The Road to Check In

I mentioned in my prior post about our bus ministry that we are in the process of looking at check in systems for our children's ministry. One of our big challenges has been accommodating  our bus ministry as well as our drive in kids.
Recently I presented a plan to our deacon board and answered any questions or concerns they had. For the most part all of the men in that room were on board with my plan and thought that over all we were in need of a system to protect ourselves as well as our children. No final decisions have been made, but I thought I would share my proposed plan with you incase there is anyone out there like me who has been dealing with the same situation of a unique ministry with unusual check in demands.
We are looking to use Planning Center check-in. I like that it is online based and run so we are not locked into one location, it is as mobile as our ministry. With a mobile device and a bluetooth printer we can take check-in wherever we are. This will allow our bus workers to check in each child as they get on the bus. We have gone with a durable sticker printer that is intended for use by those in delivery or transport. It is rechargeable so we do not have to worry about powering it while on the bus, and it is small enough that it can be carried with you easily.
Our back up plan, should the technology decide not to cooperate one Sunday, is to use wristbands of different colors to distinguish between which bus the child rides. For the drive in children there will be a wristband that comes with an attached ticked and matching numbers.
We will have touch screen kiosks located in the may lobby area of our children's wing for drive in families to check in their children. We have decided to go with bar code scanners to help speed up the check in process. We will also have an ipad for use in checking in visiting families. Using the ipad will allow us to be able to pull the visitors out of the way of the families checking in and be able to speak to them and not be interrupted.
As our ministry grows I believe that this check in system will be able to grow with us. I am looking forward to making The Grove a safer place for our children and families. Thankfully we live in a country where we do not fear persecution for our religious beliefs, but we do live in a world full of sinners and I want to try to protect our children as much as we can.

Thankfully Growing at The Grove!

Miss Megan