Fusion

Is it an accident who happens to walk through the churches front door on Sunday? Could it be that God has a special plan as to who visits and who does not? One should consider the fact that each visitor that every church receives is in fact a gift from God.

God is a giving God. There is no way anyone can out give God. His generosity to man is unmatched. Many churches across the globe pray regularly for God to give them the gift of a guest. For some churches, they pray every single week for God to send them even one guest. If no one new ever visits a church, eventually, regardless of how big the church is, it will die. Guests are a necessity for the life and health of a church.

Follow-up for these guests is crucial. Each church should have some sort of plan as to what they will do to try to connect with that guest once they have left the building. In his book, Fusion, Nelson Searcy says, “Gifts from God are given strategically. God expects us to handle them with the same strategic care. First time guests are gifts full of potential. As God brings them through our doors, our actions can result in changed lives.”

Searcy has it down when it comes to follow-up and assimilation. He actually sends a gift in the mail to every first time guest that visits his church in New York City. He has sent anything from bus passes, to free cups of coffee, to movie tickets. These gifts have value. It is not like sending some dated book with language out of the 17^th century that will find its way to a garage sale in the spring. He sends gifts that people can use. What a wonderful way to let people know that they were appreciated and they are invited to come and visit again.

If a church is haphazard with how they treat guests, there is a good chance that they won’t get a lot of second chances with those guests. If on the other hand a church has a well-thought strategy as to what they will do with their guests, they have a much better chance to see them move from guests to regular attenders to full members of the congregation.