Tag Archives: Check In
Searching for the perfect check-in kiosks
Posted on 28. Nov, 2011 by Kenny.
I’m on a search for new check-in kiosks. A few months ago, we permanently moved our Middle School program to an are we call the Garage which is a great environment for the teens. To accomodate check-in, I just brought in two of the stations we weren’t using for kids. They’re nice looking kiosks (we use them all over the campus), but they have a serious design flaw. They’re made of laminated particle board. We just wheel them in and out of the Garage every Sunday, but going over the door frame and caused one of them to cave in already (another design flaw I’ve found… but I won’t go into details). So, I’m looking for new kiosks for the teens that looks good and is a little more rugged.… Read the rest
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Systems, Processes and the great F1 outage of 2011
Posted on 31. Jul, 2011 by Kenny.
So, if you use Fellowship One, you know that there were significant issues with Check In today. Even if you don’t use F1, you might have seen the traffic on twitter about the issues. I know that for some churches, the slow-down was crippling. Most of the morning, I was watching the twitter stream and saw all kinds of tweets. Most were encouraging, some were certainly frustrated. I thought that it was interesting that today happened the way that it did because I’m in the process of finalizing my outline for a workshop I’m leading at the Kidmin Conference in Chicago and the subject of the workshop ties into what happened today.
Here at Gateway, check in was as fast as it always is… maybe even faster.… Read the rest
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All-In-One check in touch screen computers
Posted on 19. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
Last week I posted about these $350 All-In-One check in computers that were selling on Amazon. What a great price. All you need to do is plug in a printer and a scanner and you’re ready to go.
So, I ordered two and got them in today. I spent a few hours this afternoon getting acquainted. It is a pretty low-powered machine, but I think it’s going to work fine for check-in. I’m excited to get them installed. I just checked and Amazon seems to still have 4 or 5 left, so I’d take advantage of it if you can. If they still have any by next week, I might even buy another one. 
So, my friend Rob from Keller, TX bought one too and he saved me a bunch of time telling me how to calibrate for Fellowship one Check in as well as where to get a mounting plate (I’m hanging these suckers on the wall).… Read the rest
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Killer deal on touch screen all-in-computers
Posted on 12. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
I just bought two Asus all-in-one touch screen computers for my check-in. You can hang them in a wall as it’s the CPU and screen all built in one.
How much did I pay you may ask?
$350
That’s right. I’ve never seen a deal like this.
It’s not a commercial grade computer, but I expect to get a few years our of them. Amazon stock is low, so get them before they’re gone!
You can get a little faster one for $200 more here.… Read the rest
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Is fingerprint check in weird and creepy?
Posted on 12. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
So, I need your help. I’ve been using Fellowship One for many years now and based on the equipment we have we’ve been doing assisted check in. Essentially, that requires a volunteer to man the computer and check families in. However, I want to move toward self check in because it’s much faster. With Fellowship One, one of the best ways to do self check-in is using bar codes. However, I was talking to a manufacturing sales rep and he was suggesting that I look into fingerprint scanning as an alternative to bar codes. In the long run, it’s easier and faster. It’s not security based or anything like that, it’s just a speed thing and convenience thing (people forget to bring their key fobs, but they usually bring their fingers).… Read the rest
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How much do you pay for labels?
Posted on 08. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
I’ve got a question for you.
How much do you pay for labels for check-in?
Why do I ask?
Well, I know that a lot of you out there are feeling the tight restraint of budget cuts. I don’t care how big your budget is, anyone would love to save a couple of hundred bucks for their ministry, right? Several years ago I moved into a new postion. The budget was a mess as it was one big pot and most expenses were coming out of that. When it was time to budget for the next year I was having to investigate what expenses were being lumped into this pot. I was trying to find all the things we spent money on and work that into the budget.… Read the rest
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Creative way to get touch screens without buying touch screens
Posted on 31. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
So I’m excited about this little piece of technology. We currently use Fellowship One for check-in, but we’re only using it as assisted check-in. I want to move toward self check-in stations, but I only have one touch screen. I know that you don’t have to use touch screens, but let’s face it, it’s a better experience. I know that there may be others in a similar situation. You have a lot of monitors already, but you want to move to touch screens. Touch screens cost $500 each (let me know if you know of a better deal) and that’s cost prohibitive for most ministry budgets.
Then I came across Magic Touch, a little device that turns any monitor into a touch screen.… Read the rest
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Using the iPad for check-in
Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
I’ll be the first to admit. Using the iPad for check-in was beyond cool. It’s funny how many of you commented and messaged me for more information about using the iPad for check in. A few weeks ago when I first wrote about the idea of using the iPad for check-in, that post got more hits than anything I’ve written in a long time. I think I know what it is. You really want and iPad, don’t you?
Ha! Well, here is what I posted a few weeks ago along with links and video. This is where it all started.
I wasn’t overly creative. I simply copied what they did. I downloaded WinAdmin on my iPad. From there, I ran into problems.… Read the rest
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Installing a Zebra Printer for Fellowship One
Posted on 04. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Since Easter, I’ve had three check in computers die on me. Since then, we’ve had to reinstall printers on the new computers. When it comes to check-in, I know more than anyone else at our church, so it’s usually much faster for me to make sure the printer works for check-in. If you use Fellowship One and have worked with Zebra, printers, you will know that installing a Zebra Printer to work with F1 is about as easy as meeting the president. Let’s just say it’s not the most intuitive process. Since I’ve had to do this three times in the last few months, I finally made notes. This blog post is a result of these notes. Hopefully this post helps someone else in Zebra printer hell, but this blog post is a reference for me for when I have to install another printer on a new computer.… Read the rest
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Immediate and constant evaluation
Posted on 04. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
My boss just came back from eight weeks of sabbatical. Something I get to look forward to in a little less than 5 more years. Sigh…
So, he’s been visiting other churches in Austin during these eight weeks. On one of these visits, he got an email just a few days after the visit thanking him for coming and asking him to fill out the following survey.
This is a simple google docs form. All the responses fill a spreadsheet with timestamps so you are likely to know what weekend a person is referring to in their review.
I honestly believe that most of us spend more time assuming how people feel about our ministry and more time moving on what we think is really going on.… Read the rest
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