My name is Evelyn. I have been a welcome team volunteer at our church since 2014. Under five pastors, across two church buildings, and through more Christmas programs than I can count. I know this job.
When our administrator brought me a tablet last year and said "we're entering visitors here now," I was polite about it. Privately, I thought it was nonsense. I had my clipboard, my pen, my carbon-copy cards. The system worked.
The first Sunday was hard
I missed the feel of paper. I kept tapping the wrong field. I was slow, and there were three families waiting while I figured out how to type a Spanish surname with a tilde. I came home tired and a little embarrassed.
But here is what changed my mind the next week.
A visitor came back and I remembered her
She was a young mother who had visited with her two kids on Saturday night. When she walked in the following Sunday, I pulled up the member list on the tablet, typed her last name, and there she was. Her kids' names. The fact that she had marked "single parent" in the visitor notes. The pastor's name who had been assigned to follow up with her.
I was able to say, "Hello Cristina, welcome back. How are Miguel and Sofia doing?" She actually teared up. She said nobody had remembered her name in a church since her husband's accident.
That is what the tablet is for
It is not about efficiency. I do not care about efficiency. I care about people feeling seen. The tablet lets me be the welcoming face they remember, even when there are 200 visitors a year and my memory is not what it was.
I still have a clipboard nearby, just in case. But I use the tablet now. Every Sunday. Because people matter more than my preferences.
Disclaimer: This story is fictional and is shared for illustrative purposes only. The churches, people, events, quotes, and statistics described are not real. It was written to showcase features and workflows available in StewardTrack.
