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Communication Flows

Communication Flows turn scattered messages into smart, strategic nudges that move people to action. Whether you’re announcing a new event or rallying a ministry team, Flows help you send the right message at the right moment, with a clear goal in mind.

No more guessing what’s working. With built-in tracking, you’ll see exactly who’s engaging, what actions they’re taking and how close you are to hitting your target. Imagine hearing, “We want 25% of new attendees in our Intro Class by December,” and knowing you can measure every step of the journey with Flows.

You’re not just sending messages. You’re building momentum like a river gathering strength as it flows.

What is a Flow?

A Flow is a sequence of Rock-powered communications — Email, SMS or Push notifications — designed to guide people toward a specific goal. You can schedule messages over time, target exactly who should receive them and remove individuals once they’ve completed the journey.

What is a Conversion Goal?

A Goal defines success for your Flows. It’s based on actions like filling out a form, joining a group, registering for an event or appearing in a data view. With Conversion Tracking enabled, you’ll know if your messages are doing what they set out to do.

Flow Types

  • Recurring: Sends to a selected audience on a defined recurring schedule (daily, weekly, monthly).
  • On-Demand: Assigns individuals to a flow instance as needed through workflows or other events, such as the Activate Communication Flow workflow action.
  • One-Time: A single message or series of messages scheduled for a specific date with no repeats (e.g., a stream of Christmas communications).

Tip

Flows Without Conversion Goals:
You can still use Flows to package related communications even if you don’t need to track specific outcomes. This works well when conversions aren’t essential to your process.

Create a Flow

To create a Flow, navigate to People > Communication Flows and press the ti ti-plus button in the top right.

  1. Name - Enter a name for your flow. Pick something clear so you can recognize it later.
  2. Description - Add a short explanation of what this flow is for. This helps others understand its purpose at a glance.
  3. Category - Choose the category that best fits your flow (like Discipleship, Baptism or Guest Services). Categories keep flows organized. Categories are defined in Admin Tools > Settings > Category Manager as any Category added under the Entity Type: Communication Flow.
  4. Flow Type - Select how your flow should run:
    1. Recurring – Messages are sent on a defined schedule to a target audience. You’ll need to pick a Data View and set a recurring schedule in the schedule builder (more on this below).
    2. On-Demand – People are only added when triggered by a workflow or event, such as the Activate Communication Flow workflow action. No audience or schedule setup is required.
    3. One-Time – A single flow that runs at the date and time you choose. No schedule builder is needed.
  5. Enable Conversion Tracking - Enable this if you want to track goals for your Flow, more on this below.
  6. Unsubscribe Message - Customize the message recipients see if they unsubscribe from this Flow through email.

For Recurring flow types, you’ll need to set up a recurring schedule (that makes sense, right?).

Click the Edit Schedule button, and you will see the pop-up below.

Here you can:

  • Set an Occurrence Pattern (specific dates, daily, weekly, or monthly).
  • Decide how long the flow should continue (no end, end by a certain date, or after a number of occurrences).
  • Add exclusions if needed by choosing specific date ranges to skip.

This makes it easy to create a rhythm for your messages, whether that is weekly follow-ups, monthly reminders or a custom pattern.

Note

Best Practices for Recurring Flows:
Recurring flows are powerful because each scheduled send counts as a new instance. This means results are tracked per occurrence, giving you a clear view of how each cycle performs.
Be mindful when scheduling frequent messages. If recipients have already completed your Conversion Goal or engaged with your communications, they may receive messages they no longer need. Too many unnecessary messages could increase the chance they click Unsubscribe. Always make sure your schedule aligns with your purpose and your audience’s needs.  
Most importantly, your Data Views should be solid, targeting the right audience, those people who will benefit from your communications.  

When your schedule is ready, select OK in the Schedule Builder.

To create a Goal, click Next.

Set a Goal

Note

“If you did not enable goal tracking during flows creation, you can skip this section.”

Conversion Goals

Conversion goals measure whether your flow is accomplishing its purpose. Think of them as success markers tied to real actions recipients take.

  1. Goal Display - The statement of your goal (for example, “10% of recipients complete Kids Registration”).
  2. Conversion Types - Choose what counts as success:
    1. Completed Form – Tracks when a recipient completes a specific form or workflow.
    2. Joined Group of Type – Tracks when a recipient joins any group within a designated group type (like a Small Group or Serving Team).
    3. Completed Step – Tracks when a recipient finishes a specific Step, such as a Discipleship Step.
    4. Registered – Tracks when a recipient registers using a specific Registration Template.
    5. Joined Specific Group – Tracks when a recipient joins a specific group, not just a type.
    6. Entered Data View – Tracks when a recipient appears in a defined Data View, useful for reporting-based goals.
  3. Target % - The percentage of people you expect to complete the goal for it to count as a win.
  4. Goal Time Window - The number of days after launch recipients have to complete the goal.

Each Conversion Type connects directly to a Rock feature. For example, you might set a goal for 10% of recipients to complete the Starting Point class within 30 days.

Note that the flow will only count recipients who have not already completed that goal.

Note

People, Not Activity
Conversion goals are always about people, not actions. One person can only complete a goal once. For example, if someone fills out the same pledge form multiple times, only one conversion is counted. While flows can help meet organizational goals, the real aim is serving people, not checking boxes.

Select Next when you're ready to continue with message creation.

Set Message Flow

In this step you’ll design the sequence of communications that make up your flow. For each message you can decide what kind it is, when it is sent, and what content it includes.

  1. Message Buffer - Establish a wait time (number of days) and a send time (e.g., 10:00 AM). Each individual message can have a different buffer, creating a flow of communication that engages the recipient without overwhelming them.
  2. Add Message Options - Choose the type of communication to send:
    1. Email
    2. SMS
    3. Push Notification (recipient must have a Rock Mobile app)
  3. Recipient Exits Flow When - Decide when a recipient should stop receiving messages in the flow:
    1. Last Message Is Sent (default)
    2. Any Email Opened
    3. Any Email Clicked
    4. Conversion Is Achieved

Tip

Best Practices for Message Flow
Think carefully about when someone should exit a flow. If a recipient has already engaged with your content or completed the goal, continuing to send them messages may feel unnecessary. In many cases, you simply want them to see your main point, not to receive a string of extra communications.
Exiting on conversion can also be helpful. For example, if a recipient registers for your event after the first email, they don’t need further reminders. Use this option wisely to avoid over-messaging and to ensure every communication adds value.

Create Email

Note

Communication Flow Templates
Email templates inside Communication Flows differ from system-wide Communication Templates. When you save a Communication Flow with an email, Rock saves that email as a template for future Flow use.
Only Communication Flows templates appear in the dropdown under Styles in the Email Builder.

Create SMS Message

Create Push Notification

When you’re satisfied with your flow, click Save.

Select an active communication flow to view analytics. Flow analytics show how well your messages are performing, and what is driving conversions (if they're enabled). The details you see depend on the Trigger Type you selected.

  1. Flow Instance - Choose which instance of the flow you want to review.
    1. Recurring – Select an instance by date on the recurring schedule.
    2. On-Demand – Select a date range since messages are sent on-demand.
    3. One-Time – There is only one instance, so no comparison chart is available.
  2. Conversion Goal Progress - Four progress markers indicate how close you are to meeting the goal, if applicable:
    1. Not Tracked – No conversion goal is set.
    2. Pending – Goal is not achieved, but not past the time window.
    3. Achieved – Goal was met within the defined window.
    4. Missed – Goal was not met in the time window.
  3. Flow Key Metrics - Quick stats on conversions, average time before conversion, and unsubscribes.
  4. Total Flow Performance Over Time - Shows conversion and unsubscribe trends. Hover to see daily conversion rates.
  5. Instance vs. Flow Performance Average - Compare how the current flow instance is performing against overall averages. One-Time flows will not show this comparison.
  6. Data Last Updated - Metrics are updated by the 
  7. Message List - Click a message to drill into its specific metrics.
  8. Flow Trigger Label - Displays the trigger type for this flow.

Note

These charts suggest correlation between messages and conversions, not direct causation.

Individual Message Metrics

When you select a message from the list, you’ll see detailed analytics. Available metrics vary by message type.

Metrics for Email Messages

  1. KPI Cards - Show message performance at a glance, including conversion rate, open rate, click-through rate, and unsubscribe rate. (Open rate not available for Push Notifications. Click-through and unsubscribe rates not available for SMS or Push Notifications.)
  2. Performance Over Time - Displays how each metric changes by date, giving you a clear picture of trends. Available for all message types.
  3. Message Instance vs. Flow Average - Compares the selected message’s results with overall flow averages. Not available for One-Time messages.
  4. Recipient Log - Lists details for each recipient, including send date, open date, click activity, conversion, and unsubscribe information, with links to recipient profiles. (Open, click, and unsubscribe details are not available for SMS or Push Notifications.)
  5. Recipient Profile - Upon click, you will be redirected to the Recipient's Person Profile.

Unsubscribing From a Flow

If a recipient clicks Unsubscribe in an email, this is the page they’ll see. The message displayed depends on the unsubscribe message you set earlier in the flow setup (Unsubscribe Message).

This helps people manage their preferences without unsubscribing from all church communication. Coaching tip: Be intentional when setting your unsubscribe message so recipients know exactly what they’re opting out of.

Note

Unsubscribing from a Flow
When someone clicks Unsubscribe from a flow, they’re removed from future messages in that flow. See the Communication Preferences chapter for full details on unsubscribing.  

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