How to Set Up Recurring Events

If you want to use the same URL for a certain type of event (i.e. weekly Sunday service, morning Bible study, etc), you will want to create a recurring event series.

In Altar Live, you can create events with multiple occurrences. Events that belong to a recurring event series can each be individually edited and customized, but will all share the same URL. This means you can embed the link to your website or send it out to everyone, and the link will bring people to the next upcoming related event in the series. You can schedule events in daily, weekly, and monthly increments.

The link that is generated for each event in a recurring series will be long, but you can easily shorten and customize the link to something recognizable. Learn more about how to shorten Altar Live URLs.

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How do recurring events work?

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• ‍All events share the same URL. If you use the "Copy URL" on any event in the series, the link will be the same for all recurring events, the event will update to the next scheduled event in the series.
• ‍At the end of an event, people are prompted to go to the next event. People who are in the event when the event ends will see an event ended screen with a countdown timer and button to navigate to the next event in the series.
• ‍Events that belong to a series can be individually edited. You can edit an individual event in a series or an individual event and all future events. For example, events can all belong to the same series and share the same URL but have different names, start and end times, Hosts and Greeters, and pre-event slides.
• ‍Events will be shown for up to 60 days, and continue to automatically be created if no end date is specified. When you publish, events will be created for up to 60 days, and new events will be added to the series to always show 60 days.

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Joining an event in a recurring series

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• ‍Use the Copy URL link. If someone joins an event via the Copy URL link, they will join to the closest chronological instance of the event. For example, if there is an event in the series that is ongoing, they will join the ongoing event. If there is no active event in the series, they will join the next upcoming instance of the event.
• ‍Clicking on the event card. If someone clicks on an event from the Events & Meetings page, they will join the specific event they clicked on, even if the event is ended or is in the future.
• ‍Copying the browser URL link. If someone joins an event via the browser URL, they will join the specific instance of the event they clicked on, even if the event is ended or is in the future.

Creating a recurring event series

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Step 1: Navigate to app.altarlive.com and log in to your account.

Step 2: Click on the Add New button from the “Events & Meetings” screen.

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Step 3: Enter the event name and description into the appropriate fields.

‍Step 4: Add a preview image from your computer. This image will be displayed on the Next Event prompt when the event ends, and will be the preview image if you share the event.

Step 5: Select the first date you want the series to start on and the start and end times of each of the events in the series. Learn more about event timing.

Event start time: This start time will be displayed on the event details when you share the event with others. This is the actual start time of your live stream feed. Your feed will automatically start when the countdown timer hits 00:00.

Event end time: This end time will be displayed on the event details when you share the event with others. This is the approximate end time of when you will close the event and lobby for all guests. The event will not automatically end. The event will stay active until a Host clicks End Event for All.

Note: The event will be created in the time zone of the community, and will automatically update to display in the time zone of individual members according to the time zone they selected in their profile preference.

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Step 6: Select the Repeat drop-down menu. Choose from the list of options.

• Daily: repeats every day
• Weekly: repeats on the same day every week
• Monthly: repeats on a specific day of the week each month
• Custom: set up a custom recurrence schedule

Step 7: If you the option you're looking for isn't in the dropdown, select the Custom option.

Step 8: From the recurrence pop-up, choose the specifications of how often and when you want your event to reoccur. When you're ready, click Done.

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Step 9: Proceed through the rest of the event creation process. The details you set will be repeated on every event in the series, so specify details that are consistent across all the events. You can always edit and change the details on each individual event once the recurring series is created.

• Add the hospitality team. Specify Host(s) and/or Greeter(s) that you
• Viewing permissions. Set the viewing permissions that are most consistent for this type of event.
• Pre-event slides. If you have some standard announcements or welcome slides, add these here so they appear at every event.

Step 10: Connect your stream feed.

• YouTube, Facebook, or Vimeo: If you are using Facebook, Vimeo, or YouTube videos, you will still need to update the video URL for each individual event after creating the series because these platforms generate a unique URL for each video, whether scheduled, live, or uploaded.
• Embed code: If you are embedding the stream using embed code, some stream provider platforms like Resi will let you use the same embed code week after week from event to event so you never have to change it out. Learn more about stream providers.

Step 11: Publish your recurring series. When you publish, events will be created for up to 60 days, and new events will be added to the series to always show 60 days.

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Editing events in a recurring series

You can edit an individual event in a series or an individual event and all future events. For example, events can all belong to the same series and share the same URL but have different names, start and end times, Hosts and Greeters, and pre-event slides.

You cannot change a recurring event into a non-repeating event. If you want to remove an event from a series, you will need to create a separate stand-alone event and delete the specific event you want to remove from the series.

Even though you can't create a series of recurring events on the same day, you can edit events in a recurring series after they have been created to occur on the same day. Edit the day and time of the event to get multiple events onto the same day.

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Step 1: To edit an event, click on the Edit button on the card.

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Step 2: After you make updates to the event, click Save Changes. You will be prompted to select which events should be updated.

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Deleting events in a recurring series

You can delete an individual event in a series, an individual event and all future events, or all related events in the series. For example, you can remove a series of events altogether or an individual event in a series.

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Step 1: Click Delete on the event card.

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Step 2: You will be prompted to select which events should be deleted.

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Save as Draft

You can create a recurring event series and choose to Save as a Draft if you are not ready to publish. You can go back and edit later. Draft events aren't visible to non-admin members.

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Step 1: Click Save as Draft at any point during the event creation process.

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Step 2: When you Save as a Draft, your recurring event series will be created as draft events.

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Adding more events to a recurring series

Recurring event series that has no specified end date will continue to generate events indefinitely.

If you want to add more events to a series that has a specified end date, simply edit the recurrence to end on a later date or set the end date to Never.

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Ended Events

When an event in a recurring series has ended, the event-ended screen will show the link to the original video and a prompt to proceed to the next event in the series. People can exit the event, or click Next Event to go to the next event.

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In the lower left-hand corner, the next upcoming or ongoing event in the series will appear with a countdown timer and button for users to click on to proceed to the next event. The image that is displayed is the preview image that was uploaded during the event creation.

Want to learn more about online events? Check out: Thinking About Digital Church Planting? Here are Things to Consider When Starting Your Church Online.

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