Getting Started
Getting Started
There is a lot to see on Brigade Leader. We want to help you get your bearings. Take a look at the table of contents on the left to find brief descriptions of the various tools available to you.
Introduction
Brigade Leader has been completely overhauled to bring you a brand new experience. In the past, Brigade Leader was delivered as a collection of helpful articles and provided ministry tools for leaders. We have taken the same core concept and reimagined it for the modern leader through an online platform. The new Brigade Leader is much more than a collection of articles–it is your hub to connect with an online community of leaders!
Account
Your participation in the community is what will help make it a vibrant and valuable place for Brigade leaders. This starts with a creating an account. If you haven’t done so we only ask need your name and email address. Sign Up Here
Your Profile
Setting up your profile will help you make connections with other leaders. Take the extra few minutes to load a profile picture, share contact information, and describe your role and history with Brigade. View Fred Flintston’es sample profile or Complete your profile here
Your profile will also display other features relevant to you such as: Your notifications, messages, forums you’ve subscribed to, groups you belong to etc.
Your Timeline (Activity)
Your timeline is the hub of activity. Everything that happens on Brigade Leader is presented on your Timeline. You can share an update and mention other leaders by using “@” follower by their username.
Your Groups
We’ll describe groups in more detail in the “Groups” section below, but when you click on your profile picture you can view and manage groups relevant to you: accept pending group invites as well as view the groups you’ve already joined.
Your Forums (Discussions)
This section of your profile will show you the discussions with which you have interacted. From your profile you can view discussions you’ve started, replies you’ve made, discussions you’ve marked as favorites, or discussion subscriptions.
Discussion subscriptions are great! You can mark a discussion that you find interesting and relevant and get updates when new comments or topics are added.
Your Photos
A simple home for all your Brigade photos. You can organize them into neat albums and share them with other leaders.
View Fred Flintstone’s Pictures
Your Email Invites
Feeling lonely? Invite fellow leaders to join our online community!
Groups
Brigade Leader is designed to build communities. Groups are at the core of what we do. After you’ve become familiar with your own account you should look to join a few groups.
Groups allow you to connect with other leaders in a targeted way. The most basic example would be joining (or creating) your Brigade Unit Group. Groups can bring together people around regions, units, or interest areas. View Fred Flintstone’s Example Unit Group in which their unit has discussion forums, pictures, and documents.
Find Groups
Find a directory of current groups using the group link in the navigation menu. You can filter groups by type, activity, most members, recency and more. The search bar at the top can be used to find any group as well.
See if your unit is already here! If not …
Create a Group
Can’t find the group you’re looking for? Create a new group! Take your time with the settings to make sure your group functions exactly how you need. There a number of features that can be enabled depending on the purpose of the group. These settings can be adjusted later so don’t worry if you make a mistake.
Members
Interesting in finding who else is part of Brigade Leader? The Members Directory (in the navigation menu) is your place to discover our active members. Every leader in our community is displayed here. They can be organized based on activity, recency, and alphabetically. There’s also a handy search filter that will help you find exactly who you’re looking for. if you don’t find them … invite them.
Inviting New Members
You can find a handy invitation tool in your profile dropdown. You can also link right to it here if you are logged in. Just enter the name and email address for each leader you want to invite. You can use our custom email text or modify it yourself.
Discussions
The discussions are your place to share thoughtful ideas with the Brigade Leader community or to get help from other leaders. Need help with a module? An Outing? Have an idea or best practice to share? The Discussions are the place to do all this!
What Discussions are Available?
Welcome to Discussions
Before you begin your dive into the Discussions, this is where you should introduce yourself in the welcome forum so that others will know who you are! You can also find some basic guidelines and rules that specifically pertain to the Discussions.
General Topics
Not sure where a topic fits? It might belong here. This is the place to discuss topics that are relevant to all Brigade leaders.
Programs
Brigade is composed of three main programs: Tree Climbers, Stockade, and Battalion. If you are looking for topics that deal with an individual program, this is where you’ll find them!
Search
At the top of the Discussions there’s a helpful search bar. This is often a great place to start.
eMagazine
Brigade Leader began with a magazine that was delivered to leaders. This concept was taken online in 2016 as articles were made available through our eMagazine. Articles are hand picked and curated by our staff to give the best information to help you thrive in ministry.
Featured Articles
This is a regularly rotating list of our top picks chosen by the editors of Brigade Leader.
Categories
Every article is designated different categories to help you browse for the information you need.
Resources
This area of the site is currently under construction. We are developing a list of relevant resources that can be utilized by active Brigade units.
Support
There’s a lot of new features with Brigade Leader. We will be regularly updated our site and implementing new tools for our community. As changes occur, we want to make sure that our leaders have the support they need to use these tools effectively.
Getting Started
This is the page you’re currently on. It gives a list of Brigade Leader’s various features.
Get Answers
A series of frequently asked questions that will help you get answers as quickly as possible.
Get Help
Still can’t find the answer you’re looking for? This short form will be sent directly to our development team who will help you sort out any issues experienced on our site.