Pro/File Sings at the Tabernacle

From Bill Hall, Laurel, MD: One of my duties as Minister of Music for the Tabernacle is to compile a schedule of all volunteer help during our Sunday morning services. This involves seven different areas of ministry and as many as ten individuals per area. Conflicts of scheduling this large group of people led us to begin coordinating all seven areas.

In the past, I had to gather information from leaders in the different areas and type it on a monthly schedule. Since some of the people continue in their areas from month to month, re-typing gets old real soon. This is where Pro/File and my printer come in handy.

I formatted the files like this:

• *4 NOV 84-USHER, etc.

for each date and ministry. Then I can call by date or ministry. Below each file name are the list of people who work in those areas. By calling a name I can get the date of service and ministry involved. If two ministries show up on the same date, I know we have a conflict.

In addition, I placed a search number at the end of each file so that I can print out an ordered search to put the whole month in date/ministry arrangement. My Timex printer then gives me a uniformly spaced listing which can be pasted together and run on our copier so every ministry head can have a copy. This is a great improvement over typing each month.