Does your church have a designated parking space for first time guests? Do guests actually use that space? How well does your church recognize and follow-up with 1st time guests?
I generally will not park in a 1st time guest space on a Sunday morning, even if I am a first time guest. I feel like if you park in that space, then you put a “bulls-eye” on yourself and you get the “royal treatment” as a guest. At one church, it appeared as if there were two people watching for people parking in the visitor spots. Since I was familiar with the church, I did not park there so I do not know what would have happened if we did.
At a second church, I did park in a space designated for 1st time guests. I identified the greeter at the door and I anticipated some acknowledgement of being a first time guest. It didn’t happen. We were greeted with a general, friendly greeting. We then entered, not knowing where to go and quickly saw someone with a bulletin, took one and entered the worship center and sat down. We in essence went unnoticed as a visitor, though some did give us general greetings. In smaller churches, they are much more apt to identify visitors and make them feel welcome.
In one church, we sat down and I looked at the visitor cards. One side, the side requesting info, was blank. So I didn’t provide any visitor information. The second time we visited, I did complete the information in two forms with no follow-up. Admittedly, they might not have followed up because I do have a connection to the church.
I have received a follow-up letter from a some churches. One was timely, one was three weeks after our visit thanking us for visiting the previous Sunday, and one hoped to see us next Sunday even though we lived several states away! The form letter is good, but use it properly and in a timely manner.
My intent is not to point out poor guest ministries in churches, rather to share that all struggle with how to acknowledge guests. Ultimately, the church can only do so much. You don’t want to “attack” the visitor, but they shouldn’t be “invisible”. Much of the responsibility falls on the visitor as well. They need to be willing to complete the information card, to visit the reception area for the gift and to let you know who they are and that they were there. How the church acknowledges and follows up with visitors may also vary from week to week.
Things to remember:
1) Everything speaks. From the information cards with a blank side, to outdated bulletin boards and information.
2) Some visitors want to stay anonymous. Make it easy for them to give you their information without having them acknowledge themselves publicly.
3) If your information card requests the best way to contact them (e-mail, call, mail, etc.), then honor their wishes and only contact them that way.
4) Be attentive to the information they provide. Being inattentive reflects that you are just going through the motions.
5) Be welcoming, but not overbearing. Don’t seem like a “needy” friend
6) Take some time during the beginning of the service to welcome guests and give them basic instructions to complete the information card and what to do with it. It is also helpful to have information in the bulletin/program to help guide guests. (NOTE: Have info for what to expect the first time on the church web site, as many guests will visit your church via the web before ever entering your doors).
If you want to see how your church does with receiving visitors, then have someone stop by and check it out. As I visit churches, I find some who do it very well, and some who do it poorly. The point is, that all churches struggle with guest ministry.
What does your church do to try to engage 1st time visitors, and what happens when someone parks in the designated visitor parking spot?