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Develop a Plan for Ministering to First-Time Guests



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Develop a Plan for Ministering to First-Time Guests


An old adage declares, “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” Bill Hybels recognizes the importance of creating a plan: “At a certain point people need more than vision. They need a plan, a step-by-step explanation of how to move from vision to reality.”0 Because first-time guests are so critical to the church’s growth, one cannot leave this area of ministry to chance. Ed Stetzer emphasizes that each church should have a Welcome Coordinator who “organizes greeters, ushers, and other volunteers who make gathering with the church a warm and friendly experience for guests. Greeters help attendees feel welcomed and wanted. Volunteers must be able to tell arriving guests where to go and what to do.”0 He highlights the importance of having friendly and knowledgeable volunteers who can meet every conceivable need—from the location of the First-Aid kit to the location of all the buildings and ministries of the church. Stetzer enlarges the tasks for greeters to consider:

  1. Greet first-time guests in the parking lot

  2. Clearly mark all entrances

  3. Provide nametags for all attendees

  4. Assign “seat shepherds” who sit in a specific area each week to connect guests with nearby members to make them feel welcome0

A church must intentionally develop its greeters and ushers so this vital component of visitor retention can help visitors feel a warm welcome when they attend the church. McIntosh comments: “Find the people who are positive thinkers and give them opportunities to be cheerleaders.”0

The Role of First Impressions


Turning first-time guests into second-time attendees should be the goal of every church. Shweta L. Khare, from Career Brights, states: “‘The first impression is the last impression,’ may or may not be true, but first impressions last. … Within the first three seconds of a new encounter, you are evaluated … even if it is just a glance”0 In coaching executives, Jill Bremer also emphasizes the importance of first impressions:

Impressions are based upon instinct and emotion, not on rational thought or in-depth investigation. When you step into a room, people make subconscious decisions about you. Within about thirty seconds, they’ve judged your economic and educational levels, your social position and your levels of sophistication and success. After about four minutes, they’ve also made decisions about your trustworthiness, compassion, reliability, intelligence, capability, humility, friendliness and confidence.0

The power of a first impression can never be overstated. Searcy presents a sobering thought: “Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back.”0 Before the first-time guest participates in worship or listens to the sermon, the guest has decided whether or not he or she will come again. The worship and the sermon may validate their decision, but worship and the sermon alone will not be the determining factor on whether or not to return the following week.

The person subconsciously sizes up a multitude of issues as he or she makes a decision. Bremer, noting the complexity and power of the human subconscious, declares: “Most of us float through life unaware of its influence; our subconscious is constantly shaping our thoughts, experiences, reactions and opinions.”0 In Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious, Timothy D. Wilson observes:

The mind operates most efficiently by relegating a good deal of high-level, sophisticated thinking to the unconscious, just as a modern jetliner is able to fly on automatic pilot with little or no input from the human, ‘conscious’ pilot. The adaptive unconscious does an excellent job of sizing up the world in a sophisticated and efficient manner.0

Since people quickly make evaluations, church people must prepare for encounters with first-time guests. The procedures for welcoming first-time guests in a way that will encourage them to become second-time attendees should be written out, well-planned, and flawlessly executed. Mark L. Waltz observes: “Before our guests arrive, we need to envision the experience we desire for them. If we can see that experience clearly, we can create a road map to lead them there.”0 Since one cannot keep first-time guests from making quick decisions about the church, it behooves the church to capitalize on its understanding of first impressions and the role of the subconscious so as to create an effective means of welcoming first-time guests. The goal is to increase the retention rate of first-time guests with the ultimate goal of moving them to become both followers of Christ and members in the church.

Statistically speaking, eight out of ten churches score poorly when it comes to their treatment of first-time guests.0 First impressions are so critical that the church must get it right the first time. When churches understand the intrinsic value of first impressions, first-time guests will be more inclined to attend a second time. Therefore, the church must purposely choose to make first-time guests a high priority so as to experience greater visitor retention.

The first-time guests do not focus on making logical decisions based on the sermon’s theological correctness or the type of worship. The first-time guest subconsciously measures the church’s mood and the friendliness of the people they have encountered. In light of this information, Searcy summarizes four components of the pre-service: (1) Greeted—welcome guests with a smile; (2) Directed—simply and politely show the guests where they should go; (3) Treated—show the guest respect, and surprise them with comfort food or drink; (4) Seated—lead the guest to comfortable and appropriate seating.0

At a rudimentary level, first-time guests assess the grass, the parking lot, the signs, and the overall appeal of the building.0 Knowing the importance of appearances, church leaders should strive to make their facilities look as good as possible. It is the first opportunity for the church to do more than what the first-time guest expects by investing 100 percent effort into this task. Waltz comments: “To be a ‘Wow!’ an experience must be unexpected.”0 Simple touches, such as providing directional arrows, a flower garden or a water fountain, can create a “wow” factor that captures the person’s attention. Highlighting one area can illustrate how much the church cares about the first-time guests’ perspective of the church. One county required a new church to include extensive landscaping. Initially, the church chaffed at the extra expense; however, the church received the “Desert Beautiful Award” awarded for three years due to its striking beauty.

Once the first-time guests have entered the church building, the greeter will make the most important impression on the first-time guest. Gary McIntosh comments, “Initial contacts with people play a major role in guests’ thoughts about a church. Are church members outgoing and approachable?”0 The greeter should know how to smile, as nothing can replace an infectious smile. Smiling can actually be taught and some churches even have smile warm-ups before the church service begins. Paul Ekman, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco, declares: “We can pick up a smile from 30 meters away. A smile lets us know that we are going to get a positive reception and it’s hard not to reciprocate.”0 While smiling plays an important role, greeters must be genuinely friendly people, so select people who already demonstrate that attribute.

Giving first-time guests more than what they expected is the key to encouraging them to be second-time attendees. Rainer talks about interviewing a couple at one of his study churches in Florida. Their expectations had been far exceeded. Rainer records their conversation as follow:

When we arrived at the Sunday school class, a couple met us at the door. They talked with us and introduced us to others. Then they sat with us during the Sunday school. After Sunday school they asked if they could sit with us during the worship service. We just left them a few minutes ago and they’ve invited us to lunch next Sunday.0

Rainer goes on to comment about the effectiveness of the well-organized greeter ministry of the Florida church: “Even the greeters in the Sunday school class are trained to sit with visitors and to ask to sit with them in worship services. And the church offers to reimburse any member who takes a first-time guest to lunch.”0

Many first-time guests hold prejudices or preconceived notions regarding the church. Oftentimes, first-time guests have visited a number of other churches. Searcy identifies the challenges of meeting the needs of first-time guests: “Most of the people who walk through your door have been burned by the Church, by negative press about the Church, or by a friend or family member in the name of religion.”0 Therefore, church leaders must find ways to overcome possible prejudices people hold onto as they attend a church for the first time. Potentially, the first-time guest did not receive a warm welcome at another church. Although not a business seeking to make a profit, the church can encourage repeat business by learning from successful business principles. Ken Blanchard, in Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service, shares three secrets for planning for repeat customers. One of the secrets that can significantly help church leaders is to “deliver your vision plus one percent.”0

The church can help break down prejudices and preconceived notions by providing a guest reception where the guests can partake of simple foods, such as coffee, milk, and a light snack. Amazingly, food has the ability to make a first-time guest feel comfortable and at home. Simply holding a cup of coffee or a cup of water in one’s hand while with a crowd of unknown people can make a person feel at ease. Food is one thing that all people have in common; therefore, it can break down barriers and make a person feel more relaxed.

When serving food, always plan generously. Do not limit the food to first-time guests, but make it available to everyone who comes to the guest reception, as this encourages the first-time guest to join the group by enjoying the food. McIntosh observes: “A staff reception for new guests helps people gain some basic knowledge of the church and staff.”0 This is the church’s opportunity to welcome its guests, so never charge a fee or provide a receptacle for donations. Utilizing the first seven minutes effectively can dramatically increase visitor retention.


Planning for the Return of First-Time Guests


Turning first-time guests into second-time attendees should be the goal of every church. The follow-up for first-time guests should begin soon after the guests leave the Sunday morning service, but no later than Monday. Although assimilation rates vary from church to church, Rainer conducted a study of 287 churches to identify visitor retention rates. His study focused on identifying the percentage of first-time guests who returned for a second visit. His results indicate the following:

Lower-assimilation churches in the study 50.8%

Higher assimilation churches in the study 74.4%

All churches in the study 62.6%0

All churches aspire to be high assimilation churches, but Rainer summarizes, in one word, how a church can become a high assimilation church: expectations.0 Rainer lists three comments by visitors regarding high assimilation churches:


  1. “Unlike some other churches we visited, this church seemed to act like the Christian faith really mattered.”

  2. “We were met by greeters everywhere we turned. We never lost our way. It is easy to see that this church expects a lot of it members.”

  3. “Everything about the church told me that the people cared, that they took their faith seriously.”0

The high assimilation churches became the high expectation churches. First-time guests understood that God truly meant something to the attendees and members took their jobs very seriously. Furthermore, the first-time guest understood that membership in that church meant something. If they were to become members, they would also be assigned something to do at the church.

Not all first-time guests have the ability to be second-time attendees in the near future. However, all first-time guests should be treated well. The church should categorize first-time guests based on their location to the church. All churches have first-time guests who may be out-of-town guests of members or were passing through and dropped in to attend a service. The church should send out-of-town guests a letter, email, or other form of communication thanking them for their attendance, and stating how much they gave in the offering, if they gave a gift. The letter should also invite the guest to return to the church the next time they are in the area. Often first-time guests will return to an out-of-town church for another visit if they were treated well. One never knows if the guest plans to relocate to the area in the near future.

The church should create a well-thought out plan for contacting first-time guests who could potentially return for a second visit. Searcy lists three things to consider when constructing a follow-up plan for first-time guests: (1) fast, (2) friendly, and (3) functional.0 The current generation expects fast service; therefore, while still fresh in their minds, the visitors should receive multiple contacts from the church starting on the Monday following their Sunday visit. The communication with the first-time guest should be friendly, personal, and warm, yet functional. The visitor packet provided should provide simple, straightforward, and useful information, including a genuine invitation to return to the next service. Including a small surprise would exceed the guests’ expectations.

Churches use a variety of ways for following up with their first-time guests. Rainer indicates that “99.1 percent of the high-assimilation churches had a systematic plan for visitor follow-up.”0 Some churches begin the follow-up by inviting their first-time guests to a meal following the morning service. Other churches suggest that people visit the guest at their home on Sunday afternoon. Despite the variety in plans, almost all churches plan to begin with a contact on Monday. Churches that are most effective in follow-up to first-time guests make four contacts the first week. The contact information can be gathered from the following sources: (1) Communication Card, (2) Children’s Check-in Information, or (3) offering records—if the guest gave by check, generally the check will include their name and address, or if they used the offering envelope, it might include their contact information.

The first contact should be made by email, if an email address is available. Searcy’s research indicates that the best time for the email to arrive is between 2 and 3 p.m. on Monday, as by that time the person will have read their other weekend email and might be getting a little bored by that time of the day.0 The email should be friendly, informing the first-time guest about an upcoming church event along with an invitation to attend the church in the near future. Searcy also uses a first-time guest online survey with four questions:
(1) What did you notice first? (2) What did you like best? (3) What was your overall impression? (4) How can we pray for you?0

The next contact should be a personal phone call.0 Keep this call simple; this is not the time to gather a complete history of the family. The third contact should be a handwritten note to the first-time guest simply thanking them for their attendance, offering to help in any way, and inviting them to attend church the next Sunday. The fourth contact should be a personal visit to the home with a small gift, such as homemade cookies. This visit should only last about 30 seconds at the door. If no one is home, leave a personal note along with the gift. Rainer observes: “Almost every church in my study insisted on a personal follow-up visit by the pastor, other staff, or a layperson. A visit from a layperson was deemed most effective by the visitors we interviewed; however, a pastor was involved in personal visits 67.6 percent of the time.”0 Using the four contact methods described above should result in 74 percent of first-time guests becoming second-time attendees.

One can send a one-month follow-up letter to individuals who did not return sooner. The unchurched are not used to going to church on Sunday. They may have been perfectly happy with the service and the treatment they received. However, their Sundays already have a full schedule of events and, for them, attending once a month may seem normal. Clarensau says: “Contacts should be ongoing. The church should not assume that a guest who plans to return will always do so the following week.”0 A one-month follow-up letter shows that the church really does care about them. Include a gift like a CD or a Starbucks card. Searcy comments: “When you make the effort to contact them a month later, not only do you remind them of their initial experience, but you also show them once more that they matter to you. It is a level of connection they are not expecting, but will be glad to receive.”0

Persistence is important in bringing people to faith. The business world understands how important it is to be persistent in winning new business. Thomas S. Argyle, vice-president of sales for Union Oil, held the responsibility of winning major accounts for his company. When he went after a major account, he kept going back until he obtained the account. He was asked, “What happens if you keep going back and they never sign up?” He thought for a moment and said, “That never happened.”0 Jesus taught about the importance of importunity when He encouraged His followers to be persistent when asking for something with a good and noble goal (Luke 11:8). Quite honestly, a church rarely makes too many contacts.



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