How to Train Volunteers on Your Church's Kids Check-In Software (Step-by-Step Guide)
A practical guide to training church volunteers on kids check-in software, covering purpose, hands-on practice, real-life scenarios, and ongoing support.
Sunday mornings are beautiful. But let's be honest, they can also be a little bit bananas!
Parents are juggling kids, coffee, diaper bags, and the hope of making it into service before the third worship song. Volunteers are wrangling snack bins, greeting nervous children, and prepping their science-experiment object lesson that somehow connects to the story of Moses. The last thing anyone needs is a chaotic check-in system that relies on paper and clipboards.
That’s where a digital kids ministry check-in system comes in. A digital check-in system can make a world of difference for both volunteers and parents by keeping things organized, efficient, and calm. And your volunteers are the key to making sure your digital check-in system runs smoothly!
Your Kids Check-In Volunteer Training Game Plan
Training your volunteers on your kids check-in software is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure a safe, welcoming, and stress-free experience for families. A well-designed kids check-in volunteer training helps volunteers feel confident, allowing them to focus their attention on hospitality and connection.
Whether your crew includes tech-savvy teens, sweet grandmas, or that one guy who still calls every app “The Google,” this step-by-step guide will help make sure they’re ready to shine.
What You’ll Learn in This Guide:
- Why kids check-in training is a ministry moment
- How to start small with a core team
- Ways to make training sessions fun and hands-on
- How to walk volunteers through real-life Sunday situations
- What kind of reference materials your team will actually use
- How Tithely’s tools make this easier for everyone involved
Why Kids Check-In Training Matters for Your Ministry
Check-in is more than logistics—it’s their first chance to minister to parents and kids with a smile.
Before you hand out instructions or logins, take time to anchor your team in the purpose behind check-in. It’s easy to reduce the process to logistics like stickers, screens, and streamlined flow. But at its heart, the check-in experience is about people.
Explain to your team that they are often the very first faces a parent sees when they walk through your church doors. A warm smile and a confident process can turn what could be a stressful moment into one of peace and reassurance. Share a story about a nervous family who felt instantly at ease after a smooth drop-off, or a time when a child’s allergy note being flagged made all the difference.
Framing the training with a ministry mindset helps volunteers see that what they’re doing is pastoral and important.
Train a Core Team First
Choose 2–3 “champions” who can mentor others and set the culture for smooth, confident check-ins.
You don’t have to train everyone at once. In fact, starting with a small, enthusiastic group is one of the best ways to roll out a new process. Identify two or three “check-in champions” – volunteers or staff who are dependable, curious, and comfortable learning new systems. Train them thoroughly so they can serve as mentors and on-site troubleshooters during future Sundays.
This initial group will be your foundation. When other volunteers see them stepping in confidently and offering support, it sets the tone for a positive, can-do culture around the church check-in station.
Bonus: These core team members can help tailor your training process by offering early feedback on what’s intuitive, what’s confusing, and what needs to be adjusted for different volunteer types.
Host a Hands-On (and Actually Fun) Training Event
Use your real check-in station for practice and roleplay Sunday scenarios so volunteers gain muscle memory.
Don’t just call it a “training”. Make it a gathering. Your volunteers are giving their time and energy to serve families, so create an environment that shows you value them!
Set up your kids check-in volunteer training space like you would a hospitality room. Offer snacks, coffee, and something that feels fun but still on-mission. Whether that’s charcuterie, cookies and milk “for grown-ups,” or donuts with printed name tags, a little care goes a long way. Play worship music in the background and open with a short encouragement or team prayer.
Then, dive into the hands-on portion of the training. Use your actual check-in setup – Tithely’s kiosk station – and let volunteers practice with real devices. Walk them through launching the check-in screen, adding a new family, printing name tags, flagging allergies, and completing a secure check-out. Let them ask questions as they go, and encourage mistakes! This is the time to learn.
Consider running a “mock Sunday” where volunteers simulate drop-off with a few made-up families. Assign roles, add a time limit, and walk through the full check-in and pick-up experience. It adds a little fun and creates muscle memory before the real thing.
Prepare Them for Real-Life Scenarios
Roleplay tricky situations like forgotten QR codes or unexpected pick-ups so volunteers feel ready for anything.
Technology is predictable. People? Not so much. That’s why it’s important to train for real-life scenarios your volunteers might encounter on any given Sunday. Maybe a parent forgot their phone and can’t pull up their QR code. Maybe a new family walks in right before the service starts, with no prior profile in the system. Maybe a toddler has a meltdown mid-check-in, or someone unexpected shows up asking to pick up a child.
Walk your volunteers through each of these situations out loud. Ask them what they would do, and then share your best-practice response. Remind them that the goal is always to keep kids safe, parents informed, and everyone calm.
Roleplaying may feel silly at first, but it builds confidence faster than any instruction manual can. And when your volunteers know what to do in the messy moments, they’ll be more effective and less overwhelmed.
Give Them a Reference Guide They’ll Actually Use
Keep guides simple, visual, and accessible—laminate a quick checklist at the check-in desk.
Even the best-trained volunteers need reminders. After your kids check-in volunteer training, send each person home with a clear, visual quick-start guide. This could be a PDF emailed to them or a printed sheet in a volunteer binder. It’s also a good idea to tape a laminated copy discreetly near the church check-in station.
Keep it simple: step-by-step instructions, screenshots if possible, a list of quick fixes, and contact info for tech support or leadership on call. You might also include a short “Sunday checklist” for things like logging in early, restocking name tags, and checking the printer.
Some churches even create a short video tutorial walking through the full check-in process! Screen recording can be a simple and effective way to do this.
Reinforce, Encourage, and Adjust
Celebrate wins, ask for feedback, and tweak the process often to keep volunteers confident and supported.
Kids check-in volunteer training goes beyond a one-and-done event. Check in with your team regularly to see how things are going. After your first few Sundays with the new system, host a quick debrief! It can be as simple as a 10-minute chat after service or a short email asking for feedback.
Ask what felt clear, what felt clunky, and what could be improved. Not every challenge will be solved in a single weekend, and that’s okay. What matters most is that your volunteers feel supported as they serve.
And don’t forget to celebrate your volunteers! When a volunteer catches a safety issue, calms a stressed-out parent, or rolls with a technical glitch like a pro, tell them. Brag on them. Speak life over their service. A little affirmation goes a long way.
How Tithely Makes It Easy
Lean on Tithely’s built-in features like allergy alerts, guardian verification, and mobile check-in to simplify Sundays.
Tithely’s kids check-in software is built with volunteers in mind. It’s simple to set up, easy to use, and integrates seamlessly with your church’s larger management system. With mobile check-in, printed name tags, allergy alerts, and guardian verification all in one place, your team will feel equipped to serve families with excellence.
From first-time guests to weekly regulars, Tithely helps your volunteers focus on connecting with kids and parents in meaningful ways.
Make a Pastoral Investment in Your Kids Ministry Team
Training your team on your kids check-in software is a pastoral investment. When your volunteers feel prepared and confident, they become more than helpers. They become ministry leaders who help shape a parent’s experience from the very first moment they walk in.
Make the kids check-in volunteer training engaging. Keep the support ongoing. Remind your team that their presence matters.
Want to make your check-in process easier to train, easier to run, and easier to trust? Schedule a free demo of Tithely’s Kids Check-In System today, and discover tools that empower your team and serve your congregation!
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Susanna is a theological content writer with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is passionate about ministry, running, and exploring new cultures through international travel. In her free time, you’ll find her surfing, obsessing over the Olympics, or enjoying the San Diego sunshine!
Sunday mornings are beautiful. But let's be honest, they can also be a little bit bananas!
Parents are juggling kids, coffee, diaper bags, and the hope of making it into service before the third worship song. Volunteers are wrangling snack bins, greeting nervous children, and prepping their science-experiment object lesson that somehow connects to the story of Moses. The last thing anyone needs is a chaotic check-in system that relies on paper and clipboards.
That’s where a digital kids ministry check-in system comes in. A digital check-in system can make a world of difference for both volunteers and parents by keeping things organized, efficient, and calm. And your volunteers are the key to making sure your digital check-in system runs smoothly!
Your Kids Check-In Volunteer Training Game Plan
Training your volunteers on your kids check-in software is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure a safe, welcoming, and stress-free experience for families. A well-designed kids check-in volunteer training helps volunteers feel confident, allowing them to focus their attention on hospitality and connection.
Whether your crew includes tech-savvy teens, sweet grandmas, or that one guy who still calls every app “The Google,” this step-by-step guide will help make sure they’re ready to shine.
What You’ll Learn in This Guide:
- Why kids check-in training is a ministry moment
- How to start small with a core team
- Ways to make training sessions fun and hands-on
- How to walk volunteers through real-life Sunday situations
- What kind of reference materials your team will actually use
- How Tithely’s tools make this easier for everyone involved
Why Kids Check-In Training Matters for Your Ministry
Check-in is more than logistics—it’s their first chance to minister to parents and kids with a smile.
Before you hand out instructions or logins, take time to anchor your team in the purpose behind check-in. It’s easy to reduce the process to logistics like stickers, screens, and streamlined flow. But at its heart, the check-in experience is about people.
Explain to your team that they are often the very first faces a parent sees when they walk through your church doors. A warm smile and a confident process can turn what could be a stressful moment into one of peace and reassurance. Share a story about a nervous family who felt instantly at ease after a smooth drop-off, or a time when a child’s allergy note being flagged made all the difference.
Framing the training with a ministry mindset helps volunteers see that what they’re doing is pastoral and important.
Train a Core Team First
Choose 2–3 “champions” who can mentor others and set the culture for smooth, confident check-ins.
You don’t have to train everyone at once. In fact, starting with a small, enthusiastic group is one of the best ways to roll out a new process. Identify two or three “check-in champions” – volunteers or staff who are dependable, curious, and comfortable learning new systems. Train them thoroughly so they can serve as mentors and on-site troubleshooters during future Sundays.
This initial group will be your foundation. When other volunteers see them stepping in confidently and offering support, it sets the tone for a positive, can-do culture around the church check-in station.
Bonus: These core team members can help tailor your training process by offering early feedback on what’s intuitive, what’s confusing, and what needs to be adjusted for different volunteer types.
Host a Hands-On (and Actually Fun) Training Event
Use your real check-in station for practice and roleplay Sunday scenarios so volunteers gain muscle memory.
Don’t just call it a “training”. Make it a gathering. Your volunteers are giving their time and energy to serve families, so create an environment that shows you value them!
Set up your kids check-in volunteer training space like you would a hospitality room. Offer snacks, coffee, and something that feels fun but still on-mission. Whether that’s charcuterie, cookies and milk “for grown-ups,” or donuts with printed name tags, a little care goes a long way. Play worship music in the background and open with a short encouragement or team prayer.
Then, dive into the hands-on portion of the training. Use your actual check-in setup – Tithely’s kiosk station – and let volunteers practice with real devices. Walk them through launching the check-in screen, adding a new family, printing name tags, flagging allergies, and completing a secure check-out. Let them ask questions as they go, and encourage mistakes! This is the time to learn.
Consider running a “mock Sunday” where volunteers simulate drop-off with a few made-up families. Assign roles, add a time limit, and walk through the full check-in and pick-up experience. It adds a little fun and creates muscle memory before the real thing.
Prepare Them for Real-Life Scenarios
Roleplay tricky situations like forgotten QR codes or unexpected pick-ups so volunteers feel ready for anything.
Technology is predictable. People? Not so much. That’s why it’s important to train for real-life scenarios your volunteers might encounter on any given Sunday. Maybe a parent forgot their phone and can’t pull up their QR code. Maybe a new family walks in right before the service starts, with no prior profile in the system. Maybe a toddler has a meltdown mid-check-in, or someone unexpected shows up asking to pick up a child.
Walk your volunteers through each of these situations out loud. Ask them what they would do, and then share your best-practice response. Remind them that the goal is always to keep kids safe, parents informed, and everyone calm.
Roleplaying may feel silly at first, but it builds confidence faster than any instruction manual can. And when your volunteers know what to do in the messy moments, they’ll be more effective and less overwhelmed.
Give Them a Reference Guide They’ll Actually Use
Keep guides simple, visual, and accessible—laminate a quick checklist at the check-in desk.
Even the best-trained volunteers need reminders. After your kids check-in volunteer training, send each person home with a clear, visual quick-start guide. This could be a PDF emailed to them or a printed sheet in a volunteer binder. It’s also a good idea to tape a laminated copy discreetly near the church check-in station.
Keep it simple: step-by-step instructions, screenshots if possible, a list of quick fixes, and contact info for tech support or leadership on call. You might also include a short “Sunday checklist” for things like logging in early, restocking name tags, and checking the printer.
Some churches even create a short video tutorial walking through the full check-in process! Screen recording can be a simple and effective way to do this.
Reinforce, Encourage, and Adjust
Celebrate wins, ask for feedback, and tweak the process often to keep volunteers confident and supported.
Kids check-in volunteer training goes beyond a one-and-done event. Check in with your team regularly to see how things are going. After your first few Sundays with the new system, host a quick debrief! It can be as simple as a 10-minute chat after service or a short email asking for feedback.
Ask what felt clear, what felt clunky, and what could be improved. Not every challenge will be solved in a single weekend, and that’s okay. What matters most is that your volunteers feel supported as they serve.
And don’t forget to celebrate your volunteers! When a volunteer catches a safety issue, calms a stressed-out parent, or rolls with a technical glitch like a pro, tell them. Brag on them. Speak life over their service. A little affirmation goes a long way.
How Tithely Makes It Easy
Lean on Tithely’s built-in features like allergy alerts, guardian verification, and mobile check-in to simplify Sundays.
Tithely’s kids check-in software is built with volunteers in mind. It’s simple to set up, easy to use, and integrates seamlessly with your church’s larger management system. With mobile check-in, printed name tags, allergy alerts, and guardian verification all in one place, your team will feel equipped to serve families with excellence.
From first-time guests to weekly regulars, Tithely helps your volunteers focus on connecting with kids and parents in meaningful ways.
Make a Pastoral Investment in Your Kids Ministry Team
Training your team on your kids check-in software is a pastoral investment. When your volunteers feel prepared and confident, they become more than helpers. They become ministry leaders who help shape a parent’s experience from the very first moment they walk in.
Make the kids check-in volunteer training engaging. Keep the support ongoing. Remind your team that their presence matters.
Want to make your check-in process easier to train, easier to run, and easier to trust? Schedule a free demo of Tithely’s Kids Check-In System today, and discover tools that empower your team and serve your congregation!
podcast transcript
Susanna is a theological content writer with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is passionate about ministry, running, and exploring new cultures through international travel. In her free time, you’ll find her surfing, obsessing over the Olympics, or enjoying the San Diego sunshine!
Sunday mornings are beautiful. But let's be honest, they can also be a little bit bananas!
Parents are juggling kids, coffee, diaper bags, and the hope of making it into service before the third worship song. Volunteers are wrangling snack bins, greeting nervous children, and prepping their science-experiment object lesson that somehow connects to the story of Moses. The last thing anyone needs is a chaotic check-in system that relies on paper and clipboards.
That’s where a digital kids ministry check-in system comes in. A digital check-in system can make a world of difference for both volunteers and parents by keeping things organized, efficient, and calm. And your volunteers are the key to making sure your digital check-in system runs smoothly!
Your Kids Check-In Volunteer Training Game Plan
Training your volunteers on your kids check-in software is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure a safe, welcoming, and stress-free experience for families. A well-designed kids check-in volunteer training helps volunteers feel confident, allowing them to focus their attention on hospitality and connection.
Whether your crew includes tech-savvy teens, sweet grandmas, or that one guy who still calls every app “The Google,” this step-by-step guide will help make sure they’re ready to shine.
What You’ll Learn in This Guide:
- Why kids check-in training is a ministry moment
- How to start small with a core team
- Ways to make training sessions fun and hands-on
- How to walk volunteers through real-life Sunday situations
- What kind of reference materials your team will actually use
- How Tithely’s tools make this easier for everyone involved
Why Kids Check-In Training Matters for Your Ministry
Check-in is more than logistics—it’s their first chance to minister to parents and kids with a smile.
Before you hand out instructions or logins, take time to anchor your team in the purpose behind check-in. It’s easy to reduce the process to logistics like stickers, screens, and streamlined flow. But at its heart, the check-in experience is about people.
Explain to your team that they are often the very first faces a parent sees when they walk through your church doors. A warm smile and a confident process can turn what could be a stressful moment into one of peace and reassurance. Share a story about a nervous family who felt instantly at ease after a smooth drop-off, or a time when a child’s allergy note being flagged made all the difference.
Framing the training with a ministry mindset helps volunteers see that what they’re doing is pastoral and important.
Train a Core Team First
Choose 2–3 “champions” who can mentor others and set the culture for smooth, confident check-ins.
You don’t have to train everyone at once. In fact, starting with a small, enthusiastic group is one of the best ways to roll out a new process. Identify two or three “check-in champions” – volunteers or staff who are dependable, curious, and comfortable learning new systems. Train them thoroughly so they can serve as mentors and on-site troubleshooters during future Sundays.
This initial group will be your foundation. When other volunteers see them stepping in confidently and offering support, it sets the tone for a positive, can-do culture around the church check-in station.
Bonus: These core team members can help tailor your training process by offering early feedback on what’s intuitive, what’s confusing, and what needs to be adjusted for different volunteer types.
Host a Hands-On (and Actually Fun) Training Event
Use your real check-in station for practice and roleplay Sunday scenarios so volunteers gain muscle memory.
Don’t just call it a “training”. Make it a gathering. Your volunteers are giving their time and energy to serve families, so create an environment that shows you value them!
Set up your kids check-in volunteer training space like you would a hospitality room. Offer snacks, coffee, and something that feels fun but still on-mission. Whether that’s charcuterie, cookies and milk “for grown-ups,” or donuts with printed name tags, a little care goes a long way. Play worship music in the background and open with a short encouragement or team prayer.
Then, dive into the hands-on portion of the training. Use your actual check-in setup – Tithely’s kiosk station – and let volunteers practice with real devices. Walk them through launching the check-in screen, adding a new family, printing name tags, flagging allergies, and completing a secure check-out. Let them ask questions as they go, and encourage mistakes! This is the time to learn.
Consider running a “mock Sunday” where volunteers simulate drop-off with a few made-up families. Assign roles, add a time limit, and walk through the full check-in and pick-up experience. It adds a little fun and creates muscle memory before the real thing.
Prepare Them for Real-Life Scenarios
Roleplay tricky situations like forgotten QR codes or unexpected pick-ups so volunteers feel ready for anything.
Technology is predictable. People? Not so much. That’s why it’s important to train for real-life scenarios your volunteers might encounter on any given Sunday. Maybe a parent forgot their phone and can’t pull up their QR code. Maybe a new family walks in right before the service starts, with no prior profile in the system. Maybe a toddler has a meltdown mid-check-in, or someone unexpected shows up asking to pick up a child.
Walk your volunteers through each of these situations out loud. Ask them what they would do, and then share your best-practice response. Remind them that the goal is always to keep kids safe, parents informed, and everyone calm.
Roleplaying may feel silly at first, but it builds confidence faster than any instruction manual can. And when your volunteers know what to do in the messy moments, they’ll be more effective and less overwhelmed.
Give Them a Reference Guide They’ll Actually Use
Keep guides simple, visual, and accessible—laminate a quick checklist at the check-in desk.
Even the best-trained volunteers need reminders. After your kids check-in volunteer training, send each person home with a clear, visual quick-start guide. This could be a PDF emailed to them or a printed sheet in a volunteer binder. It’s also a good idea to tape a laminated copy discreetly near the church check-in station.
Keep it simple: step-by-step instructions, screenshots if possible, a list of quick fixes, and contact info for tech support or leadership on call. You might also include a short “Sunday checklist” for things like logging in early, restocking name tags, and checking the printer.
Some churches even create a short video tutorial walking through the full check-in process! Screen recording can be a simple and effective way to do this.
Reinforce, Encourage, and Adjust
Celebrate wins, ask for feedback, and tweak the process often to keep volunteers confident and supported.
Kids check-in volunteer training goes beyond a one-and-done event. Check in with your team regularly to see how things are going. After your first few Sundays with the new system, host a quick debrief! It can be as simple as a 10-minute chat after service or a short email asking for feedback.
Ask what felt clear, what felt clunky, and what could be improved. Not every challenge will be solved in a single weekend, and that’s okay. What matters most is that your volunteers feel supported as they serve.
And don’t forget to celebrate your volunteers! When a volunteer catches a safety issue, calms a stressed-out parent, or rolls with a technical glitch like a pro, tell them. Brag on them. Speak life over their service. A little affirmation goes a long way.
How Tithely Makes It Easy
Lean on Tithely’s built-in features like allergy alerts, guardian verification, and mobile check-in to simplify Sundays.
Tithely’s kids check-in software is built with volunteers in mind. It’s simple to set up, easy to use, and integrates seamlessly with your church’s larger management system. With mobile check-in, printed name tags, allergy alerts, and guardian verification all in one place, your team will feel equipped to serve families with excellence.
From first-time guests to weekly regulars, Tithely helps your volunteers focus on connecting with kids and parents in meaningful ways.
Make a Pastoral Investment in Your Kids Ministry Team
Training your team on your kids check-in software is a pastoral investment. When your volunteers feel prepared and confident, they become more than helpers. They become ministry leaders who help shape a parent’s experience from the very first moment they walk in.
Make the kids check-in volunteer training engaging. Keep the support ongoing. Remind your team that their presence matters.
Want to make your check-in process easier to train, easier to run, and easier to trust? Schedule a free demo of Tithely’s Kids Check-In System today, and discover tools that empower your team and serve your congregation!
VIDEO transcript
Sunday mornings are beautiful. But let's be honest, they can also be a little bit bananas!
Parents are juggling kids, coffee, diaper bags, and the hope of making it into service before the third worship song. Volunteers are wrangling snack bins, greeting nervous children, and prepping their science-experiment object lesson that somehow connects to the story of Moses. The last thing anyone needs is a chaotic check-in system that relies on paper and clipboards.
That’s where a digital kids ministry check-in system comes in. A digital check-in system can make a world of difference for both volunteers and parents by keeping things organized, efficient, and calm. And your volunteers are the key to making sure your digital check-in system runs smoothly!
Your Kids Check-In Volunteer Training Game Plan
Training your volunteers on your kids check-in software is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure a safe, welcoming, and stress-free experience for families. A well-designed kids check-in volunteer training helps volunteers feel confident, allowing them to focus their attention on hospitality and connection.
Whether your crew includes tech-savvy teens, sweet grandmas, or that one guy who still calls every app “The Google,” this step-by-step guide will help make sure they’re ready to shine.
What You’ll Learn in This Guide:
- Why kids check-in training is a ministry moment
- How to start small with a core team
- Ways to make training sessions fun and hands-on
- How to walk volunteers through real-life Sunday situations
- What kind of reference materials your team will actually use
- How Tithely’s tools make this easier for everyone involved
Why Kids Check-In Training Matters for Your Ministry
Check-in is more than logistics—it’s their first chance to minister to parents and kids with a smile.
Before you hand out instructions or logins, take time to anchor your team in the purpose behind check-in. It’s easy to reduce the process to logistics like stickers, screens, and streamlined flow. But at its heart, the check-in experience is about people.
Explain to your team that they are often the very first faces a parent sees when they walk through your church doors. A warm smile and a confident process can turn what could be a stressful moment into one of peace and reassurance. Share a story about a nervous family who felt instantly at ease after a smooth drop-off, or a time when a child’s allergy note being flagged made all the difference.
Framing the training with a ministry mindset helps volunteers see that what they’re doing is pastoral and important.
Train a Core Team First
Choose 2–3 “champions” who can mentor others and set the culture for smooth, confident check-ins.
You don’t have to train everyone at once. In fact, starting with a small, enthusiastic group is one of the best ways to roll out a new process. Identify two or three “check-in champions” – volunteers or staff who are dependable, curious, and comfortable learning new systems. Train them thoroughly so they can serve as mentors and on-site troubleshooters during future Sundays.
This initial group will be your foundation. When other volunteers see them stepping in confidently and offering support, it sets the tone for a positive, can-do culture around the church check-in station.
Bonus: These core team members can help tailor your training process by offering early feedback on what’s intuitive, what’s confusing, and what needs to be adjusted for different volunteer types.
Host a Hands-On (and Actually Fun) Training Event
Use your real check-in station for practice and roleplay Sunday scenarios so volunteers gain muscle memory.
Don’t just call it a “training”. Make it a gathering. Your volunteers are giving their time and energy to serve families, so create an environment that shows you value them!
Set up your kids check-in volunteer training space like you would a hospitality room. Offer snacks, coffee, and something that feels fun but still on-mission. Whether that’s charcuterie, cookies and milk “for grown-ups,” or donuts with printed name tags, a little care goes a long way. Play worship music in the background and open with a short encouragement or team prayer.
Then, dive into the hands-on portion of the training. Use your actual check-in setup – Tithely’s kiosk station – and let volunteers practice with real devices. Walk them through launching the check-in screen, adding a new family, printing name tags, flagging allergies, and completing a secure check-out. Let them ask questions as they go, and encourage mistakes! This is the time to learn.
Consider running a “mock Sunday” where volunteers simulate drop-off with a few made-up families. Assign roles, add a time limit, and walk through the full check-in and pick-up experience. It adds a little fun and creates muscle memory before the real thing.
Prepare Them for Real-Life Scenarios
Roleplay tricky situations like forgotten QR codes or unexpected pick-ups so volunteers feel ready for anything.
Technology is predictable. People? Not so much. That’s why it’s important to train for real-life scenarios your volunteers might encounter on any given Sunday. Maybe a parent forgot their phone and can’t pull up their QR code. Maybe a new family walks in right before the service starts, with no prior profile in the system. Maybe a toddler has a meltdown mid-check-in, or someone unexpected shows up asking to pick up a child.
Walk your volunteers through each of these situations out loud. Ask them what they would do, and then share your best-practice response. Remind them that the goal is always to keep kids safe, parents informed, and everyone calm.
Roleplaying may feel silly at first, but it builds confidence faster than any instruction manual can. And when your volunteers know what to do in the messy moments, they’ll be more effective and less overwhelmed.
Give Them a Reference Guide They’ll Actually Use
Keep guides simple, visual, and accessible—laminate a quick checklist at the check-in desk.
Even the best-trained volunteers need reminders. After your kids check-in volunteer training, send each person home with a clear, visual quick-start guide. This could be a PDF emailed to them or a printed sheet in a volunteer binder. It’s also a good idea to tape a laminated copy discreetly near the church check-in station.
Keep it simple: step-by-step instructions, screenshots if possible, a list of quick fixes, and contact info for tech support or leadership on call. You might also include a short “Sunday checklist” for things like logging in early, restocking name tags, and checking the printer.
Some churches even create a short video tutorial walking through the full check-in process! Screen recording can be a simple and effective way to do this.
Reinforce, Encourage, and Adjust
Celebrate wins, ask for feedback, and tweak the process often to keep volunteers confident and supported.
Kids check-in volunteer training goes beyond a one-and-done event. Check in with your team regularly to see how things are going. After your first few Sundays with the new system, host a quick debrief! It can be as simple as a 10-minute chat after service or a short email asking for feedback.
Ask what felt clear, what felt clunky, and what could be improved. Not every challenge will be solved in a single weekend, and that’s okay. What matters most is that your volunteers feel supported as they serve.
And don’t forget to celebrate your volunteers! When a volunteer catches a safety issue, calms a stressed-out parent, or rolls with a technical glitch like a pro, tell them. Brag on them. Speak life over their service. A little affirmation goes a long way.
How Tithely Makes It Easy
Lean on Tithely’s built-in features like allergy alerts, guardian verification, and mobile check-in to simplify Sundays.
Tithely’s kids check-in software is built with volunteers in mind. It’s simple to set up, easy to use, and integrates seamlessly with your church’s larger management system. With mobile check-in, printed name tags, allergy alerts, and guardian verification all in one place, your team will feel equipped to serve families with excellence.
From first-time guests to weekly regulars, Tithely helps your volunteers focus on connecting with kids and parents in meaningful ways.
Make a Pastoral Investment in Your Kids Ministry Team
Training your team on your kids check-in software is a pastoral investment. When your volunteers feel prepared and confident, they become more than helpers. They become ministry leaders who help shape a parent’s experience from the very first moment they walk in.
Make the kids check-in volunteer training engaging. Keep the support ongoing. Remind your team that their presence matters.
Want to make your check-in process easier to train, easier to run, and easier to trust? Schedule a free demo of Tithely’s Kids Check-In System today, and discover tools that empower your team and serve your congregation!
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Susanna is a theological content writer with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is passionate about ministry, running, and exploring new cultures through international travel. In her free time, you’ll find her surfing, obsessing over the Olympics, or enjoying the San Diego sunshine!
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