive? Last time I tried the system would not complete this request.
A: Please try this again with the same Contact. We had some difficulties with PATH's Archive feature shortly after its modification that have now been addressed.
Reassign:
Q: Are OMs able to pull an English Contact, then reassign it back to English?
A: There is no way to reassign a Contact back to the list of available Contacts for someone else to pull. If you have a SPAM or abusive Contact, please reassign to Abusive. If the Contact seems to need a specialty response, please choose from the list of Categories.
Q: Why do we have some languages listed in "Other Languages" and some listed in "Category"?
A: That's a good question - the languages in "Other Languages" are our primary ministry languages. The ones under "Category" are languages for which we have no official team. Most are handled by a few bilingual OMs within the English team.
Q: What would be a reason to reassign to your Community Leader?
A: Your Community Leader has more visibility into reassignment options and will be happy to encourage you on principles of good response. "Reassign to My leader" currently suffers from a lack of clarity in the process, so if you need to do this, please "over-communicate," letting your CL know via email and/or messaging him or her on an additional channel. When a leader receives a reassignment, it's necessary for them to use the "Contact Reassignment" screen to assign the Contact from their CRM account to their PATH app account, (where they must "Take Request"), so a very obvious prompt is critical for them.
Q: Do specialty OMs need to accept a reassigned Contact? How does an OM or leader accept a reassigned contact, and how do we know we have one?
A: Reassignment into a specialty Category makes that Contact available for an OM in a specialty Community to pull, which makes their "+" button the way they accept a specialty contact.
By contrast, if a Contact is assigned to an OM account directly, they need to "Take Request" by clicking the blue button at the bottom of the Conversation.
Q: Can you suggest a specific suicide prevention hotline we can send someone to?
A: Yes, of course! This number is available on the Volunteer Resources page as well:
Lifeline (24/7) - 1-800-273-8255
(See Website - http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ as well.)
Leader Questions:
Q: How do we assign a Contact to another username? We need to be able to do this as CLs and as Shepherds.
A: In a leader's CRM is a "Contacts" menu option, which contains a "Contact Reassignment" screen. You can use this screen to reassign Contacts to an OM by username.
Q: Can I take a screenshot of the page that shows "conversations" to an individual OM and send it to the appointed OM?
A: This sounds like a question from a CL about the CRM for PATH. There's no way within PATH to send a screenshot. You could upload one as a Document (under Resources), capture the link that is created and share it in chat. To create an online attachment you'll have to use email.
Q: When will improvements in the CRM (the PATH module for leaders) interface be implemented? The "My OMs" page requires too much horizontal scrolling. (Perhaps the displayed values could be spaced more proportionately to their values.)
A: Adjustments that are trivial in Excel can take significant effort to replicate in custom software created for a different purpose. Numerous improvements are planned for the CRM's home screen, but our programmers' most urgent focus remains PATH itself. (Critical functional improvements for the CRM will also be ahead of user-interface improvements.)
Security:
Q: For Facebook/WhatsApp contacts, when we respond, are we actually on their FB page? Is it a private chat room? Do we need to do anything else when communicating with FB/WA Contacts?
A: In no case does a response in PATH post directly on any Contact's public-facing profile or page. It is a private messaging protocol, sent through our corporate account. You're sending from behind a secure login through that account, so there's no way for the communication to reveal anything personal that you don't communicate directly in the text.
Q: I read that WhatsApp leaks personal info. I'd rather avoid it if that's OK.
A: WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which has been criticized for their policy of selling demographic information on their users to advertisers. However, in using PATH, you're shielded from this practice, since WhatsApp is interfacing with our (single) corporate account for every Online Missionary in PATH. There is no danger of them seeing your personal information, and WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption means it's actually more secure than email.
Timeline:
Q: If they ask us to pray for their needs, where do we keep the Contact's prayer list so that we can easily refer to it and move through our Contacts so that we can pray for each one?
A: Prayer requests for the Contact should go in the Timeline, (found as one of the tabs on a Contact's profile), as individual entries as you receive them. Some forms allow Contacts to enter a prayer request as well, as a separate entry from the Comment or question.
Q: Are there plans of giving OMs the ability to edit Timeline comments?
A: One problem in implementing this feature suggestion would be the fact that the Timeline tracks more than just your comments: there are reassignments, spiritual growth steps, archiving actions, channel switching and testimony & discipleship status tracking entries that are made from the system itself. Additionally, if the Contact has been reassigned from another OM, the other OM's notes will be there for you to read. There is a "filter" button that allows you to see only your own entries. It may be that a future version of PATH could allow you to filter, then edit. This would be a good way to submit a feature suggestion at http://pathsurvey.globalmediaoutreach.com/.
Q: (1) Can the Timeline be updated? (2) When the Timeline disappears off the screen is the information lost? (3) Can timeline messages be copied to move into a new note with edits?
A: No, Timeline entries cannot be edited or copied. (See the answer to an earlier question.) Since the Timeline tracks more than just the current OM's comments, this complicates this suggestion. Still, we welcome such suggestions at http://pathsurvey.globalmediaoutreach.com/. Timeline entries have been implemented with an "infinite scroll," so they are not lost as they are pushed off the bottom of the screen.
Q: How can you copy a person's name from the Timeline that is in foreign characters and paste it into your new message?
A: At this time, Timeline entries cannot be edited or copied. However, if you'd like to use a Contact's name in your message, you can type {contact} (or $contact) into your message anywhere you'd like it to appear.
Q: If the idea is to keep one note per prayer item, how do I delete a prayer item?
A: At this time, there is no way to delete a Timeline entry. Seen in the context of your ministry to the Contact, prayers and answers to these prayers will give you an overview of how God has worked in their lives.
General:
Q: Why can't we access the sites our Contacts accessed when they came to us? Example: acceptance.somethingbetter.us
A: Numerous improvements are planned to give OMs more visibility into what the Contacts are seeing. In the meantime, there's a list of domains (including this one) on Volunteer Resources (in the "Quick Links" section under "OM Resource Links List" showing the actual page being advertised.
Q: Any news on a timeframe when the Finding a Church in a foreign country will be up and running?
A: This feature is dependent upon a partner ministry. We do not have an ETA for when it will be ready.
Q: How does Explore God.com fit into GMO and our ministry? We just received information about it in the mail.
A: The ExploreGod.com ministry recently came under the ownership of Global Media Outreach. We're just beginning the integration process. We will have a webinar coming up to let you know all the details.
Q: I've tried several times to get into the Volunteer FB group and my screen just loads forever. I'd like to know what video everyone is watching, or what screen they're seeing before they're in our inbox.
A: The link to join the Volunteer Facebook group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/GMOvolunteerConnections. You'll still have to answer 3 questions to demonstrate that you're an Online Missionary. (We don't allow non-OMs to join.) We still have plans to improve your information about the Facebook Contacts, but that will have to wait until the Tech Team finishes all the critical updates.
Q: My Contacts are not updated on those who have gone through LTJ or 30Day or both. It doesn't show this.
A: In addition to changing our Response System from ARC to PATH, we successfully changed our mailing system for the devotionals, LTJ and 30 Day Next Step series. We'll be reinstating the automatic updating for LTJ and 30DNS, but in the meantime, please familiarize yourself with the content and engage with your Contacts over this great follow-up material. Check each study off when your Contact has completed it.
Q: How long does it take to get a 'chat'? I am getting new contacts that are 20 hours old. Do we still have a 24 hour response time?
A: Some of our Facebook Contacts come from a Facebook plug-in that is added to our gospel pages. To them, it seems like a "chat" - to us, the Contact comes in like a Facebook Messenger Contact. Facebook Contacts of all types now have longer to answer than 24 hours, but if they're coming in already 24 hours old, that must mean we're not quite keeping up with these Contacts' needs. It's our hope that we quickly reach a point at which we can follow up much sooner to them, but they'll still get these messages in their Facebook accounts.
Q: I just noticed that the Contact's "Indicated Decision" on the inbox is different from the one on her profile. Are they supposed to be the same? I see some contacts show different decision.
A: These values should be the same. If you have some Contacts whose indicated decisions differ between their profile and the blue bar at the top of their Conversation, please let us know your username and the Contact's first and last name at omhelpdesk@gmomail.org.
Q: Is Godlife.com automatically at the top of PATH when I open it up or do I have to manually open it up for me to easily access?
A: For Contacts coming to us from Godlife.com, the domain appears automatically at the top of the PATH Conversation (in the light blue area). For now, please manually enter this URL in a separate browser window to access this site.
Q: I am currently having an ongoing conversation with one or two people consistently. Will this number increase as familiarity with getting through to GMO via FB etc increases?
A: Facebook Contacts tend to be more communicative than email ones. If you continue to be curious and caring with them, God will lead you into a more consistent conversation rhythm with the ones who are ready for Discipleship.
Q: Can we print the Asking Better Questions document from PATH?
A: The Asking Better Questions document, available in Quick Links->PATH on the Volunteer Resources page, can be printed from your browser.
Q: I thought Facebook's response window was still 24 hours. Do we have longer to respond now?
A: We do have a longer period of time before these messages expire and answering them is impossible. However, we're still asking our Online Missionaries to please refrain from taking new messages you aren't prepared to answer right away. (Please reassign a New Contact if you believe it will take you longer than 4 hours to answer.) For replies from the Contact, please don't wait longer than 24 hours before responding. Your opportunity to guide a Contact in their spiritual growth is a sacred trust; they lose interest if we, in turn, don't show interest in them by answering them promptly as the Holy Spirit is working with their hearts.
Q: When I scroll down my Contacts to the point where the screen needs to add more Contacts, instead of getting more Contacts, I get scrolled back to the top of my list, so I cannot get to my Contacts at the bottom of my contacts list.
A: This describes what happens to Online Missionaries with a lengthy list of Contacts. It may help you to archive some of these (they will come out of Archive whenever they write back to you.) If you continue to persistently scroll to the bottom, then to the "new bottom" of a refreshed list of Contacts, you'll eventually get to the end of them.
Q: Occasionally a Contact asks if I can communicate with them through WhatsApp or Facebook. What should I tell them??
A: During our Webinar (on Thursday, Oct. 28), the Tech team was working on the "Switch User" feature. This now works when transferring from email to WhatsApp, but not to Facebook. You can switch your contact from Facebook to email or WhatsApp or SMS (text messages).
Q: If you send a link on any of the platforms will they be able to access it?
A: Yes, Contacts on any of the platforms with which PATH can communicate (email, Facebook, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) will be able to access links created in PATH.
Q: Can we add instructions on that initial message with the link telling them what they need to do so they don't get lost?
A: This question seems to be about WhatsApp contacts, which currently expire within 24 hours if they are not answered. It would be a good practice for Online Missionaries to send an additional message after their greeting to inform Contacts that we lose the ability to write them after 24 hours has passed since their last sent message. That way they know that if this happens, they can simply send another message to you to restart the clock.
Q: When I am responding to a Contact and a message comes in, PATH freezes up and has even closed at times, taking me to the Apache error page. This happened over and over the night before last. Has this been fixed?
A: This sounds like a server error on the PATH site. Please report this using the omhelpdesk@gmomail.org email address if you encounter a problem like this in the future.
Q: I've been asked for my direct FB or WhatsApp but tell the Contact that I do not have a direct account. What should I do?
A: Feel free to tell them you are a volunteer Online Missionary with Global Media Outreach and that we are all using an indirect channel for security, since we work with people in a number of sensitive locations. It is against the terms of our volunteer agreement to share personal contact info, including Facebook, WhatsApp, or mobile numbers.
Q: Could the countries of Contacts be put in alphabetical order for ease of finding?
A: This is a great suggestion. The list almost appeared to be in alphabetical order, but it really wasn't. A tech request has been opened for this improvement.
Q: How do I change my password for PATH login?
A: If you're already logged in, visit "My Profile", then click the 3 dots at the top-right of the screen. A drop-down menu appears, with "Change Password" as the top option. If you aren't logged in, you can use "Recover Your Password" to create a new password, as long as you still have access to the email account in the PATH OM profile. (This question is answered in the "PATH-FAQ" - see "How do I change my password?")
Q: How is our number of People Helped determined?
A: This is a good question, as many of you may see a discrepancy between your ARC account's tally and your PATH account. Between your Conversation Categories and Archived Contacts lists, PATH shows all Contacts currently associated with your account. The sum of those Contacts is your "Number of People I have helped" on PATH's home screen and their locations are shown on your Map. PATH's calculation, then, is more accurate than ARC's, which did not take reassignment into or out of your account into consideration.
Questions from Webinar 4 (11/18/21)
Q: Why am I seeing so few new contacts?
A: We're investigating this issue. At PATH's release, we had decreased our advertising spending, but as spending has returned to normal, the decrease in percentage of New Contacts may be related to the greater number of options on the response form.
Q: I have not found a Bible that I can easily copy a section to add to a response to a contact. Is there one and, if so, how do I access?
A: We've included a link to the YouVersion Bible (creators of the Bible App we share) in the "Helpful Links" section.
Q: I've heard we could see the total number of contacts we have had. I understood it could be near the map of our contacts?
A: That's correct. It can be found on the Home screen. You may have to scroll down to see the number.
Q: Do Facebook contacts receive Look-to-Jesus and 30-day guide automatically as email contacts do?
A: They do not. This makes a great opportunity for you to share that content. Links are provided on the Volunteer Resources page.
Q: Is it possible to find out the country of a contact? It makes a big difference culturally.
A: It's not possible with Facebook Contacts. It does make a difference, which is a great reason to ask any Contacts with no Country entry.
Q: Is it possible to save the draft of a letter that you haven’t send out yet?
A: Yes. The system saves your progress on a message. No action is required on your part to enable this.
Q: Can we see the Facebook Ad a new contact is responding to? What does “yes” as an initial response probably mean?
A: Giving Online Missionaries access to more information like the ad content is a planned improvement to PATH. For now, there's a table on the Volunteer Resources page (Help->Support->Quick Links->OM Resource Links List->Links to Domains used in Mails from Contacts) There's a gospel presentation (shown at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ME5bhKR-c) which ends with a verbal invitation: "Will you accept Jesus?" This is likely what they are saying "yes" or "amen" to.
Q: I keep getting one word replies (usually “yes” or “amen”) no matter what I ask or how I try to engage the contact with some of my FB contacts. I’m guessing they don’t understand English? How many times do I go back and forth with them?
A: It's possible that some of your Contacts don't speak English well. It's a good practice to reduce our word count and use simpler vocabulary. Ask if there's a language they'd prefer: we actually have a number of volunteers who speak other languages. (You can see them among the reassignment Categories.) Although Contacts visit English websites and are usually able to understand some English, if their comment/question is only a few words, it's very hard for language detection software to determine their language.
Q: Why are we not able to fill in the area, “what can I be praying about for _____ ?
A: This is part of our set of form entry options, something the Contact enters, and not part of the profile notes OMs can keep on their Contacts. (Note that it appears in the "Initial Information" section of the Contact profile.)
Q: I know the tech team is working on meatier issues, but will we ever be able to enlarge the contacts message so it is more easily read? I used to be able to do that by expanding my fingers on my IPad. Also, eventually, will we be able to cut a sentence out of a contact’s message and paste it into my email to them so I can ask specific questions about what they meant?
A: I don't have an iPad, but an iPhone has an icon (it looks like AA) in the upper-right corner, which can increase the font size of all the type in the interface.
Please view the video demonstration at this link: https://youtu.be/2WdotJKbkBg
Q: Is there a way to just copy and paste the client's name on the form?
A: Online Missionaries have had varying success with copying and pasting from PATH and it has been difficult for the Tech Team to isolate the problem. However, it isn't necessary to copy and paste the Contact's name in order to insert it in your message. Don't forget $contact or {contact} (or even {contact_full_name}.
Q: In PATH when I look at Available Contacts for my Specialty Community it says 3. But when I look in the CRM Profile for my Specialty Community is says "No Data Found" when I select the Conversations tab. Are both systems accessing the same database at the same time?
A: This CRM question is because PATH's Categories don't operate the same as ARC's pool accounts. In ARC, you would have an account in your community that resembled an OM account, but would function as a pool from which other OMs could pull Contacts. PATH's Categories are not accounts that leaders can see.
Q: How does second touch follow up differ between a What’s App contact, a Facebook contact and an email contact?
A: Although PATH doesn't yet have an automated "Second Touch" reminder like ARC did, you can still establish a good follow-up practice, and the question's identification of email, Facebook and WhatsApp shows helpful insight: Email Contacts should get a second touch about a week later. Facebook Contacts should be written again inside a week, and WhatsApp Contacts must be written again (if at all) within the same 24-hour period.
Q: Is there a way to access and open up some of our sites like LooktoJesus and 30Day while we are in a chat with a contact?
A: Yes, we have added Helpful Links for these websites for all our English OMs.
Q: I have a hard time figuring out how to edit my templates. The system is not letting me do it. How can I edit them?
A: The "pencil" icon allows you to edit your templates from the Resources->Templates menu or from the "three dots" menu in the message window.
Q: I have never used WhatsApp and don't know how to start. Does it work for a Bible study? How quickly does it have to be answered? How many spaces will it allow? What do I need to do on my computer to use it? I know I can go to "options" and request a change over for the contact, but what do I need to do before that?
A: WhatsApp messages can be answered in the same way that email messages can, except that they cannot be answered after 24 hours have passed, they do not have a subject line, and they are limited to a maximum of 1600 characters. To use a Bible study or standard template, just watch the character counter in the bottom-right of the message window, and split the message in two if necessary.
Q: When will finding a reassign be simple? I was given 3 reassigned and never found them.
A: Improvements designed to make reassignments more obvious are planned. The primary way to identify a reassigned Contact is the blue "Take Request" button at the bottom of the Message, which you must press before beginning to answer. For this reason, we recommend that leaders message the recipient Online Missionary before reassigning a Contact.
Q: How do we respond to a contact with no information about what site they contacted through, and no comment? I feel like I'm answering in a void, not knowing what issue to address.
A: We understand that less information makes response more complicated. In cases like this, rather than giving up on the opportunity to reach large numbers of Contacts that are best reached through channels that do not provide this data, we believe asking questions is a good approach.
Q: Since we do not know the country, in ARC we were told to be sensitive about countries in our subject line. What should we do?
A: This is a great question. In those channels which don't provide a country, there is no subject line. If you receive an email message from an unknown country, please do not use Christian terms (like Church or Bible) in the subject line.
Q: Can we have a template on Job search?
A: We have adapted a template for Contacts seeking prayer for unemployment.
Q: Will you show us how to open a document in a new web page?
A: Clicking the document automatically does this.
Q: Will we be able to get PATH as APP from play store
A: Yes, this is planned for a future release.
Q: How secure are Facebook and WhatsApp?
A: Facebook Messenger messages and WhatsApp messages can take advantage of end-to-end encryption, making their messages secure. Email does not have this feature.
Q: Many contacts want WhatsApp, but I don't use it. I don't need a WhatsApp account? Does it work for a Bible study? How many spaces will it allow? What do I need to do on my computer to use it? I know I can go to “options” and request a change over for the contact, but what do I need to do before that?
A: Contacts using their WhatsApp accounts write to our central corporate account. There is no way for them to derive your personal contact information from this, and you do not have to have a WhatsApp account to answer them. Bible studies can be sent this way without editing if they're under 1600 characters. Otherwise, they can be segmented into multiple messages.
Q: When I do what you showed to disable the map, it doesn't stay disabled. What can I do?
A: The setting to hide the map is found in Settings->My Profile->3 dots in upper right corner. It used to default to "Enabled" for each new login, but in a recent update, your setting for the map persists through your log out and back in.
Q: Can you remind us how to do a hard refresh in our browser on Mac and PC?
A: It depends on your platform and browser:
Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for Windows: Press Ctrl+F5 (If that doesn’t work, try Shift+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R).
Chrome or Firefox for Mac: Press Shift+Command+R.
Safari for Mac: There is no simple keyboard shortcut to force a hard refresh. Instead, press Command+Option+E to empty the cache, then hold down Shift and click Reload in the toolbar.
Safari for iPhone and iPad: There is no shortcut to force a cache refresh. You’ll have to dig into settings to erase your browser’s cache.