# Church SMS & church management glossary

> Plain-English definitions for church admins: SMS part, GSM-7, Unicode, sender ID, SMS gateway, church CRM, merge field, visitor follow-up and more.

## SMS terms

### Bulk SMS

Sending the same text message to many phone numbers at once, usually through a web portal or software rather than from a personal phone. Bulk SMS is billed per message part, per recipient. See [bulk SMS for churches](/bulk-sms-for-churches).

### SMS part

The unit an SMS is billed in. A standard GSM-7 message fits 160 characters in one part. Longer messages are split into parts of 153 characters, each billed separately. In FaithDash each part costs UGX 35.

### Concatenated SMS

A long message sent as several parts that the recipient's phone joins back into one message. Each part spends a few characters on a hidden header, which is why split parts hold 153 characters instead of 160.

### GSM-7

The standard 7-bit character set for SMS. It covers English letters, digits, common punctuation and some accented letters, and allows 160 characters in one SMS part.

### GSM-7 extended characters

The characters `^ { } [ ] ~ | €` and the backslash. They're allowed in GSM-7, but each one takes the space of two characters.

### Unicode (UCS-2) SMS

The encoding used when a message contains any character outside GSM-7, such as an emoji, a curly quote or an em dash. One Unicode part holds only 70 characters (67 when split), so the same text can cost twice as much. Check a message with the [SMS cost calculator](/sms-cost-calculator).

### Sender ID

The name or number a recipient sees as the sender of an SMS. Bulk SMS providers handle sender IDs differently, so check with your provider what recipients will see.

### SMS gateway

The service that connects SMS software to the mobile networks and actually delivers the messages. FaithDash sends through the BulkSMS Uganda gateway.

### Delivery report

The status a gateway returns for each message, such as sent or failed. FaithDash summarises every send as sent, partial or failed, and keeps it in the message history.

### Opt-out

A recipient's request to stop receiving messages. Respecting it promptly keeps your church's messages welcome rather than resented. See [SMS opt-out etiquette](/blog/sms-opt-out-etiquette-uganda).

## Church management terms

### Church management software (ChMS)

Software that keeps a church's member records, attendance, events and communication in one place. Also called a church management system. See [church management software for Uganda](/church-management-software).

### Church CRM

Another name for church management software. It borrows "customer relationship management" from business, where the "customers" are members, visitors and the wider community.

### Segment

A defined group of recipients within your member database, such as visitors only, leaders only, or everyone tagged Choir. In FaithDash you send to a segment instead of uploading a list.

### Tag

A label attached to a member record, such as Youth, Ushers or Building committee. One person can have several tags, and any tag can be used as an SMS audience.

### Merge field

A placeholder in a message template, such as `{{name}}` or `{{event_date}}`, that is replaced with each recipient's details when the message is sent.

### Visitor follow-up

Contacting first-time visitors after their visit, ideally within a day and more than once. In FaithDash it's an automatic sequence of SMS triggered when a visitor registers. See [church visitor follow-up](/church-visitor-follow-up).

### QR code check-in

A printed QR code that visitors scan with their phone camera to open a registration form. It replaces paper visitor cards.

### Event reminder

An automatic message sent a set time before an event starts, such as two days before a youth camp.

### Attendee follow-up

An automatic message sent to the people who attended an event, a set number of days after it ends. For example, a thank-you after a fundraiser.

### Attendance tracking

Recording who attended each service or event, so trends and drop-offs become visible. See [church attendance tracking](/church-attendance-tracking).

## Payment terms

### Prepaid balance

Money loaded onto an account in advance and spent as messages are sent, also called a wallet. FaithDash keeps one prepaid balance per church.

### Mobile money top-up

Adding to a prepaid balance from a mobile money wallet, such as MTN Mobile Money or Airtel Money in Uganda. FaithDash top-ups are processed by Flutterwave.

### Pay-as-you-go

A pricing model with no subscription, where you pay only for what you use. FaithDash is free to use and charges only for SMS sent. See [pricing](/pricing).

Last updated: 2026-10-10  
Source: https://faithdash.com/glossary