Swap and Trade Requests

Sometimes a volunteer can't serve on the date they're scheduled for, but would rather swap with another team member who is serving a different week than drop the slot. TimelyChurch has a swap request flow in the member portal that lets volunteers handle this themselves, without needing an admin.

When to Use a Swap vs. a Substitute Request

A swap is a true two-way trade: both volunteers stay on the schedule, they just exchange dates. Asking the team to cover is one-way. You get covered, and the other person picks up an extra shift.

How a Swap Works

A swap request links your assignment with another volunteer's assignment on a different date. When the other person accepts, the system swaps the two volunteers on their assignments, so:

• You are now scheduled on the date they originally had.
• They are now scheduled on the date you originally had.
• Both assignments revert to Pending status so each volunteer can reconfirm their new commitment.

You can trade for any upcoming assignment a teammate has on one of the teams you serve on. It doesn't have to be the same position. It just needs to be two real upcoming assignments owned by two different volunteers.

Requesting a Swap

1. Sign in to the Member Portal.
2. Open My Schedule.
3. Find the assignment you cannot make (it's marked Needs response until you answer) and click Propose swap.
4. In Propose a Swap, choose Their assignment to take: the list shows your teammates' upcoming assignments (name, date, and position).
5. Optionally add a Message (optional) explaining why you need to swap (max 500 characters).
6. Click Send Swap Request.

Note: Propose swap appears while your assignment is still pending, and only when at least one teammate has an upcoming assignment you could trade for. Once you've confirmed, use Ask team to cover on Telegram (below) or talk to your leader.

The target volunteer is notified. Until they respond, your original assignment remains active, so you have not dropped it. If they decline or never respond, you are still on the schedule for your original date.

Your request appears under Your Pending Swap Requests on My Schedule ("Sent to [name] — waiting on a response."). Changed your mind? Click Cancel Request at any time before it's answered.

Asking the Whole Team to Cover (Telegram)

If you have connected your Telegram account, you can ask your whole team at once instead of naming one person:

1. Message your church's bot with /swaps.
2. Pick the assignment you need covered and tap 📣 Ask team to cover.
3. Every eligible teammate gets a message with an ✋ I can take it button.
4. First tap wins. Whoever taps first takes your slot; everyone else's message changes to "Already covered ✅".

While it's open, the request shows on your My Schedule page as "Open to your whole team — waiting for someone to claim it." with a Cancel Request button.

Responding to a Swap Request

If another volunteer asks to swap with you:

1. You receive a notification with the request details (their assignment date, your assignment date, and any message they included).
2. In the Member Portal, the request appears under Swap Requests on My Schedule (and under Needs your response on your dashboard). Click Accept Swap or Decline.

Accept

When you accept:

• The two assignments' volunteers are swapped immediately.
• Both assignments are reset to Pending so you each get a fresh confirmation prompt for your new date.
• The swap request is marked accepted and timestamped.
• The original requester is notified that the swap went through.

Decline

When you decline:

• The swap request is marked declined and timestamped.
• Both assignments stay exactly as they were before. Nothing changes on the schedule.
• The original requester is notified so they can try a different teammate, ask the whole team on Telegram, or decline the assignment so their leaders can find cover.

You can only respond to swap requests where you are the target. The system blocks attempts to accept or decline requests addressed to someone else.

Swap Request Statuses

Each swap request lives in one of four states:

What Admins See

The swap is entirely peer-to-peer, but admins are not in the dark:

• After an accepted swap, both updated assignments appear on the event's Serving tab with the new volunteer's name.
• Both assignments show Pending status, so you can see at a glance which assignments still need re-confirmation after the swap.

Admins who want to override or cancel a swap can do so by removing or reassigning the volunteers directly from the event's Serving tab the same way they would for any other assignment.

Tip: Encourage your team to use the swap flow rather than declining outright. Swaps preserve coverage automatically and keep your team's serving frequency stats balanced over the month.

Tip: If a swap is accepted close to the event date, double-check that both volunteers actually re-confirm their new pending assignments. The system resets the status to Pending so you can see who has and hasn't acknowledged the change.