A leader in ECA is a user who can manage one or more groups — approve members, post announcements, take attendance, RSVP for events on the group's behalf. They get a slimmed-down admin view focused on their group(s), without access to billing, settings, or other groups they don't lead.
Inviting leaders is one of the most leveraged things you can do. Each leader takes their group off your plate so you (the senior pastor / admin) aren't the bottleneck.
Step-by-step
- Open People admin.
- Click the Staff or Leaders tab.
- Click + Invite.
- Enter:
- Email address of the person you want to invite
- Their name (used in the email greeting)
- Role → choose Leader (or Admin if they need full access)
- Group assignment (optional) — pick the group(s) they'll lead
- Click Send invite.
The person gets an email with a click-to-accept link. When they click it:
- They're prompted to create a password (or sign in if they already have an ECA account on a different church).
- Once signed in, they land on the group(s) they were assigned to lead.
Leader vs. admin — which to pick
| Role | What they can do |
|---|---|
| Leader | Manage their assigned group(s) — posts, members, attendance, events. Cannot edit site, billing, or other groups. |
| Admin | Full access — same as you. Use sparingly. Best for: associate pastor, executive pastor, office staff member who handles website + giving. |
You can promote a Leader to Admin later (or demote) from the same People admin screen — no need to re-invite.
What if the leader doesn't have an email?
Some volunteer leaders don't check email regularly. Two options:
- Send the invite to their phone if you have their text number — you can copy the invite link from the People admin page and SMS it to them. Same magic-link sign-in.
- Create the account on their behalf — invite using your email + their name, then change the email once they're signed in. Awkward; only do this if option 1 doesn't work.
Resending an invite
If a leader didn't get the invite email (junk folder, etc.), find them in the People list — they'll have a status badge of "Invited" or "Pending." Click them → Resend invite. A fresh email goes out with a fresh link.
Removing a leader
Same People list → click the user → Remove leader access. Their group assignments are unlinked, but their account stays (they may still be a regular member). Hard-delete the user only if they're leaving the church entirely.