You may wonder if using a check-in station is the right call for your church. It may seem like it’s just a fancy new piece of technology that is nice, but is it really necessary?
The truth is that the purpose of using check-in system software is not just about technology; it’s actually to make it easier to reach and serve your community, and easier to manage the day-to-day life of your church.
Check-in stations have a number of benefits that provide connection, organization, and safety, and help you stay prepared to make a connection with the people you are called to serve. From checking kids in to your children’s ministry all the way to tracking attendance at special events or classes, here are five benefits a check-in station offers your church:
Benefit #1: Keep Your Children’s Ministry Secure
Whether the child care you are offering is for a special event or as a part of your regular Sunday morning service, there is no other place in your church where security matters more. With easy check-in, you’ll know who the child’s guardian is, the child’s name, and any dietary restrictions all on one label! This ensures that only an authorized adult can pick up the child.
If you ever need to look back at a full attendance roster for a service, or past attendance for a specific child, the system makes it really easy to track that information down.
Benefit #2: Track Attendance
Some churches use a check-in station to track attendance for their Sunday services, and some use it only for special events and classes. Either way, this is a huge benefit to a check-in station that allows people to check-in as they come in.
For special events, if you utilize a pre-registration, tracking the event attendance using a check-in station will allow you to compare the number of people that registered versus those who came to the event. Having attendees check-in at the event will also allow you to send follow-up emails and helpful resources only to the people who that information would apply to, and automatically print labels or name tags necessary for that event.
Benefit #3: Helps Identify New Guests
Church can be a busy place, especially if you have kids running about or are busy keeping a big event organized. With event check-in system software, you’ll know exactly who came to your event and be able to narrow down who wasn’t part of your regular attendees. So in the case you aren’t able to make a personal connection at the event, you can still send them a special follow-up afterward.
Benefit #4: Advance Registration for Events
One of the toughest parts of planning for an event is knowing how many people to plan for. With advance registration, you can collect an accurate number of how many people to expect, as well as compare that number with the number from your event check-in. If you have any conferences or events where there is a fee to attend, you are able to easily add that into the advanced registration.
Benefit #5: Provides Valuable Data
Coordinating events is more than just getting them scheduled in the calendar. You also need to know how many kids to expect (if you are offering childcare), how many volunteers you’ll need to watch the children, and how to set up your space for the amount of attendees expected. If you have a weekly event, a check-in station provides valuable data to tell you how many people are regularly attending, and the average number of children, so that you can properly prepare and adjust for the next event.
These are just a few of the benefits that come with having a check-in station at your church! The goal of utilizing a tool like this is to improve the experience for guests at your church, make organization easier for you and your team to manage, and allow you to connect more easily with the people in your church.
Interested in how One Church Software’s check-in station integration and all-in-one church management software could support your ministry? Learn how it works.
