open source program for rotating signups?

December 12, 2007 10:10 AM

Hi, I would like some recommendations for (preferably open source or inexpensive) web based software that I can implement for my church. Everyone takes turns bringing refreshments, playing songs, etc... and there are waaaaay too many "Who can do it on Sunday the 16th? on Sunday the 26th?" e-mails going around and it gets very confusing to keep track.

1) Preferably Open Source (PHP & MySQL for example) or inexpensive. I do have some development background so I can do some coding though I am not a PHP expert by any means.
2) Must be Web Based
3) Must allow users to log-on, choose their passwords, change their passwords, etc... In other words, should have self-service account mgmnt capabilities.
4) Must have e-mail notification capability. (e.g. "Hi John, it's your turn to bring drinks this Sunday.")
5) I think our web hosting service uses Linux. So, it probably should be Linux based.

What are your thoughts? TIA!

posted by apark to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

It won't do email notifications, but a wiki would allow people to sign themselves up for things with minimal hassle.
posted by beerbajay at 10:13 AM on December 12, 2007

Couldn't you just use Google Calendar, create a calendar for the church, and share it with all the people involved? Seems like that would be much easier than implementing something on your own server.
posted by cerebus19 at 10:15 AM on December 12, 2007

Response by poster: to beerbajay & cerebus19:

I guess my problem with both a wiki and Google Calendar is that they're both not structured enough. I was looking for something that can be more structured because eventually, we'll have lots of things that need sign ups like this.


For example,

Who is doing PowerPoint for Sunday?
Who is doing Sound for Sunday?
Who is playing Guitar for Sunday?
Who is hosting home group Friday?
Who is leading home group Friday?
Who is bringing food Sunday?

etc...

The calendar or Wiki could get very confusing and crowed very quickly...
posted by apark at 10:32 AM on December 12, 2007

BaseCamp is great for stuff like that, but alas, not free. Not expensive though. It will even send an email to someone to remind them that their task is due.
posted by Mister_A at 10:40 AM on December 12, 2007

WordPress with the Event Calendar plugin?

Just post your Sunday and Friday needs as events, and let people (who each have an account on your WP installation) sign up by commenting on the event. Or discussing who can do it arranging swaps or whatever.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:05 AM on December 12, 2007

there are several [non-free-but-cheap] online organizers built just for churches. most of them are heavier on the event planning / volunteer management side. none of them are perfect, but there's a decent range.
try worshipplanning.com or planningcenteronline.
i've used both and would be happy to give advice. e-mail's in my profile.
posted by rubberfish at 11:44 AM on December 12, 2007

We use MySignUp.com for some of this stuff at my church (example). It's ugly, but it gets the job done. (oddly, I couldn't remember the name of the site, and I got an email at that very moment from our youth minister regarding the signup example). It's a sign from God! Or a stupid coincidence.
posted by tippiedog at 1:10 PM on December 12, 2007

Let me try that again: example
posted by tippiedog at 1:10 PM on December 12, 2007

threadjack: is there something similar to this that will allow students to sign up for appointments with instructors?

//threadjack
posted by mecran01 at 2:19 PM on December 12, 2007

I'd go with the free, open source, dotProject. I use it every day for some hefty International project management but it can be used for simple scheduling and collaboration if you can get everyone to commit to it.
posted by juiceCake at 4:10 PM on December 12, 2007