Service Description - Ministry Leader's Perspective

Ministry Leaders are responsible for defining the number of ministers required at each mass and for recruiting, training and supporting a sufficient number of ministers to fill the requirements without undue burden to the ministers who volunteer. The ministry leader's console provided by this service equips ministry leaders with the tools required to accomplish these tasks.

Once the ministry leader has set the number of ministers required for the ministry at each scheduled mass, the console provides features to manage the ministry roster so that trained ministers are available to fill the positions. Ministry leaders can accept applicants to the ministry and track completion of required training for each minister. When the schedule is prepared, only ministers who have been certified as having completed the required training are scheduled for serving at mass.

The console also provides the leader with information that can signal the need to recruit additional ministers for a particular mass. By comparing the number of trained ministers selecting a mass as their first preference and the requirement for ministers at that mass, the console estimates the frequency that a minister will be scheduled. When the scheduling frequency is above 2, there is a need to recruit and train more ministers for that mass.

Ministry leaders also have the tools to support ministers who cannot access the service to enter and maintain their scheduling information and preferences. For example, through the console ministry leaders can access the information of their ministers and make the updates that are requested by ministers who do not have Internet access.

The sections below describe some key features available through the ministry leader's console.

Ministry Leader Account

Selecting a ministry with which to work
Each liturgical ministry leader receives access to an administrative account for his/her ministry or ministries. If the leader handles more than one ministry, a drop-down list allows selection of the ministry to be accessed. The leader can administer multiple ministries in a single session. The account delivers features that enable the leader to manage ministry requirements, staffing, training and scheduling.

Set Requirements

Setting minister requirements for a ministry
The ministry leader defines the number of ministers required at each of the parish's masses to be scheduled. To set the requirements the ministry leader simply enters the number of required ministers in the field provided. These settings are used by the scheduler when the schedule is prepared.

Applicants

Adding new ministers
As ministers apply to join the ministry they are added as applicants for the ministry. The ministry leader can accept an applicant into the ministry by selecting the minister and clicking the "Accept Selected" button. If for some reason the applicant is not to be added to the ministry, he/she can be removed as an applicant using the "Remove Selected" button.

Training

Specifying required training
This feature allows a ministry leader to define one or more required training for the ministry. Only ministers who have met all of the training requirements will appear on the roster for the ministry and be scheduled to serve at mass. Ministers who have not yet completed the required training are retained in an "Untrained Ministers" category and will automatically be added to the trained minister population once the training has been completed.

Sessions

Defining training sessions Registered attendees for training sessions
Planned training sessions are detailed using this feature of the ministry leader's console. Ministry leaders can define the date, time and location for each session.

Applicants and untrained ministers can register for a training session. Once a minister has successfully completed a training session, the ministry leader can confirm the minister using the "Registered Attendees" section. Confirming an untrained minister automatically moves the minister to the trained minister status if there are no other required trainings which the minister is lacking. Confirmed applicants are moved to the trained minister status once they have been accepted in the ministry (see the "Applicants" section above)

The ministry leader can remove registered attendees who fail to complete the training.

Proposed Schedule

Proposed schedule
When a new schedule has been prepared, before it is published to ministers, ministry leaders can review it and make changes that they deem appropriate for their ministry or ministries. The "Proposed Schedule" lists the ministers scheduled for each mass on the scheduled days and provides buttons that enable ministry leaders to change each assignment. To facilitate making changes while maintaining the preferences that have been defined by the ministers, a list of ministers who could fill the assignment in question is presented when the "Change" button is clicked. The ministry leader can select the new minister to assign from the list.

Published Schedule

Published schedule
Once the ministry leaders have completed reviewing the proposed schedule it can be published to all ministers so that their assignments are visible on their personal calendars. Ministry leaders can review the overall schedule for their ministry and track the results using the "Published Schedule" feature. For each assignment, the ministry leader can record whether the assigned minister served, had a substitute or failed to serve. This information can be helpful in spotting areas that need attention, such as a minister who has moved but failed to schedule substitutes or cancel his/her ministry involvement.

Schedule Results

Tracking results
The "Recorded Results" section summarizes all published schedule results that have been entered by ministry leaders. For each of the ministers in this ministry, the results show how many times a result was recorded and the number of times the result was that the minister served a scheduled assignment, had a substitute for the assignment, or failed to serve.

Ministers

Trained ministers
All trained ministers in the ministry are listed in the "Trained Ministers" section. The ministry leader can select a minister and edit the minister's profile from this listing. Trained ministers can be removed from the ministry by selecting them and then clicking the "Remove Selected" button.

The ministry leader can export the trained minister information by clicking the "Download All" button. The exported information can be used with the ministry leader's favorite database, spread sheet or word processing programs for any custom need that the ministry leader may have. This capability is particularly useful in facilitating communication with the ministry members by email, telephone, or paper mail.

Below the trained minister listing is a table summarizing the estimated number of times per month a trained minister will serve at a particular mass which is chosen as that minister's first preference. The estimate is calculated using the preferences of all trained ministers and the number of ministers required for that particular mass.

The ministry leader's console also provides a table listing the untrained ministers in the ministry. The ministry leader can select and remove untrained ministers or export the untrained minister information for use with other software. For example, the exported untrained minister information can be used to provide a mailing list for communication informing the minister that he/she has not met the minimum training requirements to remain in the ministry.

Summary

When a parish uses to prepare its liturgical minister schedule, ministry leaders have simple tools to manage their ministries. They can manage the ministry's roster, adjust the new schedule before it is published, track minister training to assure that only fully trained ministers are scheduled to serve, and track scheduling results. Also, since the service is extensible and allows you to integrate your ministry's data with other software of your choice, special requirements can be easily handled.