If you think about it, everyone that’s currently attending your church was once a first time guest. Here’s a few things that we’ve learned over the past few years in regards to following up with guests.
- Ask guests to fill out a communication card, but don’t ask for too much information. Do you really need their kid’s birthdays? We’re careful to say, “Just fill out as much information as you feel comfortable sharing.” You can’t follow up with people if you don’t know they are there. At Oak Leaf Church, we do this during the welcome, and it’s one of the most important and intentional times in our service.
- Give guests a small gift. Not a sermon or a book, but something useful, fun or cool. Every weekend, guests stop by Oak Leaf Central to pick up a free gift. And when they do, we’re able to get their information and make a personal connection.
- Consider guests in your preaching and service planning. This includes introducing anyone on stage, not assuming people know the Bible stories you mention in passing, and letting people know what to expect. This is an area where many churches need improvement in my opinion.
- Ditch the “thanks for visiting” form letter for something better.
I discuss these principles and many more in a Nuts and Bolts resource called “Follow Up: How to Follow up with Guests, Givers and New Christians.” The resource contains an e-book, a one-hour audio seminar, and all of our follow up docs and forms. It will help you improve your follow up systems big time. You can pick it up in the store.
