Release Date: February 25, 2026
We’re excited to release Rock RMS Church Connect 8.2.0, our biggest quality-of-life update yet. This release delivers two brand-new shortcodes that let you embed your Rock RMS events and groups on any WordPress page — no Elementor required.
What's New
[rms_events] — Events Shortcode
Display your Rock RMS events in any page builder or the Classic Editor with a single shortcode tag. Supports both a card grid layout and a chronological table layout, with full control over every piece of content on the card.
[rms_events]
[rms_events template="table"]
[rms_events columns="2" limit="6" category="women"]
[rms_events show_filters="no" show_excerpt="no" button_text="Learn More"]18 attributes available:
| Attribute | What it controls |
|---|---|
template | cards (default) or table layout |
limit | Number of events to show (-1 = all) |
category | Filter to a single event category slug |
columns | Grid columns on desktop (cards layout) |
show_filters | Show/hide the category filter pill bar |
show_title | Show/hide event title |
show_excerpt | Show/hide event description excerpt |
show_date / show_time | Show/hide date and time |
show_location | Show/hide location |
show_badge | Show/hide category badge |
show_recurrence | Show/hide recurring event indicator |
show_buttons | Master toggle for both buttons |
show_info_button / show_ical_button | Individual button overrides |
button_text / ical_button_text | Button labels |
filter_all_text | Label for the “All” filter pill |
[rms_groups] — Groups Shortcode
Display your Rock RMS small groups anywhere on your site — no Elementor required. Groups render as vertical cards with an optional image header, title, description, meeting schedule, location, and a CTA button.
Basic usage:
[rms_groups]
[rms_groups columns="2" limit="20"]
[rms_groups exclude="internal,staff"]
[rms_groups show_media="yes" show_badge="yes"]
[rms_groups show_schedule="no" show_location="no" show_button="no"]Note: The Elementor widget’s advanced meta filters (filter by day, campus, etc.) are not available as shortcode attributes — they require the Elementor repeater interface. All other options are supported.
14 attributes available:
| Attribute | Values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout & Query | |||
limit | integer | -1 | Max groups to display. -1 = all. |
exclude | comma-separated slugs | empty | Exclude groups by category slug. e.g. exclude="internal,staff" |
columns | integer | 3 | Grid columns on desktop. Collapses to 2 tablet, 1 mobile. |
| Filter Bar | |||
show_filters | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Master toggle — show or hide the entire filter/search bar. |
show_search | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Show/hide search box (requires show_filters="yes"). |
search_placeholder | string | "Search groups..." | Placeholder text inside the search input. |
| Card Content | |||
show_media | "yes" | "no" | "no" | Show or hide the card image header. |
show_badge | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Show/hide parent group name badge on the image (requires show_media="yes"). |
show_title | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Show or hide the group title. |
show_content | "yes" | "no" | "no" | Show or hide the group description/content. |
show_schedule | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Show or hide the meeting schedule (day & time). |
show_location | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Show or hide the meeting location. |
| Button | |||
show_button | "yes" | "no" | "yes" | Show or hide the CTA button. |
button_text | string | "Join Group" | Label for the CTA button. |
Examples:
# Default — all groups, 3 columns
[rms_groups]
# 2-column grid, limited to 20 groups
[rms_groups columns="2" limit="20"]
# No filter bar or search
[rms_groups show_filters="no" show_search="no"]
# Exclude internal/staff categories
[rms_groups exclude="internal,staff"]
# Show image headers with badges
[rms_groups show_media="yes" show_badge="yes"]
# Minimal card — title only, no footer
[rms_groups show_schedule="no" show_location="no" show_button="no"]
# Custom button label
[rms_groups button_text="Learn More"]
# 4 columns, no description, custom button
[rms_groups columns="4" show_content="no" button_text="Sign Up"]Improved Default Styles
Event cards and group cards now ship with clean, neutral gray defaults. Your site’s design takes over immediately — no CSS configuration needed to get a polished look out of the box.
Previous versions rendered unstyled cards that required custom CSS before they looked presentable. Now the defaults are production-ready, and you only need to add CSS when you want to match your brand colors.
Bug Fix: CSS Always Up-to-Date After Updates
The plugin stylesheet is now loaded with a version-based cache key. This ensures browsers always load the latest styles immediately after a plugin update — no more clearing your browser cache or CDN cache to see button style changes take effect.
Events Widget: Better Defaults
The Elementor Events widget now defaults to showing all events (limit: -1) and displaying the category filter bar. It works out of the box on any page — just drop it in and go. No configuration required for the most common use case.
Full Shortcode Reference
The complete attribute reference for both shortcodes is available in the RMS Connect Support documentation. It covers every attribute, default value, and includes copy-paste examples for common configurations.
Both shortcodes work in any WordPress context: Gutenberg shortcode blocks, Elementor HTML widgets, Beaver Builder, Divi, Bricks, WPBakery, the Classic Editor, and anywhere else WordPress renders shortcodes.
Upgrading
Update RMS Connect through your WordPress dashboard: Plugins → Updates. The 8.2.0 update is fully backward-compatible — no database migrations or settings changes are required. Your existing Elementor widgets and configurations will continue working exactly as before.
After updating, we recommend flushing any caching plugins you have installed to ensure the new stylesheet loads immediately.
Get Support
Have questions or run into an issue? Visit the RMS Connect Support page for full documentation, or reach out through the Graywell Tech contact page. We’re happy to help.
