Substitute Requests
When a volunteer can't serve, you need a replacement quickly. This article covers what happens when a volunteer declines a serving spot, the tools leaders use to find someone else, and how that differs from the substitute requests used for class teachers.
When a Volunteer Declines
A volunteer can decline from the Telegram message (Not this time), from the Decline button in their email, or from My Schedule in the member portal. When they do:
- The assignment changes to Declined (with their reason, if they gave one).
- The team's leaders are told — in their in-app notifications, on Telegram if they have Telegram notifications on, or by email otherwise. (If the team has no leader, your church admins are told.)
- If the team has Auto-pick replacement when someone declines turned on (and isn't set to Manual Only), the next person in rotation is invited automatically. After a few attempts (3 by default), it stops and leaves the spot for a leader to fill.
- Otherwise the spot is simply open again, and the leader finds someone using the tools below.
The Leader's Decline Alert on Telegram
On Telegram, the decline alert has three buttons:
- 🔁 Find a sub — records that the spot needs a replacement.
- ↩️ Re-invite — asks the same person again. If they're now booked for something that overlaps, the bot names it and offers Re-invite anyway.
- 📅 View event — replies with a link to the event.
The email version has an Open the schedule button that takes you to that team on the Schedule Grid.
Finding a Replacement
Use whichever tool fits the situation:
| Tool | Where | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Assign | Event → Serving tab → the position → Assign | You know who you want. The Find Volunteers window shows who is available, who served recently, and who has a conflict. |
| Auto | Event → Serving tab → the position → Auto | You want the best available person picked for you. |
| Send fill request | Event → Serving tab → the position's Edit position menu | You want to ask several people at once and let the first to answer take it. See Fill Requests: Offer Open Spots, First to Claim Wins. |
| Invite to serve / Re-invite | Schedule Grid → click the person's cell | You're working across several weeks at once. See Schedule Grid, Team Roster, and Copy Week Forward. |
| Open for sign-ups | Event → Serving tab → the position's Edit position menu | Anyone on the team may pick it up themselves from Pick up a slot in the portal. See Volunteer Self Sign-Up. |
/openslots |
Your church's Telegram bot | You're away from a computer. It lists every unfilled position for the next 2 weeks with a Fill button. |
Tip: For urgent gaps (the event is only days away), a fill request to 2-3 specific people usually works faster than waiting for someone to volunteer on their own.
Tip: Encourage team members to tick I can fill in last-minute when needed in their portal Scheduling Preferences. It tells leaders who is willing to step in at short notice.
Swaps: When the Volunteer Finds Their Own Cover
Instead of declining, a volunteer can Propose swap from My Schedule — offering their spot to a teammate or to their whole team. When someone accepts, the schedule updates itself. See Swap and Trade Requests.
Automatic Nudges and Expiry
Each team can decide what happens when someone simply doesn't answer — under Scheduling Settings on the team's Details tab:
- Remind unconfirmed people (days before event) — for example "4, 2".
- Move on when someone does not respond with a Response deadline (days after invitation) — the unanswered invitation expires and the next person in rotation is invited automatically.
See Cascade Auto-Fill, Sub Invites, and Out-of-Office Badges.
Substitute Requests for Class Teachers
Classes (Sunday School and other teaching schedules) have their own substitute-request workflow. A teacher who can't teach taps Need a sub? on the class in My Schedule, and admins see the request under Need Attention → Scheduling → Open Sub Requests, where they can Invite Teachers, Send Reminder, or Cancel Request. That workflow is covered in Substitute Teacher Requests and, from the teacher's side, in Requesting a Substitute Teacher.