Overview: This article is intended to provide an overview and sequential steps on how to use the My Ministry Module. This module is intended for volunteers engaged in the prison ministry—whether in person or by correspondence. The steps outlined will take a Volunteer through the process of using the Schedule Tab, the Inmates Tab, and the Activity Tab. The volunteer will be able to:

• The Schedule Tab will allow volunteers to select or change shifts as needed.
• The Inmates Tab will allow a volunteer to add and access correspondence and notes for an assigned inmate.
• The Activity Tab allows volunteers to add, delete, and edit information for activity specific to the prison ministry

Landing Page

Step 1 From the Navigation Panel, under General, select My Ministry.

Step 2 After selecting My Ministry, the current month Calendar will display. You will see the activity for the current day under My Schedule. The Shifts and Meetings view will show any recurring shifts or meeting assignments. 

• Note: To request online live chat assistance, click on the Chat Icon found on the lower right side of your screen. Please enter your name, state and email address to start chatting with the next available agent. 

Schedule Tab

• Note:  The My Ministry Landing Page will open with the Schedule Tab displayed.  

Step 3 Click the Chevron (left or right arrow) in the Calendar to navigate to past or future months. 

• Note: Recurring shifts will only display up to three (3) months in advance. 

Step 4 Click on a desired date to view available Shifts and Meetings, scheduled meetings and/or shifts will display in the My Schedule card, or view/create/adjust Time Away.

• Note: Click on the Legend Icon next to the Month/Year to view the legend.  

Step 5 My Schedule provides you with a quick view of any Scheduled Meeting/Shift you have for the date selected.  

• Note: To view details of the shift, click the ellipsis, then select Shift Details. To remove the shift, click on Remove. 

Step 6 The Shift Details drawer will provide the Date, Time, Shift, Facility Name, and any Shift Participants. 

Step 7 Shifts and Meetings will provide information on available meetings and/or shifts for the date selected. 

• To volunteer for a shift, click the Chevron (right arrow) to the right of the page to open the Add Shift drawer. 

Step 8 Click on the Add Button to add the shift to your schedule.  You may also Add Shift Partner by clicking the dropdown menu and selecting an available volunteer. 

• Note: You and any partner added will receive a confirmation message when the shift is added.

Step 9 To set this as a recurring shift, click on the Add Recurring Button. 

• Note: You and any partner added will receive a confirmation message when the shift is added. The shift scheduling will be limited to three (3) months.  

Schedule Time Away 

The steps below will allow you to schedule time that you will not be available for the Prison Ministry, such as attending Pioneer Service School, International/Special Conventions, and/or vacations.

• Note: 
  1. Scheduled Time Away will override any Recurring Shifts and will prevent your name from appearing in the Add Shift Partner dropdown menu during selected dates. 
  2. Time Away can be scheduled beyond three (3) months. 

Step 1 Click Time Away at the bottom of your calendar. 

• Note: Time Away list will open as a full page. 

Step 2 Click on the Add Button.  The Record Time Away drawer will open at the right side of the page.  

Step 3 Select the Start Date and End Date by clicking the Calendar Icon or by entering dates in the YYYY-MM-DD format. 

• Add the reason for the time away in the Notes field.   
• Click Save.  

Step 4 To edit scheduled time away, click the Chevron (right arrow) on the far right of the row. 

Step 5 The Record Time Away drawer will open at the right side of the page.  Make needed adjustments to the Start Date, End Date, and/or Notes.  When done, click Save.  

• Note: You will not be able to change the Start Date to a date later than the current End Date so you will need to edit the End Date first if you are changing your Time Away to a later week or month.

• Note: Click the Delete Icon to delete the scheduled time off. 

Inmates Tab

View Inmate Records

Step 1 From the Navigation Panel, select My Ministry.

Step 2 Click the Inmates Tab to see the list of Inmates assigned to you to either correspond with or study with in-person at a facility. 

• Note: This Inmates Tab displays the Inmate Name, Facility in which they are housed, the assigned Correspondence Volunteer, and the Volunteer assigned as In-Person Assigned for In-Person Bible Studies.

Step 3 To view the Inmate Profile, click on the appropriate record Row or the Chevron (right arrow) on the far right of the row. You can also use the Search Icon to search for a specific Inmate Name to select.  

• Note: Please note the following;
  1. Inmates that display here are those assigned to you. 
  2. You may sort by Inmate Name or Facility by clicking on the Arrow.  

Step 4 Inmate Details provides the Inmate ID Number, Inmate Location (Facility’s Physical Location), Facility Mailing (Facility’s Mailing Address) and Return Address (Congregation Mailing Address).  

Inmate Correspondence

Step 1 Inmate Correspondence holds all written or electronic correspondence sent or received. 

• The Date column indicates when the date correspondence was sent or received.  
• The From column indicates who wrote the piece of correspondence.  
• The Status column indicates whether correspondence is received or sent, read or unread.  

• Note: Unread Icon (closed envelope) indicates the correspondence from the Inmate has not been read. Read Icon (opened envelope) indicates the correspondence from the Inmate has been read. Send Icon (flying paper airplane) indicates correspondence has been sent. 

Step 2 To search correspondence for a specific month, click the Filter Icon to filter the list of correspondence displayed. Then, use the Calendar Icon to select the Year and Month.  

• Note: Click Clear Filter to remove the filter.

Step 3 To add new correspondence to Inmate Correspondence, click the Add Icon.  

• Note: The Correspondence Drawer will open at the right side of the page. 
  1. A Document Template can be used as letterhead for prison ministry correspondence. This is a Microsoft Word document and is available in English or Spanish.

Step 4 To upload a Document, in the Format dropdown menu, select Document. Update the Date field, as needed. 

• Check the Bible Study box if correspondence to the inmate if applicable.
• Select whether the correspondence was Sent by volunteer or Received from inmate.
• Use Drag and Drop or Browse Files to attach the file.
  1. Only PDF files less than 5MB in size can be attached.

Step 5 Click Save. 

Step 6 For Digital Correspondence, select Digital from the Format dropdown menu. Update the Date field, as needed.  Check the Bible Study box if correspondence to the inmate if applicable.

Step 7 Select either Sent by volunteer or Received from inmate. Enter the Digital Correspondence details. 

Step 8 Click Save.

View, Edit or Delete Inmate Correspondence Sent To an Inmate

Step 1 To View, Edit or Delete an uploaded correspondence, click on the Ellipsis to the right of the specific row and select either View, Edit or Delete.

• Note: 
  1. View will open the uploaded PDF to review. (This option is only for entries with a Document that has been uploaded and not a digital entry.)
  2. Edit and Delete will open the Edit Correspondence drawer.

Step 2 To Edit, make the necessary adjustments in the Edit Correspondence drawer.  Once complete, click Save.

Inmate Notes

Step 1 Inmate Notes contains notes entered by Volunteers assigned to the Inmate. Click on the Filter Icon to view notes for a specific month.  

• Note: Inmate Notes from Volunteers assigned to conduct a Bible Study with the Inmate, will display as Study. 

Step 2 To add an Inmate Note, click the Add Icon. 

• Note:  The Add Inmate Note drawer will open at the right side of the page.

Step 3 Enter the Date of the Note by selecting the Calendar Icon or entering the date in YYYY-MM-DD format.  Click the Bible Study box to indicate a note pertaining to the Bible study arrangement.  Enter any relevant Note details.  Click Save when finished. 

Step 4 To Edit or Delete, click on the Ellipsis to the right of the specific row and select either Edit or Delete.

Step 5  To Edit, make the necessary adjustments, click Save.

Activity Tab

Step 1  Select the Activity Tab.

Step 2 The Activity Tab displays the monthly Activity Report, monthly Ministry Totals, Bible Studies, and monthly Program Totals. 

Step 3 The Activity Report section will show Date, Placements, Video Showings, Service Hours, Return Visits, Training Hours, etc. 

• To sort the results of each column, hover over the column heading and click the Arrow Icon. 
• To view a different month’s report, click the Chevron (right or left arrow) on the top right of this section. 

• Select the pagination to set the number of rows to display.

Step 4 The monthly Ministry Totals card will show all activity totals for the month.

Step 5 The Bible Studies section will show the different Bible Studies conducted during the month.  Bible Studies will be calculated from information gathered from the Inmates Tab. 

Step 6 To add an activity, click the Add Activity Icon. 

Step 7 The Add Activity drawer will allow you to enter all pertinent information. 

Step 8 Click Save to create your Activity Report.

Step 9 To edit or delete an Activity entry, click the Chevron next to the desired date. 

Step 10 The report can be edited in the Daily Activity Report drawer. Once edits are complete, click Save.  

Step 11 To delete a day’s activity report, click on the row containing the information or the Chevron (right arrow) at the far right of the row, then click Delete. 

Last Updated:  March 17, 2022