“How does Scout know that?”
It’s the question pastors ask us most, and it deserves a plain answer. Scout reads the records your team already keeps. When a steady pattern changes, it says so in a sentence that names what it saw. That’s the whole system, and this page walks through all of it.
Scout gives you three things.
A word next to every name. A sentence when something changes. A short list of people to talk to this week. Everything else in Scout’s intelligence exists to make these three things dependable.
The word
A word next to every name.
Every person carries one plain word: New, Connected, Needs attention, At risk, or Inactive. It stays current as their participation changes, so any list you open already carries the picture.
The sentence
A sentence when something changes.
When a steady rhythm shifts, Scout writes one sentence about it. The sentence names the behavior it saw, so you can weigh it yourself before anyone acts on it.
Marcus has served six months straight and just joined his first group. Worth a conversation this week?
The list
A short list of who to talk to.
Notices and flags gather into two small lists: people worth a look, because something good is happening, and people to check on. Once the conversation happens, the name comes off.
People worth a look
People to check on
So how does it know?
Scout reads what your team already records in the course of a normal week: check-ins, serving confirmations, gifts, group meetings, and staff notes.
Each of those is a small fact with a date on it. Stack up months of them and a person’s rhythm becomes visible: gives at the start of the month, serves second Sundays, group on Tuesdays. When a rhythm like that changes, the change stands out, and Scout says so. Sarah’s profile here is what that looks like: every fact on it came from her own participation, and the sentence at the bottom is just those facts read together.
Still giving every month, but quiet in her group and on the team since Easter. Worth a personal check-in this week.
It only speaks about what it has seen
A rhythm has to exist before Scout can notice it changed. When someone is new, their word is simply New, and Scout waits until it has seen enough to say more.
Every notice shows its work
“Gave eleven of the last twelve months” is a sentence you can check. Scout never asks you to trust a conclusion without the behavior behind it.
Nothing outside your church's records
No social media, no purchased data, nothing from the wider internet. If your team didn't record it, Scout doesn't know it.
No grades on people
You will never see a number next to someone's name. Scout speaks in plain words and keeps the judgment where it belongs, with you.
The sharpest signal is still a person.
Scout notices patterns. Your team notices everything else. Anyone on staff can flag a person from their profile: worth a look when something good is happening, or check on when something feels off. Flags land on the same short lists, right beside what Scout found.
And when a staff note captures a good moment, a first gift, a new step, a milestone, Scout can suggest celebrating it. A person confirms or dismisses every suggestion before it goes anywhere.
One rule holds through all of it: Scout may suggest a celebration. It never decides on its own that someone is struggling. Concern always begins with a person who knows them.
Two taps from any profile. The flag lands on this week’s list with your one-line reason attached.
Tuesday’s note says Lena led worship for the first time. Add her to this week’s celebrations?
Where Scout stops.
- Scout doesn't know who sat in the room on Sunday. Kids' check-in is the one place it sees presence, and only because a parent checked a child in. Everything else it reads is participation your team recorded.
- Scout doesn't text or email anyone on its own. It tells you who to reach, and the reaching stays yours.
- Scout doesn't make pastoral judgments. It reports what it observed in plain terms, like served eight of the last nine weeks, and leaves the conclusion to you.
Come see what Scout notices in your church.
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