Although there are church congregations that have remained smaller, big churches are becoming more and more common. These facilities, sometimes called “mega-churches,” may have multiple services per day for upwards of a thousand people during each time slot.
Because of this, church security has become a bigger concern, especially when it comes to children’s safety within larger facilities. Tracking attendance and knowing exactly who is in the building at a given time has therefore become increasingly important.
Some churches have chosen to start using church management software to understand who is in the building and when. This software is an all-in-one solution that also helps churches manage their membership and link everything back to their accounting software, while facilitating and securing the church check-in process.
Traditional Attendance Taking vs. Digital Church Check-In Kiosks
Traditionally, churches have tracked attendance manually via approximate head counts and sign-in sheets. However, this simply isn’t feasible for large churches, as they tend to lack the degree of detail and accuracy needed to ensure a safe environment. This is especially true for those churches with multiple services, classes or other events occurring daily.
This is why modern churches, especially those with big congregations or memberships, often choose digital check-in kiosk systems to track attendance and increase the security of their facilities. These may include larger kiosks integrated with specialized software and displays or smaller table-top kiosks outfitted with tablet computers.
These solutions can include components like barcode scanners, nametag printers and fingerprint scanners to make check-in more accurate, secure and efficient, and are usually able to be integrated with existing church management software. This allows most of a church’s administrative software to work together, from volunteer management and member directories, to attendance tracking and billing.
Check-In Kiosk Features
Church check-in kiosk solutions can be unique, however, most of them provide a core set of self-service features, including:
- Mobile check-in accessible by members and visitors via smartphone
- Kiosk check-in for those who wish to use the on-site system
- Virtual check-in for members who attend services online or on satellite campuses
- Volunteer check-in for events or meetings
- Payment processing components and integrations for donations or payment of dues, fees or classes and event costs.
- Barcode scanning for use at ticketed events
- Attendance tracking for specific services, events or meetings
- Badge and nametag printing for large events where members may not know everyone in attendance, or for classes and Sunday School
Benefits of a Self-Service Kiosk
- Facilitate simpler and more efficient check-in
- Offer greater security for larger events, or those in which children may be under the supervision of those who are not parents or guardians, such as childcare environments
- Enable more accurate attendance tracking and activity management
- Create opportunities to advertise or promote upcoming events
- Make the tithing, donation and payment process easier
- Offer the versatility required by growing congregations
Improving Security to Keep Children and Other Members Safe
Because digital kiosks are adaptable and able to meet a wide range of church needs, they are also flexible enough to play a significant role in increasing facility security, especially for the congregation’s youngest members.
In fact, most church kiosk systems are even able to be secured in ways that limit access to administrative functions to only approved church employees and volunteers, allowing for an even greater degree of security when it pertains to the security of children, especially during pick-ups and drop-offs.
With this enhanced security functionality at the core of church check-in kiosks, it’s clear why so many churches have already implemented these systems in their facilities. They help protect the church by securing sensitive information, while allowing for better management of church activities and events, improving attendance tracking and, ultimately, increasing the quality of the church’s programming.
This information is courtesy of REDYREF, which designs, engineers and manufactures a variety of interactive kiosks, www.redyref.com.
