Last year I was a ‘mystery shopper’ in a church in our city. It felt quite daunting. A feeling which many church visitors feel.
Only one person knew me in the crowd of 500+ people and that was the pastor. However, he wasn’t even aware that I was in the church until well after the service.
I was a complete stranger to everyone else.
As I drove home I reflected on my experience.
I realised that the church didn’t have my contact details so they had zero impact on my decision about a second visit. I think this is the number one reason why people never return for a second visit.
I was in the driver’s seat.
While that was great for me it’s terrible for any leader wanting to grow a healthy church.
I want your visitors returning for a second, third and fourth visits so I’ve compiled this list of 11 reasons why people don’t come back. This will help you get more return visitors.
11 reasons why church visitors don’t return.
Ignore these reasons at your peril.
1. You didn’t text them
A text is an unobtrusive way to make a connection. If you obtained the visitor’s contact details you can send a ‘thank you for visiting us’ text with 24 hours.
At the end of the week you can send a follow up, invitational text telling them what’s happening this Sunday.
2. You didn’t call them
A courtesy call thanking the visitor for coming to the service is always a winsome way to connect with your church visitors and let them know that you’re there to help.
3. You didn’t send a postcard
A postcard is a ‘purple cow’ moment for your visitors.
Seth Godin writes of driving through the rolling green fields of France and initially being enamoured with the picturesque, rolling hills and hundreds of black and white cows. However, after a while, he longed to see something different, a purple cow if you like.
Your handwritten postcard is your ‘purple cow’ opportunity. It will make your church stand out.
Some churches send out a church visitors’ welcome letter which is fine but I think you can do better than a letter.
Download our free and simple
Visitor Connect Card
You can use this card this Sunday
4. Your church is dirty and cluttered
Take a fresh look at your car park, foyer, and children’s area through the eyes of a visitor. Drive into your car park as if you were a first time visitor. Then walk into the foyer and ask yourself, how clean is our entrance and foyer? How much clutter is lying around?
5. Your people aren’t trained to connect with new people
The 15 minutes after the service is the time of church growth. What you do with your visitors after the service will determine the growth of your church.
If you don’t connect with your visitors you won’t be able to do any follow up with them
Think of the range of church visitors you attract to your services. They range from people who don’t want any connection to those who are longing to be part of your church.
Train your people to cater for everyone in this wide spectrum.
6. You didn’t get their contact details
The pastor and all volunteers involved with visitors need to carry a pen and church visitor cards.
After you connect with the visitor and the conversation comes to a natural end, take out the church visitor card and begin to write their name and then ask for their contact details.
99% of people will give their name, address, email and best contact number.
Never put those details into your phone and let people know that the information on the church visitor cards is protected by your privacy policy.
7. You don’t have a guest lounge
There’s a number of reasons churches don’t set up a guest lounge area for their visitors.
Some are afraid of overwhelming visitors so they tend to leave them to their own devices. Others just lack basic hospitality and forget to cater to their visitors.
While it’s true that some visitors won’t go near a lounge there are others who will seek it out.
I recommend that you don’t take people into a separate room but rather set up some chairs in your foyer or café area. Place some friendly hosts there and make sure the pastor connects with everyone in the lounge.
8. You don’t have a New People’s Director
The first thing with your visitor’s program is not to create a system or structure but to find a person. God uses people before he uses systems.
Create a position in your structure for a New People’s Director. Consider this position to be as important as your Children’s Director and your Worship Director.
Then begin to pray for the best person to fill that role.
If your church is under 120 people I recommend that the pastor become the first New People’s Director. Then as your church grows or when another appropriate person is trained the role can be filled by someone else.
The primary requisites for a New People’s Director are the
- Ability to be organised
- Aptitude to be friendly
Inside the Hub, I’ve created a step-by-step Road Map that outlines how to build a visitor’s pathway that works. Have a free, sneak peek inside the Hub right now.
9. You made them feel awkward
Visitors are genuinely nervous on their first visit and can remain so for a number of visits. Therefore, it’s imperative that you avoid embarrassing them in any way.
Some visitors find the meet and greet time difficult and contrived. They don’t enjoy small talk with strangers and feel awkward engaging with strangers.
Others feel like outsiders due to inside language and stories.
Poor or missing signage can make people feel awkward as they are forced to ask, “Where are the toilets?”
One solution is to ask a key leader to pretend they are a visitor and get them to filter all elements of your gathering through the lens of a new person. You can then debrief and reassess every aspect of your meetings.
Alternatively, sit down with new members and ask them for a specific and candid analysis of your meetings and find out their awkward moments.
10. Your church doesn’t care
It’s possible that you have no vision for growth and you don’t really care about visitors. You’re in maintenance mode and fatalistic about any attempts to engage with your community.
If that’s the case then it’s time to have a change of heart and prioritise the stranger in your midst.
11. They didn’t want to, and actually, weren’t meant to come back
It’s impossible for all your visitors to return for their second visit.
Some visitors are from out of town and were, well, just visiting.
Others would never fit into your style of church and leadership ways and would actually be bothersome if they stayed in your church.
They and you are better off finding a church family that fits them.
These are my 11 reasons why church visitors don’t return. Can you think of one more?
