Attendance Guide - Event Check-ins, Guests & Children's Ministry

This manual helps ushers, church clerks, children's ministry workers, and ministry leaders use the current Church-Ops attendance tools accurately and safely.

Table of Contents

1. Prepare the Service or Event
2. Record Attendance in the Attendance Module
3. Guest Check-in & Live Roster Review
4. Children's Ministry Check-in & Guardian Security
5. Attendance Reporting & Follow-Through

1. Prepare the Service or Event

Before tracking attendance, make sure the right service or event already exists in Church-Ops.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Create or review the event in the events workspace. Multi-day and recurring programs should be created there first so each occurrence is available for check-in.
2. Open the Attendance module.
3. Use the event selector at the top of the page to choose the service or event you want to check people into.
4. Confirm the date and title are correct before you begin.

Tip The attendance desk works best when the target event is already created before the service starts. Recurring events appear as separate dated occurrences so each service or meeting keeps its own attendance record.

2. Record Attendance in the Attendance Module

The current attendance workspace is built around live member search and event-based check-in.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open Attendance and select the active service or event.
2. Leave the module in Member mode.
3. Start typing the member's name in the search box.
4. Select the correct person from the live results list.
5. Click Check In.
6. Confirm the roster updates with the person's name and check-in time.

Tip The live roster updates on the same screen, so ushers can quickly confirm who has already been checked in.

Offline Desk Option

1. Open Offline Desk before the service while the device still has internet access.
2. Click Refresh offline data so the device stores the latest members and events.
3. During network loss, stay inside the desk and queue member or guest attendance there.
4. After reconnection, click Sync queued work to push the roster updates into Church-Ops.

Important Duplicate member check-ins for the same event are handled safely during sync, so one queued item will not create multiple roster entries for the same person.

3. Guest Check-in & Live Roster Review

Visitors can still be counted even if they do not yet exist in the church directory.

Guest Mode

1. Open the same event inside Attendance.
2. Switch the check-in desk from Member mode to Guest mode.
3. Enter the guest's full name.
4. Click Check In Guest.

Review the Live Roster

1. Watch the roster card on the right side of the page.
2. Confirm whether each check-in was a member or a guest.
3. Use the recent activity list to verify what just happened before service traffic gets heavy.

4. Children's Ministry Check-in & Guardian Security

Children use a separate ministry workspace with stronger safeguards.

Step 1: Register the Child

1. Go to Children Ministry.
2. Click Register Child.
3. Input:
   • Child Name
   • Date of Birth
   • Household
   • Classroom
   • Pickup Notes
   • Allergy or Medical Notes
4. Add one or more approved guardians.
5. Save the child profile.

Step 2: Check the Child In

1. Stay in Children Ministry and click Check In Child.
2. Choose the child profile.
3. Confirm the classroom.
4. Record who dropped the child off and any short handoff note.
5. Save the check-in.

Step 3: Secure Check-out

1. Open the active child check-in record.
2. Click Check Out Child.
3. Verify the pickup code and guardian details before releasing the child.
4. Record the pickup phone or notes if requested by your workflow.

5. Attendance Reporting & Follow-Through

After the service, use the reporting tools to review what happened and decide on any care follow-through.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open Reports > Attendance to review attendance records by event and check-in method.
2. Use Reports > Members when you need to cross-check neighborhoods, member status, or other roster details.
3. If follow-up is needed, create a task or use the relevant pastoral-care workflow instead of relying on an automatic absentee board.

Important Church-Ops can help you see attendance records clearly, but sensitive follow-up decisions should still be reviewed by the appropriate church team.