Administrator Documentation

Complete guide to managing The Forge discipleship platform as an administrator. This covers every area of the admin dashboard, from class management to data syncing.

Dashboard Overview

The admin dashboard is your command center. After signing in, you land on the main dashboard which displays key metrics at a glance:

• Active Participants — total enrolled students across all cohorts.
• Classes Running — number of currently active classes with open cohorts.
• Attendance Rate — average attendance percentage for the current term.
• Pending Assessments — assessments submitted and awaiting grading.

Quick-action cards let you jump to common tasks: create a class, add participants, view reports, or manage settings. The sidebar navigation provides access to all platform modules.

Managing Classes & Cohorts

Classes represent your discipleship courses (e.g., Jasper Stone 101). Each class can have multiple cohorts — groups of students taking the class together during a specific period.

Creating a Class

1. Navigate to Manage → Classes.
2. Click New Class and fill in the name, code, description, and level (Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced, or Specialized).
3. Assign a class image and set the number of modules.
4. Save the class. It will appear in the catalog.

Creating Cohorts

1. Open a class and click Add Cohort.
2. Set the cohort name, start/end dates, campus, and meeting schedule.
3. Assign one or more facilitators to lead the cohort.
4. Publish the cohort to make it visible for enrollment.

Managing Programs

Programs group multiple classes into a learning pathway. Use Manage → Programs to create structured sequences such as the School of Discipleship curriculum.

Managing Participants

The Participants page lists everyone enrolled in your platform. You can filter by class, cohort, campus, or status.

Adding Participants

• Individual — click Add Participant and enter their details.
• Bulk Import — go to Participants → Import and upload a CSV file. Map columns to fields and confirm.
• Self-Registration — students can sign up via the public registration form.

Bulk Actions

Select multiple participants using checkboxes, then use the bulk action toolbar to: move to a different cohort, change status, assign to a cell group, or export their data.

Skills Management

Skills represent ministry competencies that students develop over time. The platform supports 100+ predefined skills across categories like Leadership, Teaching, Worship, Evangelism, and Pastoral Care.

Configuring Skills

1. Go to Skills in the sidebar.
2. Browse existing skills by category or search by name.
3. Create custom skills with a name, category, description, and proficiency levels.
4. Use Manage → Skills → Assignments to bulk-assign skills to participants based on class completion or facilitator recommendation.

Accountability Assignments

Each student can be assigned an accountability partner or leader. This creates a mentorship relationship tracked within the platform.

• Navigate to a participant's profile and select their accountability leader from the dropdown.
• Leaders can view their assigned students from the My Members page.
• Accountability relationships appear in the student's journey view.

Cell Group Management

Cell groups provide community structure within cohorts. Each cell has a leader and a set of members.

1. Go to Cells from the sidebar.
2. Click New Cell Group and assign a name and leader.
3. Add members individually or auto-assign based on cohort enrollment.
4. Cell leaders can take attendance and submit reports through their dashboard.

XP & Rank Configuration

The XP (Experience Points) system gamifies the discipleship journey. Students earn XP for completing modules, attending sessions, passing assessments, and participating in activities.

How XP Works

• Each completable action has an XP value (e.g., attend session = 10 XP, pass quiz = 25 XP).
• XP accumulates on the student's profile and contributes to their rank.
• Ranks progress through levels (e.g., Seeker, Learner, Builder, Leader, Elder).

Configuration

Admins can adjust XP values for each action type and define rank thresholds in Settings → XP & Ranks. Custom achievements can be created to award bonus XP for special accomplishments.

Certificate Management

Certificates are awarded when a student completes all requirements for a class or program.

1. Go to Certificates in the sidebar.
2. Create or edit certificate templates with custom text, logos, and signatures.
3. Set completion criteria (minimum attendance, assessment score, module completion).
4. Certificates are auto-generated when criteria are met, or can be manually issued.
5. Students access their certificates from My Certificates.

Reports & Analytics

The reporting module provides insights into your discipleship program's health and effectiveness.

Available Reports

• Enrollment Report — registrations by class, cohort, and time period.
• Attendance Report — session-by-session attendance with trends.
• Completion Report — module and course completion rates.
• Assessment Report — quiz scores, grading distributions.
• XP Leaderboard — top performers by XP earned.
• Inactive Students — students who have not engaged recently.

All reports can be exported as CSV for further analysis. Use the date range picker and filters to narrow results.

Data Sync (CHmeetings)

The Forge integrates with CHmeetings (church management system) to sync member data. This eliminates double data entry and keeps your records consistent.

Setting Up Sync

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → CHmeetings.
2. Enter your CHmeetings API credentials.
3. Select which groups or categories to sync.
4. Run the initial import to pull in member records.

After initial setup, sync runs automatically on a schedule. Conflicts are flagged for manual review. You can also trigger a manual sync at any time from the integrations page.

Settings

The Settings page controls platform-wide configuration:

• Organization — church name, logo, branding colors, and contact info.
• Session Years — define academic terms/periods for scheduling.
• Campuses — manage multiple locations.
• Roles & Permissions — control who can access what (Admin, Facilitator, Student).
• Email Notifications — configure automated emails for enrollment, reminders, and completions.
• Integrations — CHmeetings sync, Google Calendar, and email (Resend) settings.
• Sliders & Banners — manage homepage carousel images and announcement banners.