6 Ways to Connect With First-Time Church Guests Beyond the Welcome Center

Sunday morning is a crucial time to connect with first-time church guests. Churches have done such an incredible job adapting to people’s preferences and the best ways to connect with first-time guests. One of those things, that seems to be almost universal at churches now, is a Welcome Center. Whether this is an actual room at a church or more of a “presence” in the foyer or outside of the auditorium, a welcome center is a place designated for guests to come and have their questions answered, take a next step, meet someone on staff or other members of the church. This is a key piece of connecting with first-time church guests.

However. There is so much more we can do.

Guests, for better or worse, have many other factors that contribute to whether or not they feel any connection to the church. Sometimes, a nice introduction at the Welcome Center following service simply isn’t enough. And this isn’t to say that God can’t work through that. But he’s also given us so many tools at our fingertips to steward well. So let’s make sure we are using every one of them to our best ability to make a lasting impression on first-time guests.

According to Cary Nieuwhof , there are actually 7 ways to lose first-time guests within the first 10 minutes of them showing up. While this can feel a little defeating at first glance, this also shows us all the little things we can do to make a good first impression. So, let’s talk about 7 ways to connect with first-time guests beyond the welcome center.

Plan A Visit
Connect Cards
QR Codes
Handwritten Notes
Phone Calls
Gifts

1. Use the Plan a Visit Feature to Connect With Guests Before They Show Up to Worship

What if you had the opportunity to connect with them BEFORE they ever walked through your door? What if you could help them overcome any fears or worries they had about visiting your church?

What if you actually knew ahead of time that guests were coming to your services so you could have a parking spot and a welcome gift with their name on it, as well as prepare your welcome and kids ministry teams for a new family to visit? How would that change your guest’s experience?

And how would it feel to NOT have to watch a guest leave knowing deep down… you won’t see them again?

I am here to tell you it’s possible to do all of this by simply having a Plan a Visit feature on your church’s website. The Plan A Visit feature is simply a digital connect card that lives on your website for guests to fill out before they plan to try out your church. This allows people to pre-register their kids, and ask questions like, “what do I wear? How long is the service? Are there any rules?” (you might have chuckled, but people who don’t have a history with church have a lot of questions!)

Plan A Visit also opens a lot of doors outside of just first-time guest connection. You can use this feature for events, ministry opportunities, special services, and more.

If you’ve never explored the Plan A Visit feature, I encourage you to watch this YouTube playlist that goes more in-depth about how it can benefit your church! ‍

2.Have a Variety of Connect Cards to Collect Guests’ Contact Information

How many times have you met someone on a Sunday morning and panicked because you don’t have your phone to grab their information? So, you repeat their name over and over in your mind to try and remember it so you can look them up on Facebook and connect that way. But they don’t use Facebook, so you ask the Children’s Director if there were any new kids with the last name Smith… or maybe it was Smitty? No, it was for sure Schmidt.

You get the point. It doesn’t have to be this hard!

‍We, 100% of the time, will fail to adequately follow up with a first-time guest if we don’t have a tool for gathering their contact information.

Connection Cards have been around in the church space for… forever. However, we’ve learned that many people will absolutely NOT take a pen and fill out a piece of paper. What we’ve done is enhance the idea of a paper connect card into different formats so those tech-savvy people and pen and paper people alike have an option they prefer.

Here are the options we’ve seen be most effective…

‍Paper Connect Card

This is Old Faithful right here. If you’ve been in the church space for any amount of time, it’s likely you know what a paper connect card is. These can be placed in the seat backs, in or on the bulletins, as part of check-in if they drop children off, or sit at the Welcome Center.

The important thing about paper connect cards is you have to have a good method for collecting them. If you want to have paper connect cards in as many places as possible, make sure you still have a designated spot for them so staff/volunteers can pick them up and track that information. You can call these whatever you want, “A Welcome Card,” “Get to Know You Card,” or “Follow Up Card” and brand it to match your church. There are great templates for these as well as plenty of free platforms where you can design your own. (We like Canva!)

Digital Connect Card

The Digital Connect Card allows churches to simply have their connection card on a device (tablet, phone, website, etc.). There are many ways people can access the digital connect card. You can have a specific keyword like CONNECT that they can text to access it. You can also have the digital connect card on your livestream site for new people to use, on an iPad at your Welcome Center before and after service, and linked on your church’s website. It’s simple and digital, and people love it!

Something I do hear from pastors all the time is “people just won’t fill them (connect cards) out.” Maybe they text in, but don’t fill out the Digital Connect Card. Maybe they put their name on a paper connect card and leave it, but don’t leave any follow-up information. There will be those instances, and I know it’s frustrating. For some people, it just takes time for them to trust you enough to leave their information. However, usually, my conversation with the church leader goes something like this,

“I’m just not getting any information from my first-time guests.”

“Ugh, so sorry, I know that’s frustrating. Do you have the connect cards offered in multiple formats?”

“Yep, we do.”

“Do you introduce them in your Welcome Speech?”

“Uh huh.”

“Do you tell people why you want their information?”

“....no.”

This is a common problem! It is a huge ask that someone would come to your church for the very first time and give you their phone number. They don’t know why you want their phone number. If they’ve never been part of a church, they don’t know how this works! Eliminate the unknown. Left to our imaginations, it’s always the worst-case scenario, so don’t let their thoughts wander on why you want their information. Tell them exactly why you want it. If you’re looking for some help with this, we have tips on how to perfect your welcome speech you can watch here.

3. QR Codes On Your Website and All Printed Material are an easy, low-risk way for guests to identify themselves

QR codes are easy to install and easy for people to use! You don’t have to be a computer programmer to get a QR code up on your website or printed on one of your church banners. Plus, having QR codes gives all the control to the guest. That might sound a little silly, but some first-time guests don’t want to go chat after service or text in a keyword or have to commit anything just yet. Scanning a QR code, though, allows them to look at what you’re asking for with total anonymity. Then, when they’re ready, they’ve got the digital connect card there, contact information for the church, and everything they need to take a step.

Text In Church has a custom QR Code Builder inside the platform that you can use to create QR codes that match your church’s brand! Learn more about it here.

4. A Handwritten Note Goes a Long Way in Making a Guest Feel Known, Noticed, and Loved after They Visited Your Church

With the increasing amount of media that comes our way through technology, a handwritten note goes a long way. In the first week or two of them visiting, send them a quick message in the mail.

Use this script:

‍Hey there James! Thanks for joining us on Sunday. We hope to see you this weekend, and want you to know we are here for you if you have any questions or things we can pray for you about.

‍Jason Jones
City Church
866-256-2480‍‍

5. Make a Phone Call After a First Time Guest’s Visit to Show Them You Care

Within the first week, give the guest a call thanking them for coming to your church. Let them know you are there if they have any questions. Ask them if there is anything that could have made their experience better, but don’t stay on the phone for a long time unless they are the one who continues the conversation. Use this script:

‍"Hello! This is Jason from City Church and we just wanted to call and thank you for joining us on Sunday! We wanted to see if you had any questions and invite you to join us again this coming weekend."

Now, I know what you are thinking. “No one calls anymore, I can skip this one!” You’re right, most people in the younger generation don’t like to talk on the phone anymore. But I urge you, don’t skip this step! Most likely the person will not have your number so they won’t answer the phone, but that is the opportunity for you to leave them a voicemail. This goes a long way and validates to them that you thought of them.‍

6. First Time Guest Gifts Don’t Need to Be Extravagant, But Instead Are a Symbol to Them That They’re Valued

Everyone likes free stuff! Whether it’s a coffee mug or a Starbucks gift card, make sure you make your guests feel important and valued by providing a small token of your appreciation for their presence at your church.

You can do this by asking them to head to the welcome center for a free gift, or by requesting their address on the physical or digital connect card. Then, simply drop it by their front door (don’t be a lurker and invite yourself in!).

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The gift, handwritten note, phone call, and text messages are all just a few of the ways we recommend following up with first-time guests. It is so important to make a good first impression on your guests. But maybe even more than that, you have to continue to follow up with them. They might be trying to make the lifestyle habit of attending church for the very first time, so a few reminders and invitations will serve them well in knowing they’re wanted, they can ask questions, and that someone is thinking of them.

Utilizing these 6 ways to connect with a guest outside of the Welcome Center helps immensely in building trust with your first-time church guests, provides accessible ways for people to connect with you despite different ways of worshiping with you, and ensures that no one is slipping through the cracks.

If you’re looking to try out all of these strategies, and more, take advantage of Text In Church’s platform free for 14 days! You can create a guest follow-up plan that is automated and proven, set up your QR codes, Plan A Visit feature, connect cards, and so much more to see just how easy it is.

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