Volunteers
Mission tracks volunteers (called "Servants" in Church engine, "Team Members" in Ministry engine) with their availability, skills, background check status, and service hours.
Creating a Volunteer Record
A volunteer record is separate from a person record but linked to one. Every volunteer must first be a member (person) in Mission.
- In the sidebar, click Volunteers
- Click + Add Volunteer
- Search for the person by name to link the volunteer record to their profile
- Fill in volunteer details:
Availability: Select the days of the week and times the volunteer is available. This helps when scheduling volunteers for events and serve teams.
Skills: Free-form tags describing what the volunteer can do. Examples: sound board, children's ministry, greeter, hospitality, security, first aid, IT support, teaching, counseling.
Background Check Status:
- Not Required
- Pending
- Cleared
- Expired
For roles involving children or vulnerable populations, always require and verify a cleared background check before scheduling.
- Click Save
Volunteer Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | Currently serving; available to be scheduled |
| Inactive | Not currently serving; retained for history |
Tracking Volunteer Hours
Mission tracks total volunteer hours per person. Staff can manually add hours or log them as part of event check-out:
- Manual entry: Open a volunteer record and add hours with a description and date
- Event check-in: Check-in and check-out times are recorded for every event; these can be converted to volunteer hour logs
The total_hours field on the volunteer record shows cumulative hours across all logged service time.
Background Check Tracking
Mission does not run background checks — it records the status from your background check provider (e.g., Checkr, Protect My Ministry, Ministry Safe).
Statuses:
- Not Required: The role does not require a background check
- Pending: Check has been submitted but results not yet received
- Cleared: Check passed; person is approved to serve
- Expired: Check is older than your organization's renewal policy; re-check required
Mission does not enforce background check status — it is informational only. Establish a process to review background check status before assigning volunteers to roles with children or vulnerable adults.
Scheduling Volunteers
Volunteer schedule records link a volunteer to a specific event or service slot with:
- The event or serve slot
- Scheduled date/time
- Role or position (greeter, nursery worker, sound tech, etc.)
- Confirmed / Pending status
Scheduling is managed from the volunteer record or from the event record. When creating an assignment, Mission shows the volunteer's availability to help identify conflicts.
Volunteer Groups vs. Volunteer Teams
Volunteers often overlap with Groups. The distinction:
- Groups = a community of people with a shared identity (Young Adults Group, Men's Bible Study)
- Volunteer assignments = specific service roles at specific events (Greeter at Sunday Service, Sound Tech at Youth Night)
A person can be in a group AND a volunteer. Their volunteer record tracks service; their group membership tracks community.
Reports
From the Volunteers list, you can see:
- Total active volunteers
- Volunteers by availability day
- Volunteers sorted by total hours (most to least)
- Volunteers with expired or pending background checks