Your First Conversation

Once your ChMS is connected, open the chat from your dashboard. You’ll see a text input where you can ask questions in plain language — no special syntax, no report builder, just type what you want to know.

Try These Starter Questions

Here are a few questions that work well to get a feel for what Bellwether can do:

• “Who visited for the first time last month?” — Pulls first-time visitor records from your attendance data.
• “Show me attendance trends for Sunday services over the past 6 months.” — Gives you a summary of how your weekend services have been tracking.
• “Which small groups have fewer than 5 members?” — Helps you spot groups that might need attention or consolidation.
• “Who hasn’t attended in the last 30 days but was regular before that?” — Surfaces people who may be falling through the cracks.

How Conversations Work

Each conversation is a back-and-forth thread. Bellwether remembers the context within a single conversation, so you can ask follow-up questions naturally:

You: Who visited last Sunday?

Bellwether: There were 12 first-time visitors last Sunday. Here’s the list…

You: Which of them left contact info?

Bellwether: 8 of those 12 left an email or phone number…

When you want to start fresh on a different topic, click New Chat to begin a new conversation.

Tips for Better Results

Be specific about time. “Last month” works, but “in January 2025” is even better. Bellwether interprets relative dates based on today’s date, so specificity helps when you’re looking at historical data.

Name what you’re looking for. Instead of “Tell me about groups,” try “Which groups meet on Wednesday evenings?” The more specific your question, the more useful the answer.

Ask follow-ups. Bellwether holds context within a conversation, so drill into results naturally. If you get a list of people, ask “Which of them are in a small group?” and Bellwether will cross-reference.

What If Something Looks Wrong?

Every Bellwether response has a feedback option — thumbs up or thumbs down. If an answer doesn’t look right, flag it. This helps the team improve the system and helps you track issues.

If data seems off, the most common cause is a sync timing issue or a permissions gap in your ChMS connection. Check Connecting Your ChMS for troubleshooting steps.