Scheduler

The Scheduler is the core scheduling engine in Ministry Steward. It automatically generates optimized volunteer rosters based on availability, qualifications, and preferences.

Who Can Access This

• Owners and Administrators only.

How It Works

The Scheduler takes into account:

• Ministry qualifications — only assigns volunteers to ministries they're qualified for.
• Unavailable dates — respects dates volunteers have marked as unavailable.
• Event preferences — considers whether volunteers prefer, are available for, or want to avoid specific events.
• Standing assignments — includes volunteers who have standing (recurring) assignments.
• Active status — only schedules volunteers who are active and have auto-schedule enabled.

Generating a Schedule

Step 1: Select a Date Range

Choose the period you want to schedule using preset buttons or a custom date picker:

• Next Week — the upcoming 7 days.
• Next Two Weeks — the upcoming 14 days.
• Next Month — the upcoming 30 days.
• Custom — pick your own start and end dates.

Step 2: Select Events

Choose which events to include:

• All Events — schedule all active events in the date range.
• Specific Events — toggle individual events on or off.

Step 3: Optional Ministries

Toggle whether to include optional ministry requirements in the schedule. Optional requirements are positions marked as nice-to-have in the event setup.

Step 4: Generate

Click Generate to create a preview roster. The system will calculate optimal assignments and present them for review.

Reviewing the Preview

After generating, you'll see a preview with:

Statistics Dashboard

• Total Occurrences — how many event occurrences are in the schedule.
• Filled Slots — how many positions have been assigned.
• Unfilled Slots — how many positions still need volunteers.
• Standing Assignments — how many slots are filled by standing (recurring) volunteers.
• Pre-Assigned — how many slots were already assigned in the database.

Assignment View

Each event occurrence shows its ministry requirements and assigned volunteers. Assignments are color-coded by status:

• Pre-Assigned — already existed in the database before this scheduling run.
• Standing — recurring volunteer for this event.
• Auto-Assigned — generated by the scheduling algorithm.
• Manual — manually assigned by you during the preview.

Making Adjustments

You can modify the preview before publishing:

• Swap a Volunteer — click the swap icon to replace an assigned volunteer with another available person. The picker only shows volunteers who are qualified and not already assigned to the same event occurrence.
• Remove a Volunteer — delete an assignment to create an unfilled slot.
• Fill an Unfilled Slot — click on an open position to manually assign a volunteer.

Publishing

When you're satisfied with the preview:

• Save Draft — saves the roster without making it visible to volunteers. You can return and continue editing later.
• Publish — finalizes the schedule. A confirmation dialog will appear. Once published, volunteers can see their assignments on the Calendar and My Events pages.

Tips

• Run the scheduler regularly (e.g., monthly) to keep schedules up to date.
• Encourage volunteers to set their availability before you generate schedules.
• Use standing assignments for volunteers who serve every week to reduce manual work.
• Review the Reports page after publishing to verify staffing levels.