groups.bayviewumc.org access

Church Admin Guide: Accessing groups.bayviewumc.org (Gmail vs. Non-Gmail Users)

Overview:

Our custom domain groups.bayviewumc.org acts as a central hub for church teams to read email archives and manage group discussions. Because this is a secure Google Workspace tool, the system requires a Google Identity to log in and verify who the user is.

Depending on what email address a leadership team member uses, their login experience will fall into one of two categories:

Category 1: Users with a Google-backed Email (@gmail.com or @bayviewumc.org)

If a member is already using a personal Gmail address or an official church email address, access is automatic.

• How they log in: They simply navigate to groups.bayviewumc.org and log in using their existing Google email and password.

• What they see: Under the "My Groups" tab, they will instantly see LeadershipTeam@bayviewumc.org and can begin browsing the historical archives right away.

Category 2: Users with Non-Gmail Addresses (Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail, AOL, Comcast, etc.)

If a team member uses a non-Google email address, they will still receive all group emails directly to their regular inbox without doing anything. However, if they try to visit groups.bayviewumc.org to view the web archives, Google will not recognize them initially.

To grant them access to the web portal, they must complete a one-time linking process to attach a free Google Identity to their existing personal email.

• The Golden Rule: They do NOT need to create a new Gmail address.

• The One-Time Setup Steps:

  1. Go to the Google Account Creation Page.

  2. When asked to choose a username, click the option that says "Use my current email address instead".

  3. Enter their existing non-Gmail address (for example, mrjohndoe@yahoo.com).

  4. Create a secure password and click Next.

  5. Google will send a quick verification PIN code to their personal inbox. Once they type that PIN in, the setup is complete.

• Logging In Moving Forward: They can now visit groups.bayviewumc.org and log in using their personal email address alongside the password they just created. They will now have full access to the web portal archives.