Making Sure Visitors Don't Return
I love tongue in cheek articles. This one gives us a sure fire list of ways to insure that visitors on Easter Sunday don't come back.
It's been said that people make up their minds as to whether they will come back to your church within the first 3 minutes after they enter the door. This is even more complicated by the fact that most people don't even enter your doors now unless they have already made an internet visit through your website. It has become increasingly important to have a good first impression for your visitors.
I have visited many churches over the years. It is a daunting feeling to enter into a room of several hundred people you don't know. It is even more intimidating when, after you have walked through the door, you get no greeting, or just superficial ones. On one vacation, I visited a church that advertised itself as "the friendliest church in town." After feeling like I had entered a refrigerator and pretty much being ignored, I could only imagine what the rest of the churches in town might be like.
A sure fire way to make an impact on a visitor is to spend "quality" time with them. If you notice a visitor, approach them with a smile. Ask, and make note of their name and use it in the immediate conversation 3 or 4 times right away. This will communicate personableness and also serve to help you remember the name. Ask them if they need help finding the children's ministry area, nursery, restrooms etc. Escort them where they need to go. In other words make yourself as helpful as you can.
You will then want to ask them a few questions that are not intimidating such as: How did you find out about us? Is there anything in the service that you have a question about? Would you like to be introduced to our pastor? Would you care to sit with our family? All of these questions show that you care for their comfort and will make a difference in their impression of our church.
After the service, thank them for coming. Address them by name and tell them you will look forward to seeing them again. Lock their names in your memory or, if you think you have a bad memory, write their names on a piece of paper and put it in your Bible. The next time you see them approach with a smile and greet them by name. Now if that doesn't make an impression, I don't know what will.
Often we come to church and visit with our usual circle of friends. This is good in the sense that we may not have seen them all week and are glad to see them, but this can easily be interpreted by visitors as cliquishness and exclusiveness. Make it a point to greet anyone that passes you by, especially if they are someone you don't know well or at all.
This Sunday we will have a number of visitors. They will make up their minds about our church in a relatively short amount of time. If we don't win them over with our genuine friendliness, we may not see them again until next year. Or more likely they will be some other church's visitor next week, or next year.
It's been said that people make up their minds as to whether they will come back to your church within the first 3 minutes after they enter the door. This is even more complicated by the fact that most people don't even enter your doors now unless they have already made an internet visit through your website. It has become increasingly important to have a good first impression for your visitors.
I have visited many churches over the years. It is a daunting feeling to enter into a room of several hundred people you don't know. It is even more intimidating when, after you have walked through the door, you get no greeting, or just superficial ones. On one vacation, I visited a church that advertised itself as "the friendliest church in town." After feeling like I had entered a refrigerator and pretty much being ignored, I could only imagine what the rest of the churches in town might be like.
A sure fire way to make an impact on a visitor is to spend "quality" time with them. If you notice a visitor, approach them with a smile. Ask, and make note of their name and use it in the immediate conversation 3 or 4 times right away. This will communicate personableness and also serve to help you remember the name. Ask them if they need help finding the children's ministry area, nursery, restrooms etc. Escort them where they need to go. In other words make yourself as helpful as you can.
You will then want to ask them a few questions that are not intimidating such as: How did you find out about us? Is there anything in the service that you have a question about? Would you like to be introduced to our pastor? Would you care to sit with our family? All of these questions show that you care for their comfort and will make a difference in their impression of our church.
After the service, thank them for coming. Address them by name and tell them you will look forward to seeing them again. Lock their names in your memory or, if you think you have a bad memory, write their names on a piece of paper and put it in your Bible. The next time you see them approach with a smile and greet them by name. Now if that doesn't make an impression, I don't know what will.
Often we come to church and visit with our usual circle of friends. This is good in the sense that we may not have seen them all week and are glad to see them, but this can easily be interpreted by visitors as cliquishness and exclusiveness. Make it a point to greet anyone that passes you by, especially if they are someone you don't know well or at all.
This Sunday we will have a number of visitors. They will make up their minds about our church in a relatively short amount of time. If we don't win them over with our genuine friendliness, we may not see them again until next year. Or more likely they will be some other church's visitor next week, or next year.
Labels: church visitors, evangelism, friendliness
posted by jawbone at
11:10 AM
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