Tag Archives: Check In
Secrets for successful check-in
Posted on 03. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Two weeks ago, Fellowship Technologies held a webinar about check-in. It was for any church using any check-in system; however, it was very heavy on the Fellowship One. If you’re curious about Fellowship One and think your church might look into it as a check-in solution, you need to watch this video. However, there were several nuggets that I took away that had nothing to do with F1 specifically. So, even if you don’t use Fellowship One, it might be worth your time to watch this webinar.
It is an hour in length and I don’t expect everyone to watch it, so in the next day or so, I’ll also post some of the things I really got out of it. I’m really excited about some of the things I learned.
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Why Fellowship One rules
Posted on 03. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that we use Fellowship One at Gateway Church here in Austin. You’ll also know that I’m a big fan. This week I have a handful of posts about F1, specifically about check-in. However, I thought I’d begin this little series of posts explaining why I’m such a big fan.
- Fellowship One was not the first church management system I’ve used, but it was the first check-in system I’ve used. The church I was at decided to switch to another system, which we used for 18 months before switching to another system. Two years later they switched yet again. I’ll just say that the two years after leaving F1 were not very fun when it came to check-in. Not only have I used other systems, but I’ve researched, tested and explored countless other systems. No other system matches F1. No one. You may find another system that does fast check-in, but it may not tie into event registration or other family involvement as seamlessly. This is why I’m a fan.
- Flexibility. F1 is the most flexible check-in systems available. If I want all kids to be pre-assigned to classes before they arrive on Sunday, I can do that. If I don’t want kids to ever be assigned to any classrooms and allow them to check in to any classroom, I can do that. Even kids with assignments can switch to a different classroom without requiring an act of Congress. It’s all automated and 95% of the time, check-in attendants can just follow what F1 is directing them to do, and they’ll be right. The system is flexible enough that we can even come up with out of the box ideas of how to assign kids to special events, classes or groups and it just works. Nothing is as fast and flexible. This is why I’m a fan.
- Control. With F1, I have control. It sounds bad when I say that, but really, it’s a good thing. At Gateway we experience near-capacity attendance in the Fall and Winter months. Literally, 80% of my Early Childhood rooms will reach maximum capacity. Non-intuitive check-in systems cause you to sometimes have 4 kids in one classroom with 25 in the one next door. With F1, I can load balance rooms so that they fill up evenly. I can close rooms when they get too full allowing kids to overflow into other rooms with more space. Through assignments, I can make sure certain kids always check into the same classroom. Last of all, I can shut down ministry areas to protect ratios or prevent over-crowding (unsafe ministry environments).
There are lots of other cool things about F1 and check-in, but you’ll just have to find out what those are for yourself.
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Using an iPad for check-in
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
I have to admit, this is one of the coolest things I’ve seen relating to check-in. This has me interested enough that I’m about to run out and get an iPad to try this out for myself. I’ve actually already asked to borrow someone’s iPad so I can play with it. Check it out.
Now this is Fellowship One check-in, but because they’re using remote desktop to accomplish this, they could really use this with almost any check-in system. You can read all about how they did this on the Fellowship One developer’s blog.
In some ways, I see this being a really cool way to offer an assisted check-in that is cool and personable. We currently don’t do any self check-in, but this would allow us to still do assisted check-in without it feeling like the volunteer is on the other side of the counter. I’d be curious if anyone else has seen or tried something like this.
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Secrets of successful check-in
Posted on 20. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
Does that entice you to read below? I’m really late in getting this post out, but Fellowship One is hosting a free webinar (only one hour long) about having a successful check-in process. Anyone is invited to attend the webinar, even if you don’t use Fellowship One. I really don’t know if it’s going to be a big pitch for Fellowship One, but even if you don’t use F1, I’d plan to participate. I’m sure you’ll learn some good stuff.
Here’s what I do know. Fellowship One REALLY knows check-in. Trust me, I’ve seen and used many of the other leading check-in solutions and I’ve not experienced any that come very close to Fellowship One. Seriously, I love Fellowship One. Even if you’re not using F1 and it’s unlikely that you will switch, I’m sure there’s something you can learn from the guys who do it best.
So, here are the details:
Free webinar on the Secrets of Check-in For Children, Events and Rapid Follow-Up.
Fellowship Technologies will host its next webinar on July 21, 2010 at 1:00 PM (CDT) about the Secrets of Successful Check-In. This helpful and informative online session will reveal how to use Check-In for children’s ministry, activities and events with rapid follow-up!
The webinar is free, but registration is required. To register visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/675236104. This hour-long webinar includes insight from the staff of Fellowship Technologies on helping your church take check-in to a whole new level! One registered webinar attendee will win a FREE Godex DT-4 label printer, courtesy of POS Computer Corporation.
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What do you call your check-in area?
Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Kenny.
I’ve been working more on our policy manual and I’m editing our section for check-in volunteers. Actually around Gateway, we don’t call them check-in volunteers, they’re called boat volunteers. Why, because the check-in area is dominated by a giant boat.
First of all, I really hate calling them boat volunteers. That at all doesn’t describe what they do. However, it does make it easy to know wehre they serve. Second of all, we don’t have a boat at our South Campus. So, I need to rename this area totally. Other options could be check-in (blah) or hospitality (boring). I’m also trying to avoid confusion with the adult welcome/hospitality team that uses terms like frontline, connection, connexus and guest services.
So I’m looking for something that is unique for Gateway (no confusion), descriptive (if possible I don’t want people guessing what it is) but fun and energetic. this is the first stop for families on Sunday and I want to start a great first impression (and I don’t want to call it “first impressions”).
Got any ideas? What do you call your area?
Oh, just so you know. This is where kids get their name tags, visitors get registered and guided to their age-specific environments and information about our ministry is distributed. It’s a high-energy and busy place on the weekend.
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I <3 Austin
Posted on 12. Jul, 2009 by Kenny.
Why do I love this place so much?
Good food? Yes
Good music? Yes
Beautiful surroundings? Yes
There are a lot of things I love about this town, but today I say so for one reason.
1 out of every 3 people is a computer genius. Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme but just about everyone I meet is in the technology industry.
This morning one of our check-in computers was down. When logging into Fellowship One, it was trying to look for updates but never launched check in. Not a huge deal, but it was one of the frontward facing computers that gets a lot of traffic. A husband of one of our volunteers saw that the computer was down so he asked if he could take a look at it. In about 5 minutes he figured out exactly what was happening, something that Fellowship One would have to fix to create a work around. I asked him, “do you want to talk to tech support?”
“Sure!”
Five minutes later the two of them figured out the problem and fixed it. The computer was ready for our 11:00 service. If he hadn’t stepped in, we would have been down a computer all day.
I love me some computer nerds!
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Self check-in kiosk
Posted on 30. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
I need some ideas.
I’m thinking of launching two self check-in kiosks in August. At my last church, we switched to all self check-in and it was a really good deal. It was so much faster. Here at Gateway we’re using Fellowship One and they have a great self check in mode. I want to start with two stations and eventually move to three of four as I think it will really streamline our check-in process.
So, here’s where I need your help. If you have self-check in kiosks that are permanent installations, tell me about them. I have more than enough mobile kiosks and I may use them to begin with, but I really would like to install them on the walls. At my previous church I had two stations on a wall with a closet on the other side. I mounted touch screen monitors on the wall with a small shelf from IKIA that held the printer and bar code scanner. I ran all the cables through a hole in the wall behind the monitor and the computers sat on a shelf on the other side of the wall. This worked great and I think I can do this again at Gateway, however I do have one place where I’ll need a check-in station where there is not a closet. I think I’ve seen (or at least heard of) computers that were small and attached to the back of a touch screen where I could mount the whole thing to the wall.
So, what does your set-up look like? What equipment are you using? Do you have any pics of your check-in installation? Is anyone using the mounted CPU/touch screen thingy I mentioned. What size touch monitors for self check-in do you have? I’d love ideas and pictures.
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Check-in Stations
Posted on 15. Sep, 2008 by Kenny.
Looking for good stand alone cabinets for your check-in stations? I’ve actually got a great solution for you.
Almost two years ago when we launched our Denton Campus at Cross Timbers I came across a forum for Shelby systems (don’t get me started on Shelby… I’ve got some baggage there) that had a source for check-in cabinets. Since it was a new campus launch and we had the money to make this kind of expense, we bought them… and they are very nice.
Check out their web site here: Cornerstone Cabinetry
I was back at Cross Timbers a few weeks ago and took several pictures and planned to post them here on this site as a resource. Then out of nowhere I got a postcard from them in the mail (perhaps you did too). I’ve posted my pictures below along with the postcard I got in the mail.
Pros:
- Well made kiosks
- Multiple options in colors and materials
- Ability to use them as check-in stations with a sunken top to hold computer or place a fitted shelf on the top or a counter-like kiosk
- Extra shelving pieces available to link multiple kiosks together in a variety of shapes
Cons:
- These puppies aren’t cheap (but if you’re willing to pay the price, you will not be disappointed)
- I can’t think of any others
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Training timeliness: Room closures
Posted on 01. Jul, 2008 by Kenny.
So, we’ve been talking about timeliness. As I’m hearing from others, it’s an issue everyone faces. On the weekend people show up late. So here is the big question or questions:
Do you have a “too late to check in” policy? If so, how late is too late?
Some of us have to close rooms because they get too full or there aren’t enough volunteers. I’m not talking about that though. I’m talking about closing rooms because service is halfway over. As children’s ministers, we know why we close the rooms:
- Letting kids in half-way through the service is distracting to the other 17 kids in the room.
- Kids coming in half-way through the service won’t get the full experience possible.
- Emergency/Evacuation rosters are already printed and kids coming in this late might not make it on the roster.
I know some of these excuses sound lame, but to those working so hard to make the weekend a quality experience, it’s frustrating to have kids coming in so late. However, there are several reason why we don’t want to “not” check in a kid so late.
- It could be a visitor and we don’t want to turn away a person who’s coming to check things out (I know, it’s not usually the visitors who are late, but do we really want to be the gestapo who determines who we do and do not let in?).
- Do we really want to keep the kids away as it’s not their fault?
Currently at Gateway, we do not turn anyone away. Our program is such that someone could come in late and it’s not going to be that big of a deal. However I’ve been at churches where it was a very big deal. I talked about it with leadership and they were never interested in going there… so we didn’t. Yes, it does bother me that people come late. It’s annoying and I feel bad that the kids are only getting half the experience that they could, but for me I don’t know that it’s worth doing it.
What about you? What is your policy and why do you do what you do?
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