FAQ

Welcome to the Synergy Catalyst website FAQ. This page contains a list of frequently asked questions about using the site. Please review the list of topics to see if your issue or question is addressed before contacting Site Support.

FAQ Topics

How to Change Your Password

There are two ways to change your site password. Either of these ways can be used to change a temporary password or update an existing password.

If you are not logged into the SCP site, you can change your password from the login screen.

  1. Under the Login Password field, click the “Forgot Password” link.
  2. Enter your email address and click the “Submit” button.
  3. Watch for an email with a reset password link
  4. Open the email and click the reset link
  5. Enter your new password. It must be at least 12 characters long and contain a letter, number, and special character.

If you are logged into the SCP site, you can change your password by going to “Settings”.

  1. Click on “Settings” located on the left-hand navigation bar.
  2. On the Setting’s Login page, enter a new password.
  3. Enter your password a second time to confirm it
  4. Click the “Submit” button.

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    How to Change my Email Address

    You need to be logged into the SCP website to change your email address. 

    • Click on “Settings” located on the left-hands navigation bar. 
    • On the Settings > Login page, replace your existing email address with your preferred email address twice
    • Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

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    How to Change my Email Preferences (Site Notifications)

    You need to be logged into the SCP site to change your Email Preferences. The Synergy Catalyst site will send you email updates and notifications when someone direct messages you, @mentions your name in a post, sends you a friend request, or a member of your cohort posts to a forum. This can add up to a fair number of emails. To manage the number and types of emails you receive, go to the Settings area.

    1. Click on “Settings”
    2. Click on the “Email Preferences” tab
    3. Change the default email communication settings
    4. Click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page

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    How to Change your Profile’s Privacy / Visibility settings

    You will need to be logged into the Synergy Catalyst site to change these settings.

    You can set each profile field’s visibility / privacy settings as you create your profile. After creating your profile, you can update these profile field privacy / visibility settings from the “Edit Profile” page or in your “Settings > Privacy” area. 

    • Click on “Settings” located on the left-hands navigation bar. 
    • Click on the “Privacy” tab
    • Review your profile fields and “Change” your privacy / visibility settings as needed
    • Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

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    How to Change your Nickname / Site Name / Username

    Unfortunately, your Username cannot be changed. You can ask the site to use a preferred Nickname (also known as a Display name or Site name) instead of your Username. If a Nickname is set up, the site will use that name instead of your username on most pages. If you have security concerns, you may wish to use this setting so others see your public name.

    To change your Nickname

    1. Click the “Members” link from the left-side navigation menu
    2. Click the “Edit Profile” button
    3. Click the “Contact Information” tab
    4. Enter a different Nickname
    5. Click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page

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    How to Setup My Member Profile

    From the homepage, there are four ways you can access your profile.

    1. Click the site’s quick links menu in the upper right corner by your name and select the “Profile” option.
    2. Click the green “Profile Completion” widget to the right of your name and photo. This will only display until you have completed your profile.
    3. Click the “Profile” link in the menu under your photo and name.
    4. Go to the “Member Directory” and click on your name.

    Once on your member profile page, click the “Edit Profile” button.

    There are three tabs on this “Edit Profile” page

    1. Contact Information
    2. Ministry Information
    3. Personal Information

    Open each tab and complete the fields on each page. Below each field is a visibility / privacy setting giving you field-level control over who sees your profile information. Since the site is an invitation-only site and not scanned by search engines, your private information is not shared or visible to anyone who is not a member of the Synergy Catalyst program. 

    Recommendation

    1. Provide at least a sentence of content or N/A for each field. This will ensure your profile is 100% complete. 
    2. Be sure to save your changes by clicking on the blue “Save Changes” button at the bottom of each page. 
    3. You can edit your profile at any time.

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    How to Add / Change your Profile Photo

    Within your Edit Profile page, you can also upload or take a profile photo by clicking on the “Profile Photo” tab. Providing a photo is an important element of your profile. A good photo will provide a positive first impression and give other members a chance to get to know you. This photo will appear on multiple pages including the site-wide member directory where all members of the site can view your profile. 

    This page allows you to upload a photo or take a photo using your computer camera or webcam. 

    To Upload a Photo

    1. Click on the “Upload” tab
    2. A computer window will open
    3. Select a photo (jpg, gif, or png format) from your computer. 
      1. Use a high resolution photo to avoid blurry images
      2. Use images that are 300 x 300 pixels for best results. 
      3. Use GIF, JPG, or PNG format images.
    4. Click the “Open” button 
    5. Select and resize the portion of the photo you want to use. You can see the current selection in the photo circle. Your face should be centered in the image.
    6. Click the “Crop Photo” button when ready.

    To Take a Photo

    1. Click on the “Take Photo” tab
    2. Give the site permission to use your computer camera or webcam
    3. Adjust lighting and distance as necessary.
    4. Click the “Take Photo” button when ready. 
    5. Select and resize the portion of the photo you want to use. You can see the current selection in the photo circle. Your face should be centered in the image.
    6. Click the “Crop Photo” button when ready.

          Note: You can update your photo as often as you wish.

    Profile Photo Tips

    1. Make sure your photo is clear: To avoid a blurry photo, select a clear, high resolution original photo. If using a cellphone camera photo, be sure to download and save it at the highest file size / resolution possible.
    2. Make sure that you are well lit in the photo: A well lit photo can make all the difference. You want your face to be brightly lit, clearly visible, and not have any shadows. 
    3. Make sure you are centered in the photo: For a profile photo, you want to have your face to take up most of the image. For this reason, individual photos instead of family or group photos are best. You will want to be six to eight feet from the camera.
    4. Relax and smile for the photo: I find it helpful to focus my eyes on the camera or photographer behind the camera. Let your personality come through!

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    How to Follow other Members

    Following someone — similar to Twitter and other social media — simply allows you to view a member’s public forum posts, photos, and status updates. We recommend “following” all members of your cohort.

    To follow a member

    1. Click on “Members” from the side navigation bar
    2. On the Member Directory page, click on the “Follow” button located to the right of every member’s name. Everyone you are following will have a blue “Following” button beside their name.
    3. You can click on the “Following” tab at the top of the page to see a list of the people you are following.
    4. You can stop following a member by clicking the blue “Following” button.

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    How to Connect with Other Members (Send a Friend Request)

    A connection or friend request gives you increased access to another member’s profile and activities. It also allows another member to direct message you. To receive Cohort Group updates and allow another cohort member to direct message you, please “Connect” with all of your cohort members. 

    To connect with other members

    1. Click on the “Members” menu link from the side navigation bar
    2. On the Member Directory page, you will see a person icon. This is the connect icon. If you hover your mouse over the connect “person” icon you can see your connection status. 
      1. A person icon with a + symbol – Click this icon to send a friend request
      2. A person icon with a ✓ symbol – Indicates you are connected.
      3. A person icon with an x symbol – Click this to cancel your connection / friendship request

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    Creating / Editing your Network Profile

    To create your Network Profile

    1. Click on the “Network” link in the left-hand navigation menu
    2. On the Network page, click on the “Add New Network” link
    3. Complete the network profile form
    4. Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page

    To edit your Network Profile

    1. Click on the “Network” link in the left-hand navigation menu
    2. Click on your Network Profile Name
    3. Click on the “Edit Profile” link
    4. Click the “Submit” button to save your updates.

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    How to Take and Manage Course Notes

    The site allows members to take a variety of self-paced, online courses. Members can take notes on each course lesson by clicking a “Notes” button located on every course lesson page. 

    Once clicked, a notes popup window will hover on the screen. It can be resized or moved around on the screen. Within this window, you can enter notes and do basic text editing and formatting (Bold, Underline, etc.). Your notes can be saved, edited, deleted, or downloaded. Images can also be uploaded.

    Members can access their notes by clicking on “Notes” from the member dashboard page menu. This will open your Notes page with a list of all your previous notes. You can open, delete, edit, format, or print any of these notes.

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    How to Request Site Assistance or Report Site Issues

    You can request site assistance or report site issues by filling out a short “Support Request” form. This form can be accessed from the Member Dashboard (Landing page) or by clicking on “Support” in the left hand navigation menu. Once completed, this form will send the Synergy Catalyst Support Team a support request email containing your request. 

    The team will do their best to respond as soon as possible — typically within 12 – 24 hours. Please keep in mind that the Support Team is available on working week days from 8 am to 6 pm PST. If you live in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, or Europe, please keep in mind that time zone differences may delay a response.

    When reporting an issue, please do your best to provide as much detail as possible on the issue by describing what you did and/or what you are experiencing. If possible, attach a screenshot of the issue so we can see what you see and attempt to troubleshoot the issue. Information about your computing device, OS and Browser can also be a big help.

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    Describe Your Security Precautions

    The Synergy Catalyst site takes strong security precautions.

    1. Known Members: Our security starts with an invitation-only membership. All members are known, trusted, and vetted leaders with a long track record of ministry.
    2. Restricted Access:The site requires all members to log in using a strong password.
    3. Firewall: All pages on our sites are protected by a firewall and require a login before they can be accessed. This prevents bots, non-authorized members, spam, and search engines from accessing the site.
    4. Encryption: The site uses HTTPS SSL encryption to protect data transfers between the site and its servers.
    5. Servers: The servers sit on the Google Cloud and are managed in accordance with the highest security standards.
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    Site Content Usage

    All visionSynergy content (Courses, documents, illustrations, resources, videos etc.) on the Synergy Catalyst website is free for Catalyst Members or Alumni  to copy, download, edit, revise or translate for non-commercial ministry and personal uses. If you plan to use this content in ministry conferences, courses, workshops, or other leadership development contexts, please contact visionSynergy for permission. 

    If permission is given, all content should be given appropriate attribution and indicate that visionSynergy is the author/developer of the content.

    Please use visionSynergy as the source name and the following URL: https://visionsynergy.net.

    This content may not be used in / for the following circumstances

    • This content may not be used for financial gain or commercial purposes without first obtaining permission from visionSynergy. Examples of financial gain or commercial purposes would include online or face-to-face trainings or workshops for which you charge a course or workshop fee or the repackaging and selling of any materials that use visionSynergy content or materials. 
    • This content — including videos, illustrations, and other site resources — may not be included in written or digital materials without permission from visionSynergy. 
    • Third party content may not be used, edited, or included in digital or written materials without appropriate attribution and the written consent of the third party author or owner.