For Volunteers

Welcome! This section is written for volunteers — the people who serve at events. Whether you're new to Ministry Steward or just need a refresher, these guides cover everything you need to know.

What You Can Do

As a volunteer, you can:

• Start from Overview — see your next assignment, recent announcements, upcoming schedule, availability summary, ministries, and family links in one place.
• View your schedule — see which events you're assigned to on the calendar or your personal My Events page.
• Set your availability — mark dates when you're unavailable and tell the system which events you prefer.
• Manage your family — if you're a guardian, manage availability and schedules for your dependents.
• Withdraw from events — remove yourself from an assignment if your plans change.

Overview Dashboard

Your Overview dashboard is the fastest way to see what matters next. The Next Up card shows your next scheduled event with the event time, location when available, and the ministry or position you are serving. If you are serving in more than one ministry for the same event, those ministries are shown together on the same event row. The Announcements card shows recent messages from the last 30 days with the newest messages first. The Availability card shows upcoming unavailable days first, with a second tab for event preferences so you can review each recurring event and your selected preference when needed.

Notification Settings

You can choose how you receive messages from your church in your notification settings. SMS messages require a phone number on your profile.

When a ministry you are qualified for has a new opening, your church may include it in the next morning's open slot digest. Each digest checks every event time through the end of the third calendar day ahead in your church's timezone. One email or text can include several events and ministries, so you do not receive separate messages for every ministry. An opening is announced once and does not appear again on later mornings unless it is filled or closed and later opens again. A new opening found after the morning digest waits for the next morning and is included only if the event has not started. Events you marked unavailable and conflicting events in the same Event Group are left out. If you are already serving at the same event, the alert clearly warns you to review your schedule before volunteering for another role. Email buttons open the church calendar, while text messages use the shorter Ministry Steward website link.

If you receive a text message from Ministry Steward, you can reply STOP to turn off SMS notifications. Reply HELP if you need assistance. You can also sign in to Ministry Steward and update your notification settings from your profile.

Guides

• Viewing Your Schedule — Find out where and when you're serving.
• Setting Your Availability — Let the system know when you can and can't serve.
• Managing Your Family — Manage schedules for your children or dependents.
• Withdrawing from Events — How to remove yourself from an assignment.