How One Church Achieved 100% Church Guest Follow-Up: The 8-Week Secret
How Connection Point Christian Church Transformed Guest Retention with a Simple System
When it comes to church guest follow-up, most leaders share the same frustration: people visit once…and then disappear. Not because the church doesn’t care, but because manual follow-up is inconsistent, overwhelming, and nearly impossible to sustain, especially in growing or multi-site churches.
That’s why our recent conversation with Josh Pezold, Campus Pastor at Connection Point Christian Church, was so powerful. For nearly a decade, Josh has used Text In Church to build a repeatable follow-up system that now results in 100% guest follow-up every week; all powered by what he calls the 8-Week Secret.
Below is the story behind that strategy and how your church can begin using the same approach to consistently welcome first-time guests, build meaningful relationships, and increase long-term retention.
The Problem: Manual Guest Follow-Up Was Messy and Unreliable
Before implementing a church communication system, Josh and his team struggled with the same barriers most ministries face:
- Paper connection cards that were easy to lose
- Quick lobby conversations that didn’t translate into real connection
- Copy-and-paste messages sent manually to each new visitor
- No clear follow-up timeline or shared system across staff
“Most of our communication was probably what took place on Sunday,” Josh explained. Anything that happened after that depended entirely on who remembered to follow up—and whether the right information made it into the right hands.
This created what many churches quietly battle:
A leaky follow-up process that leaves guests feeling overlooked.
The Game-Changer: Automate Outreach, Personalize Response
Everything changed when Josh realized he could automate the initial outreach and free his team to focus on personalized responses.
His team implemented a First-Time Guest Workflow, a customizable automated sequence inside Text In Church that delivers timely, consistent communication to every guest without requiring staff to manually send texts or emails throughout the week.
This shift created two essential outcomes:
- No guest slips through the cracks.
- Staff can spend more time building real relationships.
As Josh put it:
“You can automate reaching out to someone, but you can always personalize responding.”
The 8-Week Retention Secret
Josh’s team measures success by one simple metric:
Did the first-time guest return within eight weeks?
This eight-week window becomes their prime opportunity to connect, encourage, invite, and build trust. By running guests through a structured workflow across this period, Connection Point:
- Keeps communication consistent
- Provides encouragement and next steps
- Makes the church feel welcoming and intentional
- Creates a sense of belonging long before the second visit
An automated workflow makes this possible at scale: Connection Point now follows up with 40–60 guests every single week.
The Profound Impact of Consistent Connection
One of the most powerful outcomes of this system is the emotional and spiritual connection it creates.
Josh shared that guests often tell him:
“You are the first one to follow up with me.”
In a world where people visit multiple churches while searching for connection, this simple follow-up message stands out. It builds trust. It opens doors.
Josh also shared a moving story of a new guest who reached out after her mother passed away.
“We were one of the first ones she contacted,” he said. “If we didn’t have the platform, we might not have been able to love her the same way.”
This reflects a theme we hear across churches: when follow-up is consistent, people feel known, noticed, and loved.
For more examples of how churches use messaging to care for people during difficult seasons, explore our Creative Ways to Use Text In Church playlist.
Why Automated Church Guest Follow-Up Works
The success of Josh’s 8-Week Secret aligns with what we’ve seen across thousands of churches:
1. Automation removes the bottleneck.
No more relying on memory, scribbled notes, or overflowing inboxes.
2. Consistency builds trust.
Scheduled communication signals intentionality and care.
3. Guests want quick, clear, friendly messages.
Texting feels personal (even when automated).
4. Staff can focus on what matters.
Pastoral conversations replace administrative tasks.
How Your Church Can Start Using the 8-Week Secret
If your church wants to start building a reliable, scalable church guest follow-up system, here are the first steps:
1. Capture guest info digitally.
Have a digital connect card people can access easily via a keyword, QR code, or link.
2. Implement a first-time guest workflow.
Use an automated sequence that sends messages for the first several weeks.
Related: Church Guest Follow-up Plan: Best Practices for Retaining First-Time Guests
3. Personalize responses.
Automation starts the conversation; you and your team continue it.
4. Track engagement and adjust the sequence.
Monitor who replies, who returns, and what messages resonate.
5. Prepare for guests who don't show up again.
Follow-up matters even when guests don’t return immediately.
Ready to Transform Church Guest Follow-Up?
If you're ready to eliminate the chaos, increase guest retention, and create meaningful connections like Connection Point Christian Church, Text In Church can help you build the exact same system.
The best church communication tools should be simple, powerful, and focused on people. Text In Church was built to help your church:
- Follow up with every first-time guest
- Build long-term relationships
- Make sure no one falls through the cracks
- Create a consistent experience week after week
Start Your Free Trial of Text In Church Today
Click here to get started now!
