Reply to a serving request by text
When your church has text notifications enabled, eligible volunteers can receive a serving request by text and answer from their phone. Churchday chooses the notification channel when a leader sends the request; there is no separate text choice in the Notify window.
Before you begin
- Your church needs text notifications enabled.
- The volunteer needs a valid U.S. mobile number and consent to receive texts from your church. Someone who opted out does not receive a serving text.
- During quiet hours, Churchday uses the email path instead of sending a serving text.
Step-by-step
- Assign a volunteer. Add them to an upcoming role and date on the Schedule page. The assignment stays private until you notify them.
- Click Notify. Select the volunteers you want to contact and send the requests. Churchday checks each person's text eligibility. Eligible volunteers receive a text naming their role, church, and date, with the event time when one is set.
- Ask the volunteer to reply YES or NO. They reply YES to accept or NO to decline from the phone that received the text. Their answer updates the schedule, and the reply names the shift they answered.
- Check the schedule. The person's assignment shows whether they accepted, declined, or are still waiting to respond.
Good to know
- If a volunteer is not eligible for a serving text, or the text cannot be sent, Churchday tries email instead. An email request includes Accept and Decline links that work without signing in.
- If a volunteer has more than one unanswered serving text, a YES or NO reply applies to the most recently texted pending assignment. The confirmation reply identifies it.
- A leader can send an email reminder to someone still waiting for an answer. Accepted volunteers can receive a day-before email reminder.