A few months ago, I was the visitor. Being on leadership at a church myself, I wasn’t seeking regular attendance there. I was simply attending an event they hosted so my 3 year old could have a new, fun summer experience.
Unfortunately, an obvious lack of organization made the event awkward and uncomfortable. I didn’t know where to take him in the building. It was chaotic and…I didn’t feel welcomed.
It reminded me of one statistic I had heard recently, “only 10% of first time visitors end up becoming regular attendees.”
With only 2% of Christians inviting a non-believer to church any given year, there’s a big chance that most visitors to your church aren’t going to know anyone.
Here’s the upside. The likelihood of a first time guest becoming a member increases to 50% when they are invited to a small group.
It’s been proven that almost 90% of guests will return to a church if someone follows up with them on the same day as their visit; that percentage drops to 60% if you wait just 24 hours.
Unfortunately, many churches don’t have an effective way to manage and follow up with visitors in 24 hours, much less at all. We need to get people from Point A (inactive) to Point B (engaged). To do this, we need a process in place and to communicate it often.
Ask yourself these questions as you consider your visitor connection process:
- Do you have a tried and true process to get your visitors connected to a small group? Does the plan work?
- Is that plan for following up with visitors that day, the next day, or a week or more?
- How often do you remind your team of this process?
- What percentage of first time guests join your church?
- What percentage of first time guests join a small group within the first 3 months?
If the church I had taken my son to had a system in place, I would have had the information I needed. Plus, the church team would have been well equipped to greet me with excellence and make us feel more welcome and connected.
Understanding the weight of these first impressions, faithHighway has taken years of marketing, outreach, and inreach expertise and rolled it into one eBook to equip churches with ways to connect visitors. In fact, faithHighway is giving it away to churches and ministries free. Having worked with tens of thousands of church clients, it continues to research new ways to utilize technology, marketing, and best practices to convert more first time guests into participating members.
Go ahead and download the free eBook on Reaching and Engaging Members Online. You may also call our team for a free consultation and demo on connecting visitors at 877.703.2484 (press 2).
__________
This is a sponsored post from faithHighway, one of my ministry partners on TonyMorganLive.com.
