Updating Family Records: Member Submissions & Admin Approvals
In This Article
Updating Your Family Record: What Members Can and Can't Do
Approving or Rejecting Member Submissions (for Admins and Editors)
Can I see a list of approvals previously made?
Updating Your Family Record: What Members Can and Can't Do
Members can submit updates to their own family records using the Member Website or Mobile App, as long as the following are true:
• The member has an email address listed in the directory
• Mobile or web access is enabled in your directory settings
Need help enabling mobile access? See: Enabling Member App Access
Who Can Submit and Who Can Approve?
| Role | What they can do |
| Members | Submit changes to their own family record |
| Admin & Editors | Review, approve, or reject submitted updates |
What Members Can Update
Members can submit changes to:
• Profile photos
• Adults and children listed in their family
• Phone numbers and email addresses
• Corrections to existing information
• Privacy settings for their contact information (visible only to Admins and Editors)
What Members Can’t Update
Members cannot:
• Add or remove groups
• Edit additional internal details
• Change their member status
• Delete their family record
How Members Submit Updates
Members can submit changes to their family information using either the Member Website or the Mobile App.
Option 1: Member Website
- Go to members.instantchurchdirectory.com
- Sign in to the Member Website
- Select Edit My Family from the menu
Option 2: Mobile App
- Open the Instant Church Directory app
- Sign in
- Tap Menu (☰) > Edit My Family
After making their changes, members click Submit Edits to send their updates for approval.
Important: Changing a login email address
If a member changes the email address they use to sign in, they will need to create a new login using the updated email address.
Tip for church admins:
You can share this article with your members to help them understand how to submit updates and what to expect.
Related article: How Members Submit Updates to Their Information.
Approving or Rejecting Member Submissions (for Admins and Editors)
How You’ll Know a Submission is Waiting
When a member submits an update, you’ll see a yellow notification banner at the top of your screen:
“You have 1 pending member submission ready for review. Review it →”
Click Review it → to go directly to the submission.
Admins and Editors will also receive an email notification (sent overnight) whenever there are updates waiting for approval from the previous day.
Tip: Admins can disable these email notifications if they prefer.
How to Review a Submission
1. Click the Review it → link in the banner
2. Review the submitted changes
3. Choose to:
- Approve the update (applies the changes)
- Reject the update (keeps existing information)
What Happens After I Approve a Change?
Approved updates are applied immediately to the directory and become visible to other members right away.
Important:
Updates do not appear in the directory until they are approved.
To reflect approved changes in your Directory PDF, you must regenerate the PDF.
Can I see a list of approvals I’ve already made?
At this time, Instant Church Directory does not provide a history or log of approvals that have already been processed.
You can only view pending submissions that are waiting for review. Once a change is approved or rejected, it is applied to the directory and is no longer listed in a separate approval queue.
How to Review a Submission
Troubleshooting
I know a member submitted an update, but I don’t see anything
- Look for the yellow banner at the top of the screen
- If you’ve already reviewed it, the banner will no longer appear. The same happens when someone else (either another editor or the admin has approved it).
- You may need to refresh your browser
I don’t see the banner
- There may not be any pending submissions
- Ask the member to confirm they completed their submission
- Refresh your page or log out and back in
Notes
- Member updates are always reviewed by an Admin before being applied
- This helps prevent accidental or incorrect changes