Stone Age Check-In

Alright, I need some help.  Do you know that part of your ministry that makes you cringe when you think about it?  The part you wouldn't want visitors from other children's ministries to see?  If you don't have one of those then I really want to hear from you! For us, one area that makes me cringe is our check-in system.  It's not such a bad experience for families but we are doing a horrible job of capturing and entering data from our check-in that could be a huge help in generating reports.  I would like to know when a family hasn't been present for a month.  I would like to know the percentage of first time visitors that end up returning and getting grouped in a small group.  I would like our check-in sheets to be accurate.  I know, high goals.

I guess our problem isn't as much about check-in as it is about data management.  Our systems are still in the stone age.  In fact, right now we have no system other than to input data by hand (which is not happening).  Nothing about our check-in is computerized.  We've never used those cool scanners or touch screens that I've seen at some churches.  I feel like we are losing valuable information every weekend.

So here's where you come in.  I know there are those of you out there who are miles ahead of us in this area.  I know nothing about church management systems for capturing and using attendance data.  If you are using any kind of computerized system for check-in and data management, could you leave a comment letting me know what program you are using (or whether it is something your church created yourself) and how pleased you are with the performance of your system?

For those of you who are using a computerized system...are any of you multi-site?  Have you found something that works well across diverse sites? 

Maybe I'll come up with a prize for the person who gives the most helpful information! :)

Comments

[David Wakerley]

Tammy,

We are moving to a fingerprint recognition system. We currently use badges and printed roles.

The parent will scan their thumb and a list of children will come up on the screen. They touch the ones they want to login and a printer spits out a name badge sticker and a parent pick up sticker.

The parents use the pick up sticker at the end of the service to pick up their kids.

This integrates with our church database and records attendance etc.

The computer is basically a point-of-sale terminal (like at your supermarket) with a fingerprint scanner attached. Which connects to our wireless network at church.

Dave.

[preston]

wow David

thats awesome

Tammy, I really feel your pain here.

We have a checkoff system in notebooks, super basic, then the number are put into Excel.

No ability to pull stats at any moment.

We are moving to fellowship one though. Although we are not adding the childrens package that costs quite a bit per month but handles all the issues stated here.

I will let you know if it helps
preston

[Tally]

The best one I've heard of is Fellowship One. The big time ministries use them and they are being utilized by several multi-site churches. Fellowship Church uses it at each of their locations and Granger uses them for their food ministry (different site than main campus). It's internet based and the info can be sent to the database "live" with a modem or it can be stored and 'dumped' to the system at a central location.

http://www.fellowshiptech.com

What's my prize? :)

Take care!

[Tammy Melchien]

Preston & Tally--Thanks for the suggestion of Fellowship One. I'll look into that. What would be a good prize? :)

Dave--That's pretty impressive. What database software do you use to manage the data you collect? Is it something you purchased or something your church created?

[preston]

yeah we are going to retinal scans and satellite surveillance to make sure we are completely safe

no more badges and security guys

Just kidding ;)

But seriously David is this a system from the corporate world or did you guys work on developing it?

preston

[Christy]

I'll try to answer, but don't know if I really know what I'm talking about! We use Shelby church-wide. Kids Min check in is 'pencil and paper' style. We print our class list with a bar code for each child. Parents check off their names and write down any necessary contact info. Later in the week the office staff scans the info into Shelby. We are able to generate attendance reports that show individual attendance patterns. Our office staff is somewhat cooperative with this, but I think that there is way more that we could do to improve the process. It is baby steps for us whenever change and technology are the issue!

[Andy Hosier]

Hey Tammy,

FellowshipTech.com is the way to go! I can tell you it has made a huge difference for us at Granger Community Church.

Andy Hosier
IS Guy

[Andy Hosier]

Hey Tammy,

We are blown away at the impact Fellowship Technologies has made for us at Granger Community Church, specifically moving away from stone-aged check-in.

Andy Hosier
www.gccwired.com
IS Guy

[Tammy Melchien]

Thanks for all the helpful info, everyone!

[James]

FellowshipOne is good, but expensive. Thought we're a church of over 5,000, the price, ultimatly, was prohibitive.

We ended up finding a smart fellow fresh out of college who was more than happy to let his pay him less that Fellowship's start-up fee to create a customized receipt based check-in/out system for our church.

We're supposed to launch this weekend! June 11th.

[Sherry]

Hey Tammy, we use Shelby, and do the same as Christy, but are adding the module that allows you to computerize the check-in as well. Parents receive a laminated card that contains a bar code for their child. It's scanned in at the check in station, and you have several options, one of which prints out the child's nametag and customized info, which then goes on the child. The system then tabulates attendance, runs reports of absentees,runs monthly birthday lists, automatically clears the roster for those who haven't attended in a specified period of time, and lots more. We're rolling this out when our new building opens in August. We run reports now, but have to transfer the attendance from roster to database every week. We're looking forward to not doing that anymore.
I'd love to hear from churches who use computerized Shelby systems.

[David Wakerley]

Guys,

Just dropped by and saw that I should respond to a couple more questions...

Preston and Tammy...

We have a SQL database that stores all our info for church (not sure if it is purchased or designed internally)

Our IT department has designed software that talks to the database and can track attendance.

It is all internal programming.

I just tried it all out for the first time last week and it works awesome!

Fingerprinting is the way to go for sure!

Dave.

[Scott Jester]

I know this may be a little late, but I saw the blog, and thought that I might chime in. It's great to hear that so many churches are forward thinking in their child security issues, and are diligently trying to find a solution. I wanted to let you know of another solution that may be worthwhile looking into, it's called KidzPro Security Software. It is a high-tech check in software at a very reasonable price. It would be a great solution at any church looking to "beef up" their security, and do a much better job at tracking. The great part is that it is not just an add-on to an expensive church management software. Check it out www.kidzprotect.com

[Greg Welsh]

If you haven't seen ARENA.... the next generation of ChMS.

www.arenachms.org

[Steve Paglia]

We have been doing considerable research on check-in and have found some great ones -
- but I would love some of your finds and recommendations!! --
We are still looking for the "10".
ParentPager.com has the best we have found so far, it uses either number, bar code, RFI reader or biometrics (fingerprint) for id. it costs the same as Fellowship Tech for the first year, but in not a subscription so that is all it costs.
Sonblest.com is good and inexpensive,
Nspire is developing an rfi,
http://ezraonline.net/ and
www.bythebook.com have it as well. Prices all vary. You need to check them all out.

[Terry Johnson]

This is an older topic - but wanted to let you know what we are beginning to use for check-in as we start our multi-site transformation. We are still in the beta-testing of this software but it is called Lambs List offered by Microframe (who does a cheap paging system too!). The check-in system is completly web-based meaning I can check kids in at our central campus and see what kids are being checked in at our West and South campuses as well. It will print reports and labels from a DYMO label writer. Because we are beta testing it we are offering suggestions for the upgrades but you can certainly start using the product now. Upgrades are easy because it is web-based.

[Terry Johnson]

This is an older topic - but wanted to let you know what we are beginning to use for check-in as we start our multi-site transformation. We are still in the beta-testing of this software but it is called Lambs List offered by Microframe (who does a cheap paging system too!). The check-in system is completly web-based meaning I can check kids in at our central campus and see what kids are being checked in at our West and South campuses as well. It will print reports and labels from a DYMO label writer. Because we are beta testing it we are offering suggestions for the upgrades but you can certainly start using the product now. Upgrades are easy because it is web-based.

[Lowell Kenyan]

Be cautious before you leap into fellowship one. The problem - that you almost can't know until you're there - is that you no longer have your own data. The system is the coolest interface going, but we found it painfully sluggish and felt like we were hostages because we couldn't get to our data in the way we wanted it, when we wanted it (quickly).
We have switched to Shelby for now. It's old and clunky, but rock solid and our data is right here where we need it... and we can get to it when we need it and in the format we need it. Also, their customer support is fantastic... plush even.
We are, however, still in the search for a check-in system as well as a more modern system as a whole. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Paula Irons]

I understand where everyone is coming from regarding ineffective/inefficient check-in methods. Seven years ago, this was a huge problem in our children's ministry. So much so, that I finally gave up and developed a system for us. We've been using it ever since and now it manages check-in, attendance, and lots more. It's easy to use, manages name tags automatically, utilizes security numbers and barcodes (no retinal scans yet :) ) for parent identification, Automatically prints welcome letters, automates graduation and class placement, and manages volunteer schedules. It utilizes permanent name tags that are automatically managed by the software so families who are checking in don't have to wait for labels to print. It's less expensive that way, too. Also, barcodes make check-in fast because parents don't have to stop and use a touch screen or anything. Scanning the barcode checks the child in immediately. There is support for guest check in and lots more that has blessed our ministry a lot over the years. In the last months, I've made this software available publicly. If you think it might help in some of your ministries, you can learn more about it at www.kingdomhound.com, or you can email me at pirons@kingdomhound.com. I've tried to price this software low so it's affordable, and I'm happy to provide support in any way I can. It's been my personal ministry for a long time, and I'm currently working on the next version which will include some neat things such as email capability to families, youth, and volunteers, photos on name tags, and support for rotational curriculums.

[Jeremy Carter]

We have just started using the Kingdom Hound (FlockHound) program and can already see the major benefits of an automated system. We were one of the "notebook" churches. This new system does lots of really cool things. I especially like the Welcome letters. Check it out!
www.kingdomhound.com

[Ian Beyer]

We're currently on Shelby, and our approach to using Shelby (not just check-in) from remote sites is to use Remote Desktop. One possible solution we're looking at for our west campus (that meets at a school where we can't have permanent infrastructure) is to use a SonicWall TZ190 which accepts wireless/EVDO connection cards and then have the kiosks remote back to the check-in terminal server (just like they do at our main campus).

We currently use Shelby check-in with bar code tags printed on key tags (like your grocery store loyalty cards) that are scanned at the stations and print the receipt to a printer located in the classrooms.

Ian Beyer
Network Administrator
Church of the Resurrection
Leawood, KS

[Steve Paglia]

Just checking back with you all! After much testing of the top 10 including Fellowship One, our top performer has been Parent Pager. Very simple and fast, you keep the data. Uses finger readers for positive id., and photos of parents and kids to reclaim. Tightest security of them all, especially with restricted or at risk kids.
Simply the best - call me for more info!
HeightsChurch.com

[Stacy]

Have you guys seen KidCheck? (www.kidcheck.com) Would love to hear your thoughts on these guys.