Request an Event

If you belong to a group at your church — a serving team, a small group, a class — you don't have to ask an admin to get an event on the calendar. From your group's page, you can request an event yourself. Depending on how your church has that event type configured, it either lands on the calendar right away, or waits for a quick approval from your group's leader.

How to Request One

1. Open the Member Portal and go to My Groups.
2. Choose the group you want to request the event for.
3. Tap Request an Event.
4. Fill in the form:
   • Event Type — only the types you're eligible to request appear here. If a type needs approval, it's labeled right in the list (e.g., "Worship Rehearsal — needs approval") so you know what to expect before you submit.
   • Event Title — what to call it.
   • Start Date & Time (required) and End Date & Time (optional).
   • Room — pick one if your event needs a specific space.
   • Location and Description — optional, but helpful for anyone reviewing the request.
5. Tap Submit Request.

Why Some Types Schedule Instantly and Others Wait

Every event type your church uses has its own policy, set by an admin — see Set Up Event Types & Approval Rules. Some types (most churches leave things like a general "Meeting" or "Event" this way) go straight onto the calendar the moment you submit, exactly like creating an event normally. Others are marked as requiring approval — for those, your request is held until the right person signs off.

You'll know which is which before you submit: a type that needs approval is labeled in the Event Type dropdown, and the confirmation message after you submit tells you plainly — either "Event created successfully!" or "Your event request has been submitted and is awaiting approval."

What "Pending Approval" Means, and Where You'll See It

While your request is waiting on someone's decision, it genuinely isn't visible anywhere yet — not on the church calendar, not on the website, and not in your group's own event list either. This is intentional: an event only shows up once it's actually confirmed, so nobody plans around something that might still get declined. The only place it exists is in the approver's own Need Attention inbox, waiting for their decision.

So how do you know it went through? Two things:

• The confirmation right after you submit — "Your event request has been submitted and is awaiting approval" tells you it was received.
• A notification once it's decided — the moment your approver acts, you're told the outcome (see below). If it's approved, that's also the first moment it appears anywhere — on your group's page and the calendar.

There's nothing more for you to do in the meantime; you don't need to follow up in person.

What Notifications You'll Get

TimelyChurch tells you what happened either way, by whichever channel reaches you (a notification inside the app, email, and Telegram if you've connected it):

• Approved: "Your event request was approved — [event name] ([date/time]) is now on the calendar." From this point it behaves like any other event — you'll find it on your group's page and the church calendar.
• Declined: "Your event request was declined." If the approver added a note explaining why (a room conflict, a scheduling clash, a suggestion to pick another night), it's included right in the notification.

A declined request never appears on the calendar — if you'd still like the event to happen, submit a new request with a different time, room, or plan.

Related Articles

• Set Up Event Types & Approval Rules — the admin side: which types need approval and who decides.
• Approve or Decline Event Requests — what your approver sees.
• Creating Events — the standard, admin/leader event-creation flow (separate from requesting).

Last updated: August 8, 2026