Beyond the First Visit

Often times in the life of a church it will encounter people who come through its doors to visit. Many different things will attract a person to attend a church for the first time. Perhaps the church is in a good location that many people drive past it every day and see it. Good visibility from the road is a tremendous way to attract visitors. Perhaps there is a special event that is happening that has gotten publicity.

The best scenario to consider as a reason that a person came to visit was because they were invited by someone who attends the church. Nothing speaks louder to the community than a satisfied customer.

Once the person has come to the church to visit, the question then turns to, “How are we going to get them to return?” In his book, Beyond the First Visit, Gary McIntosh asks, “Often church visitors report that churches are cold and unwelcoming. How is it that two people can experience the same event and feel differently about it? How can members believe their church is friendly, while newcomers experience an unfriendly atmosphere?”

Each church should have a plan in place for how they welcome visitors into their church. It is not enough to have the doors open for business. It is important that there is someone standing at the door with a smile and a handshake. It is nice to have someone who is familiar with the building so they can explain where the restrooms are and where to go for the worship experience.

Many churches today have people ready to meet first time visitors and actually accompany them to their seats and sit with them. This is a wonderful way to plant seeds of friendship. These couples even offer to go out to lunch with the visitors after the service so that they can answer any questions that may have risen during the morning worship service.

It is easy to sit in our holy huddle and pretend that everything is ok. It is quite another thing to look in the mirror and ask some hard questions. Churches that are able to track their visitors can send self-addressed and anonymous feedback cards to their guests and ask them to report to them about their experience. Those cards are very valuable. One can use the card to better their church to be a more positive worship experience for visitors.

Just because the regular attenders are comfortable does not mean that the visitors are. If a church truly wants to grow and win their world to Jesus, they must intentionally work hard to make visitors feel like family.