The texting solution built for Large and Multi-Site Churches

Recently, we did a poll in our Text In Church Community Facebook group asking our members what the biggest struggle is with their church guest follow-up process. Their answer?

Getting people to fill out the church connection cards. We spend a lot of time discussing how churches can follow up using texting, emails, phone calls, handwritten cards, and other ways to help you connect and build a relationship with them. However, none of this can happen if you don’t get their information!

To keep your church guests coming back, you have to connect with them. There are many reasons why people might not be filling out your card.

Picture this scenario:

A family has come to your church for the first time. They are trying to find a seat, get their kids settled, and about the time they’ve sat down, the worship leader invites them to stand and sing.

They are a little nervous, but they stand up, trying to blend in. One of the kids wants to see better, so they get picked up. As worship music ends and the family gets settled back in their seats, the pastor welcomes everyone and invites the guests to fill out the church connection card.

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Where is it?

Was I supposed to grab it on the way in?

Oh, it’s here in the seatback in front of me. Honey, do you have a pen?

Wait, why do they even want this information?

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All this while the kids are squirming or the family is trying to get them to the children’s church area or the service has moved on to prayer, communion, or the sermon.

Do you see where the problem is? Yes, the card is there; yes you’ve asked them to fill it out, but because they are in an unfamiliar place and circumstance, trying to keep up with what is going on can distract them from filling it out.

And this is just the beginning of the service!

Being a new guest at a church can be stressful and confusing sometimes. And usually, most people, when they come to your church for the first time, are showing up for one of five big reasons – known as the “5-D Theory.” You can learn more about the 5-D Theory in our Everything You Need to Know About Guest Follow-Up blog post. So it’s important to make it as easy as possible for them to connect with you so that you can follow up with them.

I am sharing four ways to get your guests to fill out your church connection card so you can help them feel known, noticed, and loved.

#1 – Build Trust (tell them why)

Most churches we work with struggle to understand why someone is not filling out the card. After all, they specifically ask them to in their welcome talk. And yet, the card does not get completed.

Why? One reason might be that your welcome talk isn’t truly welcoming.

Does your welcome talk include some information about you? Guests are likelier to share their name with you if they know it! The welcome talk is also a great opportunity for you to not only invite the guest to connect with you (by filling out the card) but also explain what will happen when they do. You don’t have to be too specific, but let them know approximately the messages they’ll be receiving and why it will benefit them.

Pro tip: DON’T say, “Give us your contact info so we can let you know more about us.” DO say, “We’d love for you to complete the connect card so we can follow up with you and answer your questions.”

Need to polish up your welcome talk to make it more effective and, well, welcoming? Get access to our free Welcome Talk Training video series here.

#2 – Make the Connection Card simple (not too long)

I attended a church once where the connection card was double-sided and asked for basic contact information plus the entire family’s age and specific information about what groups they wanted to join, if they wanted to volunteer, and several other things. I understood the heart of why they wanted this information; to ensure that they connected the new guest with the right ministries.

BUT this is too much to ask!

Wanting our guests to experience worship and hospitality when they come to our services is more important than getting all this information. The goal of the connection card is to start the conversation, not to get all the information. Only ask for the information you need, then use their contact information to get to know them better.

Pro tip: The most used digital connection card by Text In Church members is the Basic Digital Connect Card, which only asks for name, email address, and cell phone number.

RELATED: Which type of connection card is best for your church? Learn more about the Top 3 Connection Card strategies for churches.

#3 – Make it Clear (tell church guests what you want them to do)

If you want your guest to fill out the church connection card, you need to build trust by telling them why you want them to and asking for only the information you need. But, you will also need to do something else. Tell them exactly what to do and how to do it.

Sometimes we can assume that our guests know what we want, but remember, there’s a lot going on for this new guest, and giving them direct calls to action will help them focus on the next step you want them to take.

Here are a couple of examples:

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Please use the pen provided to fill out the connection card and hand it to our greeters on your way out today. (Bonus points if you say the greeter’s name!)

Text the keyword “WELCOME” to [your 10-digit number] to get the church connection card sent to you, fill it out, and then hit the submit button!

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#4 – Provide Multiple Opportunities (more than one way to give contact information)

Maybe you are saying to yourself, “We are already doing this, and still people aren’t filling out the cards!” I get that. At my church, we had all of these things in place and yet, cards weren’t always getting filled out.

Our welcome talk was welcoming and inviting, we had a clear call to action with our digital connection card and only asked for basic contact information, so what were we doing wrong? We weren’t giving people a chance to fill it out!

Think about it. Your guest is trying to figure out what is going on during your service. Maybe they find the card and the pen or text the keyword, but then, as the service continues, they may forget about it.

Or what if they stepped out to take their child to the nursery and didn’t hear your welcome talk? Maybe they just showed up late.

When we added multiple opportunities for our church guests to fill out the connection cards, we noticed an increase in the number of cards being completed! In addition to our welcome talk, the pastor often mentions our keyword and phone number and reminds people to connect. At our greeter table and coffee cart, we have a QR code that people can scan and receive the link to our digital connection card that way. For people who prefer the paper method, we have those available too.

Text In Church CEO, Tyler Smith, explains more in this Gather Connect Build video – Should Your Church Use Paper or Digital Connect Cards?

Should Your Church Use Paper or Digital Connect Cards?

Recap

Connection comes easier when you remove any obstacles your new church guests may face and make it as easy as possible for them to give you their information.

Remember to:

Build trust with an effective welcome talk
Make it simple to fill out your church connection card by only asking for needed information
Give a clear call to action that tells them exactly how to complete the card
Have multiple ways for them to access the connection card and multiple opportunities to fill it out and give it to you

Gathering your guest information is arguably the most important part of your guest follow-up process since without that information you cannot begin to follow up with them. Be sure to use these 4 ways to get your guests to fill out your connection card, so you can begin building a relationship with them and help them feel known, noticed, and loved.