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Creating Services

Services are the individual meetings, gatherings, or events where your teams serve. Each service represents a specific date and time when teams need to be scheduled. Examples include Sunday morning services, Wednesday Bible studies, special events, and more.

What are Services?

A service is a scheduled gathering that requires teams to serve. When you create a service, you define:
  • When it happens - Date and time
  • Where it happens - Location (defaults to your organization’s address)
  • Which teams serve - Which ministries are involved
  • Recurrence - Whether it repeats (optional)
After creating a service, you can schedule specific people to positions within the assigned teams.

Creating a Service

To create a new service:
  1. Navigate to Services (from Calendar tab, or via More tab → Services)
  2. Click “Create Service” or “Add Service”
  3. Fill in the service details:

Basic Information

  • Service Name (required) - A descriptive name for the service
    • Examples: “Sunday Morning Service”, “Wednesday Bible Study”, “Christmas Eve Service”
    • Use clear, consistent naming so people can easily identify services
  • Location - Where the service takes place
    • Defaults to your organization’s address
    • You can change it for any service
    • Useful for multi-site churches or off-site events
    • Examples: “Main Sanctuary”, “Fellowship Hall”, “Off-site: City Park”
  • Start Date & Time - When the service begins
    • Click to open the date and time picker
    • Select the date and time
    • Example: Sunday, January 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM
  • End Date & Time - When the service is expected to end
    • Click to open the date and time picker
    • Select the date and time
    • Example: Sunday, January 15, 2024 at 11:30 AM

Assigning Teams

  • Assign Teams - Select which teams will serve at this service
    • Check the boxes next to teams that need to be scheduled
    • Examples: Check “Worship Team”, “Ushers”, “Children’s Ministry”
    • You can select multiple teams
    • Teams can be added or removed later by editing the service
Tip: Only assign teams that actually need to serve. You can always add more teams later if needed.

Recurring Services

If this service repeats regularly, you can set it to recur:
  1. Check “This service recurs” to enable recurrence
  2. Configure the recurrence pattern:
    • Recurrence Pattern - Choose how it repeats
      • Weekly - Repeats on specific days of the week
      • Other patterns may be available depending on your setup
    • Repeat every X week(s) on (for Weekly pattern)
      • Enter how often it repeats (e.g., every 1 week, every 2 weeks)
      • Example: “1” means every week, “2” means every other week
    • Days of the week - Check which days the service occurs
      • Examples: Check “Sunday” for weekly Sunday services
      • You can select multiple days (e.g., Sunday and Wednesday)
    • End After - When to stop creating instances
      • Enter the number of occurrences (maximum 20)
      • Example: “16” creates 16 service instances
      • The system will create individual service instances for each occurrence
Note: Recurring services create individual service instances. Each occurrence can be edited, scheduled, or deleted independently. This gives you flexibility to modify specific dates while keeping the recurring pattern.
  1. Click “Create Service”

Service Examples

Weekly Sunday Service

  • Name: “Sunday Morning Service”
  • Location: “Main Sanctuary” (or your org address)
  • Start: Sunday, 10:00 AM
  • End: Sunday, 11:30 AM
  • Teams: Worship Team, Ushers, Children’s Ministry
  • Recurring: Yes, every 1 week on Sunday, End after 52 occurrences

Bi-Weekly Bible Study

  • Name: “Wednesday Bible Study”
  • Location: “Fellowship Hall”
  • Start: Wednesday, 7:00 PM
  • End: Wednesday, 8:30 PM
  • Teams: Teaching Team, Setup Team
  • Recurring: Yes, every 2 weeks on Wednesday, End after 26 occurrences

One-Time Special Event

  • Name: “Christmas Eve Service”
  • Location: “Main Sanctuary”
  • Start: December 24, 7:00 PM
  • End: December 24, 8:30 PM
  • Teams: Worship Team, Ushers, Children’s Ministry, Sound Team
  • Recurring: No

After Creating a Service

Once your service is created:
  1. Schedule People - Assign specific people to positions in the assigned teams
    • See Scheduling documentation for details
    • Use bulk scheduling for multiple services
    • Use auto-scheduling for automatic assignments
  2. View Service Details - See all teams, positions, and assignments
    • Check availability of team members
    • View scheduling warnings (conflicts, unavailability, fatigue)
  3. Edit or Delete - Modify service details or remove it if needed
    • Edit individual occurrences of recurring services
    • Delete specific dates or the entire recurring series
  4. Check-In - Set up check-in for the service (if enabled)
  5. Export - Export schedules for distribution

Best Practices

  1. Use Consistent Naming - Name services consistently so they’re easy to identify
    • Examples: “Sunday Service”, “Sunday Evening”, “Wednesday Study”
    • Avoid dates in names for recurring services (they’ll have dates automatically)
  2. Set Realistic Times - Use accurate start and end times
    • Helps with scheduling and availability tracking
    • Important for check-in windows and notifications
  3. Assign All Needed Teams - Include all teams that serve, even if you’ll schedule them later
    • Makes it clear which ministries are involved
    • Helps with planning and communication
  4. Use Recurring Services Wisely - Set up recurring services for regular gatherings
    • Saves time creating individual services
    • Each occurrence can still be customized
  5. Review Before Scheduling - Double-check service details before scheduling people
    • Verify date, time, location, and teams
    • Easier to fix before assignments are made

Troubleshooting

Can’t create service:
  • Make sure you have permission (Owner or Organization Admin)
  • Verify all required fields are filled in
  • Check that at least one team is selected
Recurring service not creating instances:
  • Verify the recurrence pattern is set correctly
  • Check that “End After” is set to a number (max 20)
  • Make sure the recurrence dates are in the future
Need to change a recurring service:
  • You can edit individual occurrences without affecting others
  • To change the pattern, you may need to delete and recreate
  • Consider editing the specific dates you need to change
Service not showing up:
  • Check the date range you’re viewing
  • Past services (older than 30 days) may be hidden by default
  • Verify the service was created successfully