Roles and Permissions
Roles control what areas of GatherCMS a staff member can access and what actions they can perform. When you assign a role to a user account, that person immediately gains the permissions associated with that role.
A person can hold more than one role. If they do, they have the combined permissions of all their assigned roles.
How Roles Are Assigned
Roles are assigned from the user account, not the profile. See User Accounts for instructions on how to edit a user account and assign roles.
Only administrators can assign or change roles.
Platform Roles
These roles control access to the core areas of the Staff Portal: People, Calendar, and Administration.
System Roles
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| System Super Admin | Full access to all Staff Portal features, including all People and Calendar capabilities, Planning Center settings, and billing. |
| System Admin | Same full access as System Super Admin. |
Assign these roles only to trusted church administrators. A person with a System Admin role can manage all other users and access all data in the system.
Calendar Roles
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Calendar Admin | Create, view, update, and delete calendar events. Manage event tags, calendar settings, and event scoring settings. |
| Calendar Viewer | View calendar events and event tags only. Cannot create or make changes. |
Typical use:
- Assign Calendar Admin to staff or volunteers who manage your church's event calendar.
- Assign Calendar Viewer to staff who need to see the calendar but should not make changes.
People Roles
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Profile Admin | Create, view, update, and delete member profiles. |
| Profile Editor | Create, view, and update profiles. Cannot delete profiles. |
| Profile Viewer | View profiles only. Cannot create or make changes. |
| Groups Admin | Manage group tag groups. |
Typical use:
- Assign Profile Admin to your church administrator or office manager who maintains member records.
- Assign Profile Editor to ministry leaders or volunteers who help keep contact information up to date.
- Assign Profile Viewer to staff who need to look up member information but should not edit records.
Website (WebCMS) Roles
These roles control access to GatherCMS's built-in website management tools. Assign them to staff or volunteers who help manage your church's public website.
Page Builder Roles
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| WebCMS: Page Builder Admin | Full control over pages, media library, navigation menus, legal content, and blog posts and categories. |
| WebCMS: Page Builder Editor | Create and edit pages, upload and edit media, write and edit blog posts, and view blog categories. Cannot delete pages or manage menus. |
| WebCMS: Page Builder Viewer | View pages only. Cannot create or make changes. |
Content Block Roles
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| WebCMS: Content Blocks Admin | Full control over content blocks and the media library, including deleting content blocks and media. |
| WebCMS: Content Blocks Editor | Create and edit content blocks and upload media. Cannot delete. |
| WebCMS: Content Blocks Viewer | View content blocks only. Cannot create or make changes. |
Brand Settings Role
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| WebCMS: Brand Settings Manager | Update your church's brand settings (logo, colors, fonts). |
Typical use:
- Assign Page Builder Admin to the staff member responsible for your website.
- Assign Page Builder Editor to volunteers who write content or blog posts but should not manage the site structure.
- Assign Brand Settings Manager to whoever handles your church's visual identity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a person have more than one role?
Yes. A person can hold multiple roles at the same time. Their effective permissions are the combined set of all their assigned roles.
Who can assign or change roles?
Only users with administrator-level access can assign or change roles. If you do not see a Roles field when editing a user account, you may not have permission to change it.
What if none of the existing roles fit what I need?
Contact your system administrator. Roles in GatherCMS are managed at the system level.
Does removing a role take effect immediately?
Yes. Changes to a user's roles take effect as soon as you save. The person's access changes the next time they perform an action or reload the page.