Email not delivered

Before assuming a bug, rule out the most common causes in order.

Three first questions

1. Is it in spam? Ask the recipient to check the spam or promotions folder.
2. Is the recipient email correct? Open the member record and verify. A @gmail.con bounces silently.
3. Are there recent bounce records? Communications → Logs → Bounces lists addresses with bounces. If the recipient appears, they are flagged as undeliverable and Ministrium stopped trying.

Diagnosis by email type

Transactional email (receipt, password reset)

• Go to Communications → Logs → Transactional and filter by recipient and date.
• Each send has status: queued, sent, delivered, bounced, spam_complaint.
• If delivered, the message reached the recipient server; the problem is on the user side.
• If bounced, see the reason (mailbox full, non-existent domain, server policy).

Mass email (campaign, newsletter)

• Go to Communications → Campaigns → <campaign> → Stats.
• Look at Delivery rate: if < 95% there may be a problem with the list or with your domain reputation.
• Filter recipients with bounced status and review patterns.

Domain reputation

If your church sends from its own domain (comms@yourchurch.org), the reputation of that domain depends on its history:

• SPF, DKIM and DMARC correctly set are required. Without them, Gmail and Outlook silently drop the mail.
• Go to Communications → Settings → Domain to check each DNS record.
• If reputation is damaged (past campaigns flagged as spam), consider using Ministrium’s managed domain temporarily while you clean the list.

When to escalate

• If a whole campaign just sent shows 0% delivery and logs stay queued for over ten minutes, there is a systemic issue. Check status and open an incident.