How to Differentiate Between In-Person and Online Services at the Same Time
What is the best way to track attendance for in-person and online services happening simultaneously?
Options for Tracking Simultaneous Services
Create an Online Campus
Some churches create a separate campus specifically for their online service. This keeps online and in-person data fully separate, which can simplify reporting if you want a clear distinction.
Use One Campus with Multiple Categories
Many churches prefer to keep a single campus and use Categories to distinguish attendance types. For example, within one 9:15 am service time, set up categories like:
Attendance – In Person
Attendance – Online
This method allows you to see all data together while still differentiating attendance sources.
Which Method Is Best?
Most churches choose option 2, as it’s easier to manage and view all attendance data together.
Creating a separate online campus (option 1) also works well if you want a completely separate data set.
How should I track Sunday School attendance?
If Sunday School happens weekly, add it as a separate Service Time (e.g., 8:00 am).
Events are best reserved for special, one-time or short-term gatherings (e.g., Easter services, prayer nights).
Can Categories be restricted to only show under certain Service Times?
Currently, all Categories appear under all Service Times.
Does “Attendance” Include Kids?
In Church Metrics, Attendance is defined by you — it can include kids, adults, or both.
How Most Churches Set It Up
Many churches use Parent Categories to organize attendance:
Attendance (Parent Category) – the total count for all attendees.
Adults (Subcategory)
Kids (Subcategory)
Online (Subcategory)
With this setup:
The Parent Category shows the total (adults + kids + online).
Each Subcategory tracks specific groups individually.
Tip:
If you only have one category called “Attendance” and you count both adults and kids together, that’s what will be reported. If you want to see the breakdown, you’ll need to set up separate subcategories.
Creating a Parent Category with a Single Category
Parent Categories are often used to group multiple related categories, but they can also be set up with just one category. This can be helpful if you want to apply parent-level reporting features, such as calculating averages, without grouping multiple metrics together.
Can I create sub-parent categories (nested categories)?
Yes! Church Metrics supports up to three levels of categories:
Parent Category
Sub-Parent Category
Category
To create sub-parent categories, simply create the category and then drag it to the desired position under the main category in the category settings.
Nesting Parent Categories
Here’s how to set it up:
Create your top-level Parent Category
Example: Attendance
Create your sub-parent category
Example: Kids
Nest the sub-parent under the top-level parent
Drag Kids under Attendance in your Categories list.
Add your individual categories
Create the specific metrics you want to track (e.g., Nursery, Preschool, Elementary).
Assign each one to the Kids parent category.
This structure allows all Kids attendance numbers to roll up into the overall Attendance total, while still keeping detailed breakdowns for each kids’ area.
Example:
Attendance (Parent Category)
├── Auditorium (Parent Category)
│ ├── First Service
│ └── Second Service
└── Kids (Parent Category)
├── Nursery
├── Preschool
└── Elementary
Can I Select Which Categories Are Shown?
Categories are key to how Church Metrics operates
Church Metrics categories are visible across all campuses and service times. They cannot be hidden. This is by design: categories are key to how charts and reports run.
However, it is possible for a user to hide a category on their Input screen (web only). See here for more details: Input Visibility - Hide / Unhide Categories