One row is one group: a small group, a class, a ministry team, a committee. Membership is a separate file, so the groups go in first.
What a Row Needs
A Name. Everything else is optional.
Import People First
Leaders are matched against people already in Studio. Run this before your People file and the leader columns match nothing, leaving every group without a leader attached.
Running It
- Go to Imports → New Import and pick Groups.
- Upload your file, or start from the template at Imports → Templates.
- Check the mapping and run.
The Columns Worth Mapping
- Leader Email, not just Leader Name. Email is what actually attaches the right person. A name on its own is a guess, and in a directory of any size there are two people with that name.
- Type takes small group, ministry team, class, committee or other. Common wording is tidied up for you.
- Meeting Day, Meeting Time and Meeting Location are what people read on the group page when they are deciding whether to join. Meeting Time is free text, so “7pm” and “after second service” are both fine.
- Is Active takes yes or no. Blank counts as yes. Bring old groups over as inactive rather than leaving them out, so the history of who was in what survives.
Group Membership
Members are a separate file, and one row there is one person in one group. Bring the groups in first, then use Advanced Import to target the group members table and map your file to it. If your export has a row per person with a comma-separated list of groups, split it into one row per pairing first.
After It Runs
- Check that leaders attached. Groups whose leader did not match are reported by row.
- Open one group page and confirm the meeting details read the way you would want a visitor to see them.