Does your congregation use NW Scheduler, NW Publisher, Hourglass or TheocBase?

Everything El Tablero does, so you can compare it with what you use today.

El Tablero is a free tool for congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses to organize their meetings and other activities. If you already handle assignments with another app and are thinking about switching, here is the complete list of what it does, and what switching looks like.

What switching looks like

There's no automatic import from those apps yet. When it's your congregation's turn, I'll help you move the list of publishers.
You can keep using your current app while you try El Tablero.
If you decide to stop using it, you can export your data, and if you ask, I'll completely delete the congregation's information.
I sign up one congregation at a time, to help it through its first weeks. That's why there's a waiting list.

Everything El Tablero does

For every brother and sister

A Home screen with their next assignment, from any list, and the congregation’s upcoming events.
A notification on their phone when a list in which they have an assignment is published.
Reminders of their assignments a few days before, with “Confirm” and “Deny” buttons (if they turn them on). If they deny it, the administrators get a notification.
Their field service report from the app, with a reminder on the 1st of each month.
Logging their Bible studies for the month and, if they’re a pioneer, their time on a calendar (ministry, LDC or other credit) and how much is left to reach their goal. Only they can see it, and their report fills in by itself.
Their territory on the phone: note the result of each visit, suggest changes to the overseer and share a street with another publisher for a few hours.
A badge with unread messages, on the app icon and on the Messages tab.
Noting the dates they’ll be away, so nothing is assigned to them on those days.
A widget for the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and questions to Siri like “What’s my next assignment in El Tablero?” (iPhone and iPad).
Searching for any publisher and seeing their assignments.
An option to receive their Midweek assignments only digitally, without a printed slip.
In English or Spanish: each congregation chooses its language.

Life and Ministry (midweek)

Each week’s program is written in the app (songs, parts and durations), with the meeting structure already set up. El Tablero doesn’t download content from jw.org.
The time of each part is calculated automatically.
Suggested participants for each part: only those with that ability turned on, first whoever has gone longest without it, and nobody with two parts in the same meeting (prayers don’t count).
In student parts, the assistant is of the same gender and, preferably, someone who hasn’t assisted that student before. Anyone who had any part in the previous two weeks isn’t suggested.
Nobody is suggested on a date they noted they’ll be away.
When choosing by hand, the list shows when each person last had that part and who already has another part that week.
Adding, removing or changing the type of a part (for example, to a discussion with the audience).
The circuit overseer’s visit week (meeting on Tuesday, with his talk) and assembly weeks.
Separate approval for student parts and the other parts; when approved, each assignee gets a notification.
A printable program and student assignment slips (eight per letter-size sheet), with an original design.

Weekend meeting

Chairman and reader, suggesting whoever has gone longest without doing it.
Local or visiting speaker, with the outline number and theme.
The outlines each speaker has prepared, to choose quickly.
Outgoing talks: who goes, to which congregation and with which outline, with the neighboring congregation’s day, time and address.
Hospitality: any brother or sister can note who is taking care of it that Sunday.
The circuit overseer’s visit, with the public talk and the service talk.
A printable sheet.

Support (attendants, audio and microphones)

Eight positions per meeting: entrance, auditorium, Zoom and supplementary attendants; audio and video; two microphones; and platform.
Each position, only with the brothers trained for it.
Suggesting whoever has gone longest without that position, without repeating anyone in the same meeting.
A printable sheet.

Cart witnessing

Locations and time slots set up by each congregation.
Only with the publishers approved for carts.
Shifts in same-gender pairs, with automatic filling: first whoever has gone longest without going out.
A heads-up when choosing if someone already has another shift that day.
A printable sheet.

Kingdom Hall cleaning

Rotation by field service group, including the deep-cleaning weeks.
A task list anyone can check off; it resets every week.
Everyone sees on Home when it’s their group’s turn.
A printable sheet.

Territories

A number for each territory, with letters or digits, and who has it and since when.
Assigning a territory and marking it returned, with a record of each time it was checked out and returned, and by whom. That history can be printed.
Addresses grouped by street: first the street, then all its numbers. Apartment complexes, with the building number and each apartment.
The result of each visit with abbreviations (Not at home, Woman, Man, Child, Busy, Come back), a note and the date it was last updated.
Addresses marked DO NOT CALL, in red and with the date they were designated.
The map of each territory: an image or PDF viewed inside the app, and a link to Google My Maps or Google Maps.
The publisher suggests to the overseer removing an address (other language, doesn’t exist or another reason) or adding one; an administrator approves it.
Sharing a street with another publisher for 2, 4 or 8 hours; after that it disappears on its own.

Messages and announcements

Message channels for the whole congregation, the elders and ministerial servants, the elders, each field service group, Support, Carts and the regular pioneers.
A notification on the phone when a message arrives.
Announcements: the administrators post a PDF or an image (not confidential) for the whole congregation, with the option to put it on Home and to notify everyone. It opens inside the app.

Secretary

Only on one designated device. That data is stored only there and is never uploaded to the cloud.
An inbox with the reports publishers send from the app.
Each month’s reports by group, showing who hasn’t reported yet.
A record for each publisher: personal details, baptism, hope, auxiliary or regular pioneer service and their reports for the service year.
Meeting attendance and its averages.
Monthly summaries.
A backup on the same device or on a USB drive.

For administrators

Publishers with their abilities: which parts and positions each one can have.
Regular, special and auxiliary pioneers, with the months of each period.
Accounts without email: each person signs in with their name and a password. If they forget it, an administrator resets it.
Special events: the circuit overseer’s visit, assemblies and special talks.
Neighboring congregations and talk outlines.
How many days before the reminders are sent, and who confirmed or denied.
Exporting all of the congregation’s data whenever they want.

Devices and cost

iPhone, iPad and Mac, from the App Store. Android and Windows, from the web browser.
Free, with no ads and no in-app purchases.

Join the waiting list

Questions? Write to me at me@marcelinomolina.com.

NW Scheduler, NW Publisher, Hourglass and TheocBase belong to their authors. El Tablero isn't affiliated with them.