Calendar

The Calendar page provides an interactive view of event dates, staffing status, and volunteer assignments.

Who Can Access This

• All team members can view the calendar.
• Owners and Administrators see all events and all volunteer assignments.
• Ministry Leads can manage event assignments for ministries they lead.
• Members see events with their own assignments highlighted.

Calendar Views

The calendar supports three views that adapt to your screen size:

• Month View — the default on desktop screens. Shows the month grid and a side panel for the selected day. On larger screens, the calendar stays within the page view while the selected-day list scrolls inside the panel when needed. If a day has more events than fit comfortably in the grid, the remaining events appear under a more menu.
• Week View — shows one week at a time with each day's events. On wide screens, events use compact cards with time, location, and staffing details. On smaller screens, the week view uses compact event pills. Crowded days show a more menu.
• Day View — shows the events for one selected day.

You can switch between views using the view selector in the calendar header. View changes happen instantly without reloading the page.

Dates from the previous or next month may appear in the month grid for context. Those dates are muted and cannot be selected from the current month's view. Use the arrow buttons to move to that month.

When several events are hidden under a more menu, the menu uses the same color cues as the hidden events. For example, a red more menu means at least one hidden event is unstaffed, and a highlighted more menu in volunteer view means one of the hidden events is one you serve at.

If the browser window is too short to show event names inside the desktop month grid, the dates use the same colored dots as the mobile calendar. Select a date to see the full event list in the side panel.

On smaller screens, the month view becomes a compact calendar with dots on dates that have events. Selecting a date immediately shows that day's events below the calendar.

In month view, selecting a day shows an event list for that date. Each event card opens the event details page. Use the assignment menu on a card to see ministry-level counts, such as how many people are assigned compared with how many are needed. Volunteer names are only shown after opening the event details page.

Navigating the Calendar

• Use the arrow buttons to move forward or backward in time.
• Click Today to jump to the current date.
• Use Search events to narrow the calendar as you type by event name, location, or ministry. Search updates the visible events immediately.
• Use Filters to show only events with a specific staffing status. In volunteer view, filters show events you serve at, events open for sign-up, or other events.
• The calendar URL changes when you move to a different month or open an event details page. Selecting days, changing views, searching, and filtering happen inside the calendar without changing the URL.

Event Details

Click on any event on the calendar to see its details, including:

• Event name, date, and time.
• Ministry assignments and which volunteers are scheduled.
• Staffing status and how many required volunteer spots are still open.

Owners, administrators, and ministry leads can remove a volunteer assignment from an event detail page. A confirmation dialog appears first so assignments are not removed by mistake.

When a volunteer or guardian withdraws from an assignment, churches can email ministry heads, owners, and administrators from Settings > Notifications. This setting can be turned off, sent to ministry heads, sent to admins, or sent to both.

Attendance

Owners, administrators, and ministry leads can record attendance from an event detail page for events happening today or events that have already passed. Each ministry card shows the volunteers assigned to that event, staffing totals, open slots, and attendance status in one place.

For assigned volunteers, mark whether they were present, absent, or excused from the same card where assignments are managed. If someone helped from the kiosk but was not assigned, they appear as a walk-in helper for the ministry they served. Walk-in helpers must already be saved as volunteers.

After an event ends, owners and administrators can select Finalize Attendance from the event detail page. This opens a review step for assigned volunteers who still have no attendance response. You can mark those volunteers as present, absent, or excused before finalizing. Any assigned volunteer left as no answer is marked absent when attendance is finalized. Walk-in helpers stay visible in the summary, but they are not changed by finalizing attendance.

Finalized attendance can still be corrected later from the event detail page if an admin needs to make a change.

Owners and administrators can also manage kiosk mode from Tools > Attendance Kiosk. This page shows active kiosk sessions and lets an admin name the kiosk, add optional details, start kiosk mode on the current device, or end a kiosk session that is no longer needed.

Kiosk mode is a simplified check-in screen for volunteers with the church name and logo at the top. It shows one card per ministry, lists assigned volunteers, and highlights open slots. A volunteer taps their name, enters their email address or phone number to verify their identity, and receives a check mark after check-in. If the same volunteer is scheduled in more than one ministry for the event, one verified check-in marks each of their scheduled appearances as checked in. If one of those assignments is later removed, the remaining scheduled appearance keeps the check-in. Kiosk check-ins appear in the Audit Log under the volunteer who checked in, with kiosk session details available in the entry details. Phone numbers can be entered as regular 10-digit numbers, such as 5551234567. If a volunteer helped but was not assigned, they can use the walk-in helper option and verify the same way.

Kiosk mode stays focused on attendance. It uses today's date, can switch between events happening today with the Attendance event control, and automatically follows the current event as the day moves forward. If an admin manually chooses another event, the kiosk keeps that choice until the selected event ends or is removed. The kiosk refreshes every few minutes so last-minute schedule and assignment updates can appear without leaving kiosk mode.

When an admin starts kiosk mode, that browser is signed out of the normal admin session and locked to the kiosk screen. Other browsers or devices for the same admin can keep using Ministry Steward normally. To leave kiosk mode from the kiosk device, the starting admin can enter their password, or another owner or administrator can exit with their own email and password. Admins can also end active kiosk sessions from Tools > Attendance Kiosk. If an admin ends a session from another device, the kiosk leaves kiosk mode automatically within about 30 seconds.

Calendar Colors

• Green means fully staffed or available to sign up.
• Amber means the event still needs some required volunteers.
• Red means the event has no required volunteers assigned yet.
• Blue means you are already signed up.
• Gray means the event is not available for sign-up.

Fully staffed events do not show a number. Events that need volunteers show the number of required spots still open. Optional ministry spots do not count toward this number.

On mobile, calendar dots use the same idea. A blue dot means you serve at an event that day, including past events where you were scheduled. A green dot means there is an upcoming open event you can sign up for. A gray dot means there is an event that is not currently open to you, including past events where you were not scheduled.

How Schedules Connect to Other Features

• Scheduler — the calendar displays schedules that were generated and published by the Scheduler.
• My Events — volunteers can also view their personal assignments on the dedicated My Events page.
• Availability — the calendar helps volunteers see when they're scheduled so they can plan their availability.