Youth group guide

Groups with members under 18

Emberside is for people 13 and over. Anyone under 18 is protected wherever they are in the app, and a youth group starts with its church and two leaders the church has approved.

For church admins

Approve who leads young people

Only an adult your church has approved can lead a group with a member under 18.

  1. On your church screen, tap Member directory.
  2. Beside each adult you approve, turn on Youth.
  3. Someone shows No birthday? They need to give their birthday in the app before you can approve them.

For leaders

Start a youth group

  1. On the first screen, tap I am starting a youth group. Already in the app? Go to Settings → Your groups → Start a youth group.
  2. Not approved yet? The screen tells you who at your church can approve you.
  3. Choose your co-leader, another adult the church has approved.
  4. Give the group a name and tap Start the group.
  5. Your co-leader sees Co-lead it. When they say yes, members under 18 can join.

Two leaders, always

If a group falls short

A group with anyone under 18 in it needs two approved leaders. Someone under 18 never leads a group.

  1. If a group drops below two, it has seven days to find another. Admins see it under Groups with members under 18 on the church screen, and can tap Add a leader.
  2. After seven days, members under 18 are paused. They cannot read or post in that group until a second leader is approved. Everyone else carries on.

Private conversations

Never alone with one adult

  1. When someone under 18 is in a one-to-one conversation, the group’s youth leaders are in it too.
  2. Two people under 18 cannot start a private conversation with each other.
  3. Everyone in the conversation sees a note saying so.

For church admins

What your church can read

While anyone under 18 is in a group, your church’s admins can read its chat, and any private conversation that person is in. Everyone there sees a note saying so.

  1. On your church screen, tap Members under 18.
  2. Tap a conversation to read it.
  3. Every read is recorded under Who has read them, which every admin of your church can see.
  4. When nobody under 18 is left in a conversation, it closes to your church again.

Screening

Messages where young people are

Emberside checks every message posted where someone under 18 is, for grooming, pressure to move a young person off Emberside, a young person telling of harm, and self-harm. A check never blocks a message, and the person who wrote it is not told.

  1. Flagged messages appear under Flagged by screening on Members under 18. Tap Read the conversation.
  2. Emberside’s staff see every flag too, and some concerns go only to them.
  3. If a child is in danger right now, call 911 first.

Good to know

Birthdays, the directory and training

  1. Emberside asks everyone’s birthday. Nobody under 13 can join.
  2. Someone under 18 is left out of your church’s directory unless they turn it on themselves.
  3. For training your leaders, NCMEC’s NetSmartz has videos and tip sheets for talking with young people about staying safe online.

Still stuck?

Write to support@wayfarersdigital.com and a person will answer. To tell us something is broken or missing, use Settings → Send feedback in the app.

← All help