SMS assessment reminders, and the consent rules behind them

How does a reminder get sent at all?

Email comes first. When a member assessment is sent, the request and its reminders go to the member by email. Most people finish that way, and email stays the primary channel the whole time.

SMS is a fallback, not the lead. It exists for the case where an email assessment sits unfinished and a gentle nudge by text helps the person complete it. The full picture of how assessments work lives in the member assessments guide.

• Email is always the primary channel for member assessments.
• One SMS reminder at most, only after a fixed 72 hour wait.
• Sent only if the assessment is still incomplete.
• Skipped if the member has opted out of text messages.
• Held during quiet hours, which default to 8pm to 8am in the member's local time.
• The text carries a secure link to finish the assessment, never sensitive care content.

When can a text reminder go out?

The wait is fixed at 72 hours. FlockConnect looks at assessments that were sent more than 72 hours ago and are still incomplete. Anything already finished is left alone, so a member who responds by email never gets a text.

Even then, a text is not guaranteed. At most one SMS reminder is considered per assessment, and only after that 72 hour mark. There is no second text and no SMS-first path.

What checks does FlockConnect run before texting?

A text is only sent if every rule allows it. The member must not have opted out, the church must have the standing to message that number, and the moment must fall outside quiet hours. Quiet hours default to 8pm through 8am in the recipient's local time, and assessment reminders never bypass them.

If any check says no, the reminder is held or skipped rather than forced through. A blocked or deferred text is simply not sent. Nothing about this is sent without consent.

What does the text actually say?

The message carries a secure link to finish the assessment, and that is all. The link opens the same assessment the email pointed to, so the member can complete it on their phone.

The text never contains care notes, prayer requests, assessment answers, or any other sensitive content. Sensitive context stays inside FlockConnect, behind a pastor's login. You can read more about how FlockConnect handles this kind of data on the trust and security page.