Documentation

Church Community Builder Core API

  1. Getting Started
    1. Configure API Settings
    2. Configure Groups
    3. Configure Public Events
    4. Synchronization
  2. Using The Custom Post Types
    1. Groups Schema
    2. Events Schema
  3. Developer Documentation

Getting Started #

The plugin can be installed using the Plugins Screen in your WordPress admin menu under Plugins > Add New. You can also download the plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory.

After you install the plugin, all you need to do is Activate it.

Activate Plugin

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Configure API Settings #

  1. First you’ll need to setup a dedicated API User in your Church Community Builder software. Follow the instructions on the support portal.
  2. When assigning services to this user, you’ll need to enable the group_profiles service for Groups functionality and the public_calendar_listing service for Public Events functionality.
  3. Under CCB Core API > API Settings enter
    1. Your Church Community Builder software subdomain. (Without http:// and without .ccbchurch.com).
    2. Your API Credentials (username and password which was setup in step 1 above).
    3. Click Save Changes.

API Settings

After you have saved your changes you will be able to test your API Credentials.

API Settings

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Configure Groups #

Basic Settings

Under CCB Core API > Groups you can enable Groups synchronization. This will synchronize your publicly listed groups.

Important: The most common mistake with group synchronization is the group settings in your Church Community Builder software:

In order to make a group public you’ll need to Edit the group. On the Group’s Options tab, check the Public Search checkbox. More info is available on the Church Community Builder support portal.

You can customize the Display Name and the URL Name (slug) of the Groups Custom Post Type. For example, some churches may call their groups “Small Groups”, “Life Groups”, “Meet-ups”, etc. The slug is the last part of the URL where the Custom Post Type’s archive page will be located.

More information about Custom Post Types (and how to create a template for their pages) can be found here.

If you plan to display the Group’s image on your site you can enable the Group Images setting. When groups are synchronized, this will download a copy of the group image to your Media Library and attach it to the Custom Post Type as a Featured Image.

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Advanced Settings (Optional)

The Advanced Settings are preconfigured with the most common settings. These control how the Groups Custom Post Type will be available throughout WordPress (front and back end). These control the arguments sent to register_post_type.

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Configure Public Events #

Basic Settings

Under CCB Core API > Public Events you can enable Public Events synchronization. This will synchronize your publicly listed events (aka your Public Calendar).

You can customize the Display Name and the URL Name (slug) of the Public Events Custom Post Type. For example, some churches may call their events “Meetups”, “Hangouts”, etc. The slug is the last part of the URL where the Custom Post Type’s archive page will be located.

More information about Custom Post Types (and how to create a template for their pages) can be found here.

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Advanced Settings (Optional)

The Advanced Settings are preconfigured with the most common settings. These control how the Public Events Custom Post Type will be available throughout WordPress (front and back end). These control the arguments sent to register_post_type.

Date Range Type (Relative Range)

When Public Events are synchronized, the plugin will fetch events that start after the “How Far Back” setting and that start before the “How Far Into The Future” setting. This is the best setting for most churches. It will continually import / remove events on your WordPress site on a rolling basis.

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Date Range Type (Specific Range)

When Public Events are synchronized, the plugin will fetch the events that start after your Specific Start Date and that start before your Specific End Date. You might use this setting if you want to tightly manage which events appear on your site.

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Synchronization #

You have two options for synchronizing your Church Community Builder data: Manual Sync or Auto Sync.

Manual Sync

Under CCB Core API > Synchronize you can click the Synchronize button.

The synchronization runs in the background so you can safely navigate away while the synchronization takes place. Once the synchronization is complete, you’ll receive a notice on this page with the latest results (and if there were any errors).

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Auto Sync

Under CCB Core API > Synchronize you can Enable Auto Sync.

The plugin has a Cache Expiration setting. This is how often the plugin will connect to the Church Community Builder API to check for updates. (About 90 minutes is recommended).

This runs as a background task so your site performance should be unaffected.

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Using The Custom Post Types #

Now that your Groups and/or Events are stored in WordPress as Custom Post Types, what’s next? WordPress has several options for displaying Custom Post Types, and here are some resources to help you get started.

Creating Custom Post Type Templates

The two most common templates give you an archive page (a listing of all groups or events) and a single page (an individual group or event).

You can also create templates for the Group & Event Categories & Tags (called “taxonomy templates”). For example, you’ll be able to display “All Groups in the ‘Married Couples’ category” or “All Events in the ‘Missions’ Group category” or “All Groups with the ‘Child Care Available’ tag.

Templates

Custom Post Type Templates (WordPress Codex)

Elegant Themes – Creating Custom Post Types (Beginning on Step 3)

Tuts+ A Guide To WordPress Custom Post Types – Part 1 (Ignore any steps about creating custom post types)
Tuts+ A Guide To WordPress Custom Post Types – Part 2 (Ignore any steps about creating custom post types)

Creating Custom Content (WPMU Dev, Beginning at “Displaying Your Post Type on the Front End”)

Custom Fields

Custom Fields (WordPress Codex)

WordPress Custom Fields 101: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks (WPBeginner)

Custom Taxonomies (Categories & Tags)

Custom Taxonomies (WordPress Codex)

Creating Custom Content – Taxonomies & Fields (WPMU Dev, Ignore any steps about creating taxonomies and fields)

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Groups Schema #

CCB Core Groups Schema

This is a complete listing of the default properties on a synchronized Group.

Custom Post Type

ccb_core_group

WP_Post Properties

Post Property CCB Entity Property
post_title name
post_content description

Post Meta

main_leader
calendar_feed
current_members
group_capacity
addresses

Custom Taxonomies

Taxonomy Taxonomy Slug CCB Entity Property
Areas ccb_core_group_area area
Days ccb_core_group_day meeting_day
Departments ccb_core_group_department department
Tags ccb_core_group_tag childcare_provided
Times ccb_core_group_time meeting_time
Types ccb_core_group_type group_type

 

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Events Schema #

CCB Core Events Schema (Public Calendar)

This is a complete listing of the default properties on a synchronized Event.

Custom Post Type

ccb_core_calendar

WP_Post Properties

Post Property CCB Entity Property
post_title event_name
post_content event_description

Post Meta

date
start_time
end_time
event_duration
location

Custom Taxonomies

Taxonomy Taxonomy Slug CCB Entity Property
Types ccb_core_calendar_event_type event_type
Group Names ccb_core_calendar_group_name group_name
Grouping Names ccb_core_calendar_grouping_name grouping_name

 

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Developer Documentation #

For more information about the plugin code itself, how to extend upon the plugin, and how to customize it, visit the GitHub Wiki.

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