All Leaders

  • 1.  Attendance

    Posted 10 days ago

    We keep track of attendance at worship services by having people sign the "friendship register," a book in each pew. Our ushers also count the total number people at each service (usually). This is hit or miss as people don't want to sign the book, forget or don't know they should unless the pastor mentions it.

    We use Shepherd Staff attendance module and I've tried using the online feature with a tablet but it's slow to search through the people and add them. Maybe there's a shortcut I don't know about. I haven't researched it more. 

    In talking with friends who attend other churches, It turns out that many churches don't keep track of attendance. 

    Does your church track attendance and if so, how?



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    Virginia Ranisate
    St. Johns Lutheran Church
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  • 2.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 9 days ago
    Good morning. We use the Servant Keeper platform and the usher coubts and enters the information into the iPad. 
    Blessings 
    Kay Barnes 
    Our Savior Orlando 






  • 3.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 9 days ago

    We are a small church.  Our ushers count.



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    Patti Meyers
    Lakes Area Christian Fellowship
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  • 4.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 8 days ago
    We are also a small church and the usher count attendance both in the sanctuary and online.

    Marilyn Hunter
    Light of the Valley
    Elk Grove, ÇA




  • 5.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 9 days ago

    We also use Shepherd's Staff and it's slow!  Our process is pretty much the same as yours.  The only reason I stick with SS is because it automatically generates the LCMS Statistical Report.  Otherwise, it's a pretty antiquated system that would better serve if there was an option for people to record their attendance through a QR code or a tablet.

    I'd love to know if other churches have a better method.



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    Cheryl Schnicker
    St. James Lutheran Church
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  • 6.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 8 days ago

    We are a large church and leverage the ShelbyNext App, but unfortunately folks just don't register with consistency so we still rely on our ushers to count the good old fashioned way.  Even more difficult is capturing online worshippers across the various social media platforms.  While you can get metrics on number of "people watching," you can't ascertain (1) how many people are watching in a household and (2) how long did someone actually watch for.



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    Keith Fatzinger
    Concordia Lutheran Church
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  • 7.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 7 days ago

    We are a medium-large church and record attendance in ShelbyNext. We capture usher counts as well as self-reported attendance from our fellowship registration / friendship pad. The usher counts are used for statistical reporting, and the fellowship registration allows us to see who is/is not engaged and who is visiting. Online attendance is also self-reported and recorded. 



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    Teresa Blackley
    Bethlehem Lutheran Church
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  • 8.  RE: Attendance

    Posted 4 days ago

    We average about 200 on a Sunday morning between the two services.  My church shifted over to Planning Center about 4 years ago, and we started using the attendance function during COVID.  There are 1 or 2 people at the "check-in table" in the narthex that record who attended services that day on iPads.  Works fairly well.  Search by last name or first name then select the family which will then allow you to mark a check box to show who from the family is there.  We rarely have a problem with the software.  The problem is usually iPads that aren't charged.  The ushers also count, and there's always a small disparity between the usher's numbers and electronic numbers.  I track the usher numbers to see how our attendance is doing and use those numbers to report congregational statistics.  



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    Jay Moore
    Hope Lutheran Virginia Beach
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