Understanding Child Status: Active, Inactive, and Transferred
Explains what Active, Inactive, and Transferred actually mean on a child's record so your team uses each status correctly.
The three statuses
Every child's record carries a Child Status field with three possible values, Active, Inactive, or Transferred, this single field is what tells your team at a glance whether a child is currently part of the ministry.
Active and Inactive
Active is the default status for a child who's currently attending, Inactive covers a child who's stepped away, whether that's a family that's moved on temporarily or simply stopped attending, without deleting anything from their record.
Transferred means moved onward
Transferred reflects a child who has been promoted or transferred out of Children's Ministry into a Member or Visitor record, it's a distinct status from Inactive because it points to a specific outcome, the child graduated into the wider church rather than just drifting away.
Related Articles
Registering a New Child
Walks through exactly what information Children's Ministry captures when you register a new child, including which fields are optional.
Linking a Guardian to a Child's Record
Covers how to attach a guardian who already has a Member record to a child, including recording the relationship between them.
Adding a Guardian Who Isn't Already a Member
Shows how to attach a guardian's name and phone number for someone who isn't in Sermfy yet, without creating a Member record.
Creating a Children's Ministry Class
Clarifies that a Children's Ministry class is just a Group with a special tag, created through the same Groups feature as any ministry.