Accepting and Declining Volunteer Assignments

When you are scheduled to serve at an event, you will receive a notification asking you to confirm or decline the assignment. This article explains the full accept/decline workflow for volunteer assignments.

How Assignments Work

1. A church coordinator schedules you for a serving position at an upcoming event.
2. The assignment appears on your My Schedule page in the portal with a Pending status (marked Needs response).
3. You're told you've been scheduled -- by a Telegram message if you've linked Telegram, otherwise by email -- with the event details, your position, and buttons to accept or decline. For dates far ahead, this message arrives when the date comes within your team's notice window (about a month ahead by default).
4. You respond by accepting or declining the assignment.
5. The coordinator can see your response right away.

Some teams confirm you automatically. If your team leader has set the team to confirm assignments automatically, a new assignment shows up as Confirmed right away. The message just tells you you're scheduled -- "You're confirmed — no need to reply." -- with no buttons to press. If you cannot make it, contact your team leader, or on Telegram ask your team to cover with /swaps (see Volunteer Swap and Trade).

Accepting an Assignment

From the Portal

1. Go to My Schedule in the portal (or look under Needs your response on your dashboard).
2. Find the assignment with a Pending status (shown with an amber badge).
3. Click the Confirm button.
4. A success message confirms: "Assignment confirmed! Thank you for serving."
5. The assignment status changes to Confirmed (shown with a green badge).

From Email

1. Open the notification email from your church.
2. Click the Accept link in the email.
3. A confirmation page will appear showing:
   • The event title and date
   • Your position name
   • A message confirming your acceptance
   • A link to view your full serving schedule in the portal

Note: Email links are secure, personal links that expire after 7 days. If the link has expired, you will see a message directing you to sign in to the portal to respond instead.

From Telegram

If you have linked Telegram, the church bot sends you a private message about the assignment with three buttons: ✅ Yes, I can, ❌ Not this time, and ⏰ Remind me before…. Tap Yes, I can to confirm, Not this time to decline, or Remind me before… to be reminded later (3 days before, 1 day before, or Morning of). Your answer updates the portal just as if you had responded there.

To set this up, open My Profile, find Connected accounts, and tap Connect Telegram. Then turn on Get notifications on Telegram to choose what the church bot may message you about, and optionally set Quiet hours. Telegram is optional and only available when your church has turned it on.

Declining an Assignment

From the Portal

1. Go to My Schedule in the portal.
2. Find the assignment with a Pending status.
3. Click the Decline button.
4. Optionally provide a reason for declining.
5. A message confirms: "Assignment declined. The coordinator has been notified."
6. The coordinator will be alerted so they can find a replacement.

From Email

1. Open the notification email from your church.
2. Click the Decline link in the email.
3. A confirmation page will appear indicating the assignment has been declined.

What Happens After You Respond

Seeing Who Else Is on the Event

Whether your assignment is still Pending or you have already confirmed it, you can see the other volunteers serving at the same event: open My Schedule, find the entry, and tap See who's serving with you. Note that until you confirm, teammates opening that same roster see you listed with a Pending badge -- one more reason to respond promptly. See Who Am I Serving With? for the full walkthrough.

If You Already Responded

If you click an email link for an assignment you already responded to, you will see a message indicating that you have already accepted or declined. The system does not allow changing your response through email links. If you need to change your response, contact your coordinator directly.

Checking In on Event Day

On the day of the event, an I'm Here button becomes available on your schedule:

1. Go to My Schedule.
2. Find your assignment for today's event.
3. Click I'm Here (available from 2 hours before the event start time until it ends).
4. A confirmation message appears: "You're checked in! Thank you for serving today."

Note: The check-in window is limited. You cannot check in too early before the event or after it has ended.

Proposing a Swap Instead of Declining

If you have a conflict on the date you are assigned, but a teammate is serving on a date that works better for you, the portal supports a direct swap rather than declining outright. From the assignment on My Schedule, click Propose swap to pick a teammate's slot to trade with. If they accept, both assignments are exchanged automatically and the schedule updates for everyone. See Volunteer Swap and Trade for the full workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my response after accepting? Propose swap is only offered while an assignment is still pending, so once you've accepted: on Telegram, ask your whole team to cover with /swaps (see Volunteer Swap and Trade); otherwise, contact your team leader or church coordinator directly so they can adjust the schedule.

What if I do not respond? Assignments that are not responded to remain in a Pending status. You may get reminder messages, and depending on your team's settings, an invitation that goes unanswered for too long can expire and be offered to someone else. It is best practice to respond promptly.

Can I accept an assignment for someone else? No. Each volunteer can only respond to their own assignments. However, team leaders and coordinators can confirm assignments on behalf of their team members (for example, when you told them in person).

What if the email link expired? Sign in to the Member Portal and open My Schedule to respond directly from the portal. The portal always shows your current assignments regardless of email link expiration.