Updating MPDX When a Ministry Partner Gets Divorced

It is a sad reality that Ministry Partners get divorced. And in the aftermath, it is important to care for the individuals well. Making administrative adjustments in MPDX can be a loving way to avoid awkward and painful mishaps in communication like misaddressed envelopes.

In the instance of a Ministry Partner getting divorced, the best place to start in MPDX is the former couple’s shared contact page. Here you will be able to make the following changes:

Create a new MPDX Contact page for the non-primary person

Step 1: Visit the Contact page of the couple who is getting divorced.

Step 2: We recommend creating a new contact page for the person in the divorcing couple who is NOT marked “Primary.” To do this, click on the Add Contact button and type the Last Name, First Name. Click Save. MPDX will automatically create and open the newly created contact page for this individual.

Step 3: Copy and paste any contact information for this individual (i.e. phone number(s), email(s), notes, etc.) that you would like to have saved for them as a newly created contact going forward. 

NOTE: As an optional step it may be helpful to copy and paste this contact’s previous address, but divorces often lead to address changes so note the “Address no longer valid” field when applicable as you Edit Address(es) in MPDX. Be aware that a changed address can also affect physical newsletter lists and mailing addresses for letters, thank you notes, and other ministry communications. Remember to update your other Newsletter lists as well where applicable (i.e. MailChimp, prayerletters.com, ChalkLine, etc.).

Step 4: Go to the Person tab within the former shared contact page and choose Edit for the contact you just “moved.” Once you have fully transferred their data to the new contact page, Delete this individual from the former shared page.

Update the following information on EACH individual’s contact page:

Change the Envelope Name Line, Contact Name, Greeting used in Exports

The Details tab within a Contact gives additional contact information such as Communications preferences. An oversight here could be an honest mistake, but an acutely painful reminder of loss to a grieving ministry partner. 

Step 1a: Change the Contact Name, Envelope Name Line and Greeting for the primary contact of the former couple.

Step 1b: Change the Contact Name, Envelope Name Line and Greeting on the new contact page for the secondary contact of the former couple.

Click and type to replace and edit the existing information. Refresh your page. The changes should appear immediately. Below is an example of the changes noted above when ministry partner Joe West divorced ministry partner Francine West.

Update the Newsletter preferences and Status

Visit the top blue section of each contact page and select Partner Status (i.e. Partner - Prayer, Partner - Financial, etc) and Newsletter preference (i.e. Physical, Email, Both)

NOTE: 

  • You will need to manually update the Partner Status and Newsletter preference for the individual with the newly created MPDX contact (in this example, Francine West). 
  • If you have the sync turned on with ChalkLine and/or PrayerLetters.com, you will need to manually update or check your Email (i.e. MailChimp) and/or Physical Newsletter lists (i.e. ChalkLine and/or PrayerLetters.com) in MPDX.
    • If BOTH individuals have been receiving and still want to receive your Newsletter - Email, AND you have turned on the sync with MailChimp you will want to follow the steps outlined above and remove the contact information of the non-primary spouse from the original contact page and add it to the newly created MPDX contact page. Make sure the Newsletter preference is marked as Email or Both. When you refresh the sync with MailChimp, the email will sync from the newly created contact.  
    • If BOTH individuals have been receiving and still want to receive your Newsletter - Physical, AND you have the sync with PrayerLetters.com turned on, make sure you add or update any address changes and refresh the sync before sending your next Newsletter update. 
  • If you do NOT have the sync turned on with ChalkLine and/or PrayerLetters.com, you will need to manually update the contact information and check your Email (i.e. MailChimp) and/or Physical Newsletter (i.e. ChalkLine and/or PrayerLetters.com) lists for each individual of the divorced couple.

Add a Note with the divorce date and the administrative actions taken in MPDX

Visit the Notes tab within each contact and record details

If you are on staff with Cru, email donation.services@cru.org with the divorce date.

In a majority of cases, when a divorce takes place, Donation Services will inactivate the joint account and then create an account for the donor who continues to give. If a staff member notifies Donation Services of a divorce, they will ask for the divorce date in order to move funds to the correct individual account.

NOTE: If BOTH individuals desire to continue giving, you will NOT be able to duplicate the donation history to both contact pages, so you must choose one person in the divorced couple to retain the donation history in their MPDX Contact record. We recommend choosing the Primary contact of the divorcing couple. DO NOT add donations manually to the second contact. This action would duplicate the donation(s) in your MPDX history and interfere with your totals. 

Optional Steps: If you use the DETAILS and RELATIONSHIPS fields of Edit Person in the Contacts page, you can delete the Anniversary date, change the Relationship Status of a person, and delete outdated relationships by following the steps below:

The People tab within a Contact lists each individual associated with that Contact. When a person gets divorced, scroll to the individual and click the “Edit” next to their name. 

When you select “Edit,” a box will pop-up where you can make and Save the needed changes:

  • The second tab, DETAILS, is where the option exists to edit a person’s Anniversary records. 
  • Delete the Month, Day, and Year of this person’s Anniversary.
  • Click Save.
  • NOTE: You can add the Anniversary Date of the marriage that ended in divorce to the Notes tab in MPDX for both contacts (it may be a caring time period to reach out and check on your ministry partner). This information will be helpful to remove so that you don’t get a future notification under the Partner Care section of the To Do This Week section of the Dashboard and mistakenly send an Anniversary card to the (former) couple. 

  • The fourth tab, RELATIONSHIPS, is where the option exists to edit a person’s changed relationship status
  • Choose “Divorced” from the Relationship Status dropdown menu.
  • If Applicable, Delete the Relationship and Type (i.e. wife, husband) by clicking the trash icon. 
  • Click Save