The built-in event types (Retreat, Mission Trip, Camp, Service Project, Weekly Meeting, and so on) cover the most common kinds of gatherings a youth ministry runs, but every ministry has its own rhythms. Custom Event Types let you define your own presets so the events you run over and over start from exactly the right configuration.
Why custom types exist
When you create a new event, the app uses the event type to decide which planning components to turn on by default. A Retreat automatically gets Housing, Food, Transportation, and a dozen others. A Weekly Meeting just gets Overview, Schedule, Volunteers, and Communication. That’s a huge time-saver — but what if your “Parent Night” event always needs Overview, Food, Communication, and Costs? Or your “Leadership Gathering” always needs Curriculum, Food, and Attendance?
Custom Event Types let you save those combinations once and pick them from the create-event screen every time.
Defining a custom type
From Settings → Custom Event Types, tap + to create a new one. You’ll fill in:
- Name — what it’s called (e.g. “Parent Night”, “Elder Brunch”, “Confirmation Class”)
- Icon — an SF Symbol that represents it
- Color — a tint used on event cards and in the creation grid
- Default components — the exact set of planning components events of this type should start with
- Default frequency — how often this type of event happens (weekly, monthly, annual, or ad hoc), used for future batch-creation features
Save the type, and it now appears as a card in the event creation grid alongside the built-in types.
Editing and deleting
You can edit a custom type at any time. Changing a type affects new events you create from it — existing events that were already created with that type keep whatever components they had at the time and are not retroactively modified. This is intentional: you never want a settings change to quietly alter an event you’ve already been planning.
If you delete a custom type, existing events created from it continue to work normally. They just become regular events without a link back to the deleted preset.
Tips for using custom types well
- Start from a built-in type. If your “Parent Night” is basically a Special Event with a couple of components removed, create one Special Event first, see which components you actually use, and then build your custom type to match.
- Don’t over-specify. It’s tempting to create a custom type for every slight variation. In practice, three or four custom types cover most ministries. If you find yourself making “Retreat – Winter” and “Retreat – Summer” as separate types, just use the built-in Retreat and change the couple of things that differ per event.
- Use color and icon deliberately. Custom types show up in the Events list with their color strip, so if you pick distinct colors and icons, you can skim the list and instantly tell a Parent Night from a Weekly Meeting from a Retreat.
Custom Event Types are a small feature, but they’re one of the fastest ways to make the app feel like it was built for your ministry specifically.
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