WhatsApp Communities 

We have recently moved over to using WhatsApp Communities at Holy Saviour Bitterne. If you want to know more about these groups then this page should have all the information you need. 

What is it?

WhatsApp Communites allows us to keep multiple church groups all in one space. It helps us to keep things more organised and allow for better communication within our church community. 

Why have we decided to do this?

IIt makes it much easier for people to find and join the groups that are relevent to them. By having a sepertare announcements page, it means they don't get lost within the conversations and means we are hopefully able to reach everyone with updates. It also improves our compliance with GDPR guidelines. 

IIs my personal information protected?

Your contact information is only shared with those in the same groups as you, which is the same as most other WhatsApp groups. Your details can be seen by the admin, which is Holy Saviout Bitterne. These groups can't be used to look up people's phone numbers. 

Do I need to do anything?

No! We have already started the process. You will be added to groups that are relevant to you. You should get a notification about this. Once you have been added to the Holy Saviour Bitterne community group you will be able to look at the other groups available.

Some groups you will need to request to be added to, this will then be reviewed by one of our admin team. If there are any questions about why you want to join a group, or if we just need a bit more information then one of our admin team will message you directly before approving your request to join.

 Are there rules?

Our main rule is that we are being kind and respectful of everyone in the groups. We want to encourage talking and deabting ideas, but make sure what you are saying is respectful. 

Avoid making statements that may cause disunity within the church. Particularly anything that is unnecessarily political or controversial. It may be better to have some conversations outside of the group, face to face. 

We want to ensure everyone feels safe within our WhatsApp communities.

Any plans for the future?

At the moment we are just getting to grips with this way of using WhatsApp. We are starting off small with just a few communites and then will look to grow it from there. If you have any questions or any ideas on how we could utilise these groups as best as possible then do get in touch with us. 

Can I leave?

Yes, you can choose which groups you do or do not want to be part of. If you choose to leave the announcements group then it will automatically take you out of all the other groups as well. We will try not to use it too much and you can always choose to mute just the announcement group if you want to.