8 Best Practices for Welcoming Church Guests this Easter

March 12, 20192 Comments

Easter is the highest attended service of the year, which means more people are likely to visit your church on this day than any other.

Here are the best ways to engage and connect with your guests:

The Front Door – Your church website is usually a person’s first point of contact. Scan your site and make sure it’s guest friendly. Check to see that worship times, directions, and what to expect at your church are easy to find. Go here for how to make your website guest-friendly.
Parking Ministry – Hospitality begins in the parking lot and while most people don’t need help finding a place to park, we know from a decade of research that our mystery guests rate their overall experience higher in churches with parking ministries.
More Hands on Deck – Increase your capacity for hospitality by adding more volunteers to welcome new faces before and AFTER the service to help them get where they need to go.
Seating – Plan for overflow and extra seating. In the weeks leading up to Easter, encourage regulars to make room for guests by attending an earlier service since guests are more likely to attend a later service on their first visit.
Kids’ Ministry – Many of those new faces you see will be families who won’t know what you offer for kids or where they should take them. That means your Kids’ Ministry needs to ramp up as well to help check kids in, answer questions, and guide families to their destinations.
Information – Mention during the service where guests can go to get more information about the church and how to get plugged in. When a guest has the information needed to take next steps, they’re more likely to take them.
Tell them what’s coming next week – Follow Easter up with a seeker friendly message series that covers relevant topics. Highlight this information at services so guests learn about it. The goal in this is to generate interest while they are with you and get them to return.
Follow-up – Too many guests in our research report leaving their contact information with the church and never hearing from them. We cringe every time we read about it. Nothing says you’re not interested more than asking for contact information and never contacting them. The key to good follow-up is to be intentional about it and don’t wait. Go here for when and how to follow up.

Easter is important, but making people feel welcome at every service is also important and it starts the moment they call, visit your website, or pull into your parking lot. If you’re ready to create a hospitable culture and an experience that leaves people feeling welcome, accepted, and wanting to return, we have the tools to help you.

Tales Of An “Unchurched” Mystery Guest

August 28, 2018August 28, 2018Leave a comment

man alone in church The guest reveals… “This is the first church I have ever been to where I felt weird about going to a new church.”

It is not uncommon for a church to see a new face on Sunday or for some churches many new faces. Do you ever wonder why some people do or don’t return for a second or third visit? We did too. Through our Mystery Guest Program we find people that aren’t regularly attending church and send them to church so that we can learn from their experiences. Each month we feature a unique guest experience.

Here are the first impressions of a 30-yr. old “unchurched” female who attended church services at a church in Louisiana.

Is the church well-known in the area?

Based on the number of people I stopped and asked it’s not very well known. Two out of the three people asked didn’t know whether it was downtown or on the left or the right side of the road.

Could you find your way?

The main sign for the church was on the front lawn and they had a banner out front, as well, informing about the contemporary service. I saw a sign that said fellowship but there were no specifics as to where church parking was, or which door would take me exactly where I needed to go. The windows were all tinted, so I couldn’t see inside to find where the correct place was I needed to go. It would have made it easier and better to navigate if all main locations were on one sign and arrows directing the way.

The first impression:

This is the first church I’ve ever been to where I felt weird about going to a new church. The church atmosphere starting from the outside wasn’t very inviting. There wasn’t anyone standing at the door, or any door for that matter, to greet anyone. It almost looked like a school on the inside. The janitor was the only person I saw walking through the halls and even he looked at me like I wasn’t supposed to be there. I had to ask him where the fellowship hall was located. I walked into the fellowship hall and there was no one at the door like at other churches handing out bulletins, or even greeting guests. There were boxes of donuts as soon as you walk through the doors of the fellowship hall. I looked around for a table with bulletins or some sort of information and all I found was a table in the back with coloring pages for children and a paper with a list of events for the month and the times of service through the week, etc. I didn’t have anyone come up to me to greet me or speak to me.

Finding a seat:

There was plenty of good seating where I wanted to sit, and the seats were comfortable. The small number of people attending though made me feel like the church isn’t growing. I simply took a seat in the back after picking up the papers I did find. I didn’t feel very comfortable at all like I think I should in a church. I think they may have a better turn out if there were some type of interaction with the guests.

The music/worship:

I liked the style of worship music played and sung. It was more of today’s contemporary style. There wasn’t anything specific that I’d say impacted me really any different than any other service I’ve attended.

In-service greeting:

The Pastor instructed people to say hello to everyone. The pastor opened the service by saying good morning to everyone. There wasn’t any specific or special welcome, just a brief explanation of the agenda for that morning.

The message:

The message was mainly about the graduating students of 2018 and about making choices. The message was based on making the right decisions in life and knowing what’s right and what’s wrong and how our decisions will affect our daily lives. I really don’t have any suggestions on how they could have made the message better. I’d say they touched on the relative basis of our everyday lives.

The speaker:

The Pastor was the main speaker for most of the service and the one who delivered the message. I felt as if she was sincere and encouraging and felt very confident about her message.

What about kids?

It seemed as if they were very engaged with the children’s/youth ministries based on the pictures, posts and videos of the children’s activities and learnings that I came across on the website and social media. I was glad to see that the children and youth were active in the church. I didn’t really think that a coloring page should be handed out with what they call bulletins. I think the children should probably have a separate service during this time where they would have a message (same as the adults) but it would be better explained and broken down to where they are able to fully comprehend everything being taught.

What happened after the service?

I wasn’t acknowledged as a guest or a visitor. Everyone once again congregated amongst themselves as the younger youth and kids all rushed out of the hall. I would suggest that in the future they should have a greeter at the doors at the end of service, as well as before, thanking the guests for coming and inviting them back and ask them if they had any questions, maybe even offering them the contact information for someone who would be able to connect with guests.

Friendliness of the church:

I would say that the overall friendliness of the congregation was neutral. I didn’t encounter anyone jumping with joy for having a new visitor, nor did I receive any negative vibes or interaction.

Information about the church:

Online there was information about what services they offer as far as children’s church and the youth groups including what time they meet and what activities they have this month and this summer. At the church, I didn’t find too much information as I thought I would have in a bulletin or flyer. I did, however, find a paper that had prayer requests on it and the upcoming services and a coloring page for kids. It may also be a good idea to add another section in the bulletin that gives a summary of each service, such as the order in which things will be discussed and or presented. That may make the visitors feel a little more welcome and comfortable and want to come back because of the positive feeling they felt during the first visit.

Outreach opportunities:

I don’t recall any outreach mentioned or talked about. They may think about coming up with some ideas and/or events to help develop their relationship with the community, such as a yard sale or bake sale or even a festival type event. I didn’t see much information regarding any type of outreach.

Church follow-up:

The church had a way for me to leave my contact info for additional information or follow-up, but I decided not to leave it.

Overall experience:

My experience was somewhat poor. I suggest they get involved more with guests and the community. They seem like they may be a little closed-in.

Likelihood of return: unlikely

They didn’t seem very welcoming to new guests. They may just be used to their own members. But I would feel more likely to return if they were more inviting and had more to offer as far as events to help spread the word on what they are about and how they want to help the community.

Likelihood of recommending the church: unlikely

There wasn’t much life or involvement from this church that really stood out to me and made an impact for me to want to return or recommend this church to others.

The last impression:

My experience was somewhat poor. I suggest they get involved more with guests and the community. They seem like they may be a little closed-in.

With the help of the mystery guest program, this church is now aware of its strengths and its opportunities to improve the first-time guest experience. Curious what guests are thinking when they leave your church? Let Faith Perceptions find out for you. Our desire is to help churches become a welcoming place for guests and church that invites the unchurched.

Guest Information: A More Effective Way to Collect Their Experience

July 24, 2018July 24, 2018Leave a comment

lightstock_115845_full_kate This is the second post in a two-part series. In our first post, we discussed why church sign-in books are ineffective at collecting guest information. In summary, they’re limited in space, people forget to pass them around, and visitors may not want to broadcast their contact information to everyone. For these, and many other reasons, we recommend ditching the sign-in book in favor of something more meaningful: a connect card. One of our unchurched mystery guests visited a church and told us:

“There was a card in the bulletin where you could leave your information, request contact, and/or leave any other note needed to be relayed and someone would follow-up from the church office. I think this is a better idea than the sign-in book that some churches have because it allows one to write freely without having the next signer privy to the information.”

What is a Connect Card?

A connect card allows you to collect guest information in a way that makes everyone feel more connected (and comfortable!). Although a connect card still asks for basic information, such as their name and contact information, it digs deeper to find out why your guests are there and what next steps they’d like to take. You can include spaces to indicate aspects of your church they may want to learn more about, such as questions about faith in general, youth ministries, Bible studies, and more.

What’s in a Name?

Even if you ditch the sign-in book in favor of a card, you may be tempted to call it a “guest card”, “visitor information card”, “registration card”, or something similar, but keep in mind that words like “register” may confuse guests into thinking they have to sign up or register for something. The words “guests” or “visitor” can make someone feel like an outsider. None of these names really communicate your intent behind asking for someone’s contact information.

We recommend changing the name to “connect” card to more accurately convey the goal in collecting a guest’s information – which is to connect with them and help them learn more or take next steps when they are ready.

How to Use the Connect Card to Collect Guest Info

Once you’ve made the switch to a connect card, it’s important to use it in the most effective way possible. Otherwise, you may have some of the same problems you had with the sign-in book: few participants or incomplete information. Here are a few tips to help you effectively gather a guest’s information:

Explain What they Are: Make an announcement at the beginning and/or end of the service explaining what the connect cards are. Hold them up so there’s no confusion and explain where they can be found. Don’t forget to have pens or pencils in each pew in case someone is without one.
Make them Easy to Find: The connect cards should be placed in an obvious location, such as in each pew or an insert in the bulletin. Avoid the temptation to use tear-outs in your bulletins, as guests may be reluctant to noisily rip them out drawing attention to themselves or being disruptive.
Tell them Where to Turn it in: During your announcement, tell your guests exactly where they can turn in their completed connect cards. Should they bring them to a desk or table near the entrance or leave them in the pews? Turning them in is better, as it provides additional opportunities for connection and avoids the issue of someone else getting their information.
Provide them with Motivation: Although your guests may want to connect to your church, they may need additional incentive to go through the trouble of completing your connect card. Consider offering a gift to every guest who completes and turns in a card or state that a donation will be made to a local charity for every card received. Better yet, allow guests to select a preferred charity from a list.
Don’t Forget Your Website: Some potential guests may want to connect before they attend a worship service or following there visit, so it’s a great idea to include a digital connect card on your website. This also helps guests who forgot to fill their card out or turn it in before they left the service. One church we worked with gave guests an opportunity to get connected with a small group or meet with some congregation members before they visited the church. This made it less intimidating to visit the church for the first time.

By ditching the church sign-in book in favor of a connect card, you have a better chance at forming a meaningful connection with your guests. If you’re interested in finding out how well your visitor sign-in book or guest registration cards are performing, our church mystery guest program can provide you with unbiased, invaluable feedback. With the feedback from mystery worshippers, you’ll understand how to better connect with visitors. Contact us today to get started.

6 Ways to Boost Post-Easter Engagement

March 30, 2018Leave a comment

You probably already know Easter is the highest-attended church service of the year. Hopefully you’ve prepared your church and website to ensure guests can easily find you this Easter and that they feel welcome when they attend your services. If you don’t have a proper follow-up plan in place, however, attendance will drop again in the weeks that follow. To keep guests and non-regulars coming back for more, create and implement a follow-up strategy using the suggestions below.

Boost Your Post-Easter Engagement

1. Draw them Back In

Don’t let your Easter sermon stand alone. Consider making it into an intriguing series that will pique the interest of your guests. At some point during the service or church announcements, tell the congregation what they can expect to hear during next week’s sermon. Choose topics that address the real-life struggles your attendees and visitors may be facing, such as divorce or addiction. The more relevant the topic, the more likely guests are to return.

2. Provide Details for Future Services

Many churches offer additional worship times for their Easter services to accommodate the larger number of attendees. This can lead to some confusion for guests who want to return but did not attend a standard worship time. Make sure your guests know exactly what time worship will be held in the coming weeks, along with any other information they may need, like where to park or Sunday school times.

3. List How to Connect

List all your contact information in several locations, such as on a guest information card and in any bulletins or brochures you hand out. Be sure to include any relevant phone numbers and email addresses, plus how to sign up for an e-newsletter and where they can find you on Facebook and other social media platforms. The more options you give them to connect, the more likely they are to do so.

4. Get their Contact Information

Despite giving guests numerous ways to connect with you, they may not want to “make the first move”, so it’s important to get their information in return. Consider leaving guest cards in every seat or put them in the bulletin, asking for their name, email, address, and phone number along with their preferred contact method. To encourage guests to fill these out, offer them an incentive such as a gift or a small donation made in their name to a particular charity.

5. Make the Connection

Getting contact information from your guests is only half the battle. You have to actually use that information if you want to make the connection and turn those visitors into regular attendees. Put a plan in place to follow-up with every guest who left their information. Connect within 24 to 48 hours of receiving their information. Ask how they liked the Easter services and ensure they know the time and place for next Sunday. If they provided an address, consider mailing them additional information on your church and the various ways they can get involved.

6. Stay Connected

Don’t forget about your guests after you make that first connection! You don’t want to bombard them with so many emails that they unsubscribe, but you also don’t want to give up after the first try. You never know when that one touch will happen at just the right time and drive them to come back to your church. So add guests to your monthly newsletter, send them invitations to upcoming events, and keep them informed of special services coming up. For more ideas on following up with your church visitors go here.

Every church sees a bump in attendance on Easter Sunday, but due to poor planning and lack of follow-up, attendance drops again in the weeks that follow. Don’t squander your opportunity to connect with newcomers and turn them into regular attendees. Our mystery guest program has shown just how effective those follow-ups are:

“I received a follow-up card a few days after my visit, from the pastor. It was a nice handwritten note thanking us for visiting and inviting us to come again.”

If you’d like to find out just how well you’re connecting with visitors, our mystery guest program can provide you with the unbiased feedback you’re looking for. These mystery guests will come into your church and evaluate everything from the parking lot to the greeters to any follow-up they receive after leaving their information. They report back on how well your church performs in each of these areas so you can make adjustments to better connect with future visitors.

5 Ways Your Church Can Stay Connected to Guests After They Visit

November 23, 2016March 23, 2018Leave a comment

Last week, we revealed data on the research we’ve been doing over the past year concerning how churches are following-up with their visitors. Here’s what we found:

“More than 75% of the time churches aren’t following up
with visitors that leave their contact information.”

Churches are missing out on following up with first-time (or second, or third-time) guests in a big way and the message being sent is that people who want to get plugged into a church aren’t important. In business (yes, I know churches aren’t businesses, but hear me out) they understand that if a customer expresses interest in something and doesn’t get a response, they likely aren’t going to do business with that company. The same is true for our churches. If a guest hears your call from the pulpit encouraging them to leave their contact information and then you don’t contact them, they take that to mean you aren’t interested, and they likely won’t come back again.

We are approaching one of the highest attended services of the year (Christmas) and this year, Christmas day happens to fall on a Sunday. Many churches will be holding services on those days and seeing a lot of first-time guests. Now is the right time to prepare for that so you aren’t wasting your opportunity. Things you need to remember:

Don’t Wait. Remember that if someone leaves you their information that means they WANT to hear from you. Follow up quickly (within 24-36 hours).

Make contact in a unique and personal way. People are desensitized to emails and form letters. They are impersonal and don’t leave a lasting impression. Consider a brief front-porch visit with a small gift in tow, such as fresh baked bread. If a visit isn’t something you want to do, consider a hand-written note. Either of those set you apart from the barrage of communication they receive each week.

Don’t quit. Invite them back the following Sunday. Another contact on Thursday or Friday is a great way to remind them about the church and that you are hoping to see them again. Too often, churches send out a one-time letter thanking a guest for coming and then the outreach ends. While we certainly don’t want to bombard people with communications, we also don’t want to stop after one try. You never know when that one touch is going to be what drives a person to consider coming back to the church.

Stay connected. Add guests to your monthly e-note or newsletter, invite them to upcoming events, seeker-friendly message series, and special services such as Easter and Christmas. You never know which time could make the difference in getting them to return.

Do it. Make guest follow-up part of your weekly tasks. The only bad follow-up is not following up at all.

Remember the part in the book of Matthew where Jesus tells His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations? That’s exactly what this is. Following up with guests is a ministry outreach arm of the church. You’ve succeeded in getting them to come and to leave their contact information. Here is where ministry can start to happen, but it won’t happen if you aren’t intentional about doing it.

About Faith Perceptions
Faith Perceptions is a market research firm that provides churches and faith-based organizations with research about their target market. We send mystery guests into churches across the country each week to report back to us on what their experiences are like. We use this information to help churches improve the way they welcome and connect with guests. Faith Perceptions has been evaluating the first-time guest experience since 2008.

Guest Follow-Up: Why It Matters and Why It’s Not Happening

November 14, 2016March 23, 20183 Comments

I went for a job interview. I remembered to smile, sit up straight, and not give canned answers. After the interview they said I’d definitely hear from them soon. They never contacted me.

I had a nice evening out with a friend of a friend. I gave my phone number, but never received a call.

My family attended a new church and loved it! The church asked us to fill out a connect card so that we could stay in touch with what was happening at the church and hopefully get connected. It’s been months…and still no contact.

What do these three scenarios have in common? Rejection.

Over the years, we’ve noticed in our research that churches weren’t being diligent in following up with guests. This past year, we decided to see if our anecdotal fears of the church not following up with people were factually based. In our study of the first-time guest experience, we concentrated specifically on guests that left their contact information with the church and tracked whether they received follow up.

About the Research
This research was conducted by Faith Perceptions using an online survey with a sample size of 1,341 adults who attended worship services at churches throughout the United States. The surveys were completed from October 2015 to September 2016. First-time guests visited different churches of different sizes and denominations and, after being asked by the church to leave their contact information, 504 voluntarily chose to do so. After a period of 30 days following their visit to the church, Faith Perceptions followed up with each respondent to learn if the church had contacted them in any way. We found that only 119 (24%) of 504 respondents received follow up from the church. Of the 504 adults that took part in this research, 359 were unchurched or dechurched.

What’s the takeaway?
A meager 24% follow-up rate tells us that churches are neglecting the opportunity they have in connecting with guests. The message it sends to a guest is that the church doesn’t care and that they don’t matter.

Why aren’t churches following up?
In many of our conversations with church leaders, we learned that most do want to follow up, but don’t have a well-thought out process for doing so. There is often confusion on who should follow up and when. For those that have established a process, there is little to no accountability to ensure follow up is happening. Many pastors would like to do the follow up themselves, but lack the time and instead hope those appointed to do so are doing it.

Why it matters.
First things first, if someone gives you their contact information that means they WANT to hear from you. A set plan needs to be in place for following up quickly and consistently. Guest follow-up is a ministry, and just like any other ministry in your church, it needs attention. If you don’t have relevant programming and volunteers to staff your children’s ministry, do you think it will grow? Probably not. If you don’t put forth that same effort in reaching out to guests, your church probably isn’t going to grow, either.

What you can do.
Don’t wait. This is something your church can start doing today and it costs very little, if anything at all. Whether it’s making a phone call, sending an email, or dropping a postcard in the mail – contact should be made. Contacting a guest after they visit shows them they are a priority…that they matter. Regardless of how you do it…do it. The worst kind of church follow-up is no follow-up at all.

For some practical ways to start effectively following up with guests at your church, check out part two of this blog here.

About Faith Perceptions
Faith Perceptions is a market research firm that provides churches and faith-based organizations with research about their target market. We send mystery guests into churches across the country each week to report back to us what their experiences are like. We use this information to help churches improve the way they welcome and connect with guests. Faith Perceptions has been evaluating the first-time guest experience since 2008.

	faithperceptionsblog on 8 Best Practices for Welcoming…
	The Artisan Post, by… on 8 Best Practices for Welcoming…
	Greeters – Tra… on 3 Things Your Church Greeters…
	8 Best Practices for… on 8 Things a Visitor Wants to Se…
	5 Things You Can Do… on 8 Things a Visitor Wants to Se…

Faith Perceptions Blog

Tag: Follow up