Creating Events

Events are the moments your church gathers — Sunday services, prayer nights, leaders' meetings, baptisms, outreach days. The Events page is where you announce them, attach details, and (when needed) wire up a roster of volunteers.

📷 Screenshot: The "+ New Event" button on the Events page, top-right corner.

When to create an event

Create an event whenever:

• A new gathering is being added to the calendar (one-time or recurring).
• An existing event needs a different time, location, or description.
• You want volunteers to see a serving opportunity attached to a specific moment.

Don't create an event for:

• Routine internal admin tasks (use a Schedule or Roster instead).
• Personal reminders (those belong in your own calendar).
• Recurring serving rhythms with no public-facing element (a Roster covers this better).

Step-by-step: creating a one-time event

1. Click "Events" in the main menu.
2. Click "+ New Event" in the top-right of the Events page.
3. Fill in the required fields (covered below).
4. Click "Save".

📷 Screenshot: The event creation form with all fields visible.

The event now appears on the Calendar, the Events list, and any Dashboard that shows it.

Step-by-step: creating a recurring event

The flow is the same as a one-time event, with one extra step:

1. After filling in the basics, scroll to the Recurrence section.
2. Choose a pattern: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Custom.
3. Set an end date (or "no end date" for indefinite series).
4. Click Save.

The portal generates one occurrence per matching date. You can later cancel or modify a single occurrence without disturbing the rest of the series.

Field-by-field guide

Title

A short, scannable name. Examples: Sunday Service, Youth Night — May, Baptism Class.

• Required: Yes.
• Tip: If you have multiple campuses, append the campus suffix: Sunday Service — SC, Sunday Service — NY.

Date and Time

When the event starts and ends.

• Required: Yes.
• Format: Date picker + time picker. End time is optional but recommended.

Campus

Which campus is hosting.

• Required: Yes.
• Tip: "All Campuses" is for genuinely church-wide events (e.g., All-Church Prayer). For most events, pick one campus.

Location

A short description of where it takes place. Main Auditorium, Youth Hall, Online via Zoom.

• Required: No, but strongly recommended.

Description

A few lines explaining the purpose, audience, or any prep needed.

• Required: No.
• Tip: Keep it short. Three sentences is usually plenty.

Recurrence (optional)

If this event repeats, configure the pattern here.

Attached Roster (optional)

If volunteers are needed, link an existing roster or create a new one inline. The roster slots will show up on the Schedules grid and the Calendar.

A real example

Here is what a complete event entry looks like:

📷 Screenshot: The event detail page showing the values above plus a "Sign up to serve" call-to-action.

Events and Schedules — how they relate

This trips up new leaders, so it's worth being clear:

• An Event is a public-facing moment ("Sunday Service, 9:30 AM").
• A Schedule is the internal staffing for that moment ("Anna on Lead Vocals, David on Drums").

When you create an event with an attached roster, the portal generates the schedule slots automatically. You then go to Schedules to fill the names in.

If you create just an event with no roster, that's fine — it shows up on the calendar but no volunteers are needed.

If you create just a schedule with no event, that's also fine — it represents internal serving (like a weekly office cleaning rotation) that doesn't need a public listing.

What to expect after saving

• The event appears on the Calendar within a second.
• It appears on the Events list immediately.
• If a roster was attached, the schedule slots appear on the Schedules grid.
• Members of the campus see it on their Dashboard.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Creating duplicate recurring events. If "Sunday Service" already exists as a weekly event, don't create another one — edit the existing series instead.
• Setting the wrong campus. A South Campus event posted under North Campus shows up on the wrong dashboards. Double-check before saving.
• Skipping the description. A title alone often isn't enough context for someone deciding whether to attend.
• Attaching a roster you didn't intend to. If you accidentally pick a roster, the slots appear on the Schedules grid and may confuse volunteers. Detach it before saving if you're not sure.