iCal Export — Subscribe to Your Serving Schedule
If you'd rather see your upcoming serving assignments alongside the rest of your life -- in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, or any other calendar app -- TimelyChurch lets you export your personal serving schedule as an iCal (.ics) file. Once you import or subscribe, every confirmed and pending assignment appears as a calendar event, complete with date, time, position name, and (when set) location.
Who Can Export
Any volunteer with a Member Portal account can export their own serving schedule. Each export contains only the logged-in volunteer's assignments -- you cannot pull other team members' schedules through this feature.
What's Included
The exported .ics file contains:
- Every assignment with status Confirmed or Pending.
- Only assignments for events that start in the future (past assignments are filtered out).
- One calendar event per assignment.
Each calendar event includes:
| Field | Source |
|---|---|
| Title | Position name and event title (e.g., "Sound Tech - Sunday Service") |
| Start time | The event's start time |
| End time | The event's end time, or two hours after the start if no end time is set |
| Description | Position name and assignment status |
| Location | The event's location, when one is set |
| Unique ID | A stable identifier so re-imports update existing events instead of duplicating them |
Declined assignments are excluded -- so once you decline, the event drops off your calendar feed automatically.
How to Export
- Log in to the Member Portal.
- Open My Serving.
- Click Export to Calendar (or the equivalent download/subscribe button on the page).
- The browser downloads a file named
serving-schedule-YYYY-MM-DD.ics.
This is a one-time snapshot of your schedule at the moment you click the button. To get a feed that updates on its own, use the subscription URL instead (next section).
Subscribing (Recommended)
Most modern calendar apps support subscribing to a remote .ics URL -- the app re-fetches it periodically and your schedule stays current as new assignments are added or removed. The same calendar feed that powers the download is also the one you subscribe to.
Copy your personal calendar feed URL from the My Serving page (look for a "Subscribe" or "Copy Calendar URL" option). It looks like this:
https://{your-church}.timelychurch.app/portal/serving.icsThen add it to your calendar app of choice.
Google Calendar
- Open Google Calendar in a browser.
- In the left sidebar, find Other calendars and click the + icon.
- Choose From URL.
- Paste the iCal URL.
- Click Add calendar.
Google Calendar refreshes the feed roughly every 24 hours -- new assignments may take up to a day to appear.
Apple Calendar (macOS / iOS)
On macOS:
- Open the Calendar app.
- Go to File > New Calendar Subscription.
- Paste the iCal URL.
- Set the auto-refresh interval (e.g., every hour).
- Click OK.
On iOS:
- Open Settings > Calendar > Accounts > Add Account > Other > Add Subscribed Calendar.
- Paste the iCal URL.
- Save.
Apple Calendar can refresh as often as every 5 minutes if you choose, so subscriptions on Apple devices feel near-real-time.
Outlook (Desktop / Web)
Outlook on the Web:
- Open Outlook Calendar.
- Click Add calendar in the sidebar.
- Choose Subscribe from web.
- Paste the iCal URL, give it a name, pick a color, and save.
Outlook desktop:
- Go to File > Account Settings > Internet Calendars.
- Click New and paste the URL.
- Save.
Other Apps
Any calendar app that supports the iCalendar (RFC 5545) standard will work. If your app supports "subscribe to URL" or "add internet calendar", paste the URL there. If it only supports file imports, use the one-time download instead.
Refresh Behavior
| Method | Updates? |
|---|---|
| Download (.ics file) | One-time snapshot. Past dates and old data persist until you re-import. |
| Subscribe (URL) | Auto-refreshes on the calendar app's schedule (Google ~24h, Apple as low as 5 min, Outlook varies). |
Subscriptions are strongly recommended for active volunteers -- as new assignments come in, declined assignments disappear, or events get rescheduled, your calendar updates without you doing anything.
Privacy & Access
The iCal URL is tied to your authenticated portal session, so:
- Anyone you give the URL to can subscribe to your assignments.
- Treat the URL like a password -- if you accidentally share it, regenerate access by changing your portal password (or contact a coordinator).
- The URL only exposes your serving assignments, not your full church profile.
Troubleshooting
My calendar shows the events but they're at the wrong time.
Check that your calendar app's timezone matches your church's. The .ics file uses each event's stored start/end timestamps; if your phone is in a different timezone, your calendar app applies the offset.
An event I just got assigned to isn't showing up.
Subscriptions only refresh on the calendar app's own schedule. To see brand-new assignments immediately, either re-download the .ics file or trigger a manual refresh in your calendar app (Google: right-click the calendar > Refresh; Apple: pull-to-refresh on iOS).
An event I declined is still on my calendar. Declined assignments are excluded from the export, so it should disappear on the next refresh. If your calendar app has cached the old version, force a refresh.
The download is empty / has no events. You probably have no future confirmed or pending assignments. Past assignments and declined assignments are filtered out by design. Once you have an upcoming confirmed or pending assignment, it will appear.
Tip: Subscribe with the URL rather than downloading the file. Downloads go stale the moment your schedule changes; subscriptions stay current automatically.
Tip: Set your phone's calendar to send a notification 1 hour and 1 day before each event. Combined with TimelyChurch's automatic email reminders the evening before (see Automation and Scheduled Jobs), you'll have multiple safety nets and never miss a service.