Effective Guest Follow Up

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Effective Guest Follow Up

• Chip Arn seminar, Getting People to Come Back
  April 2002
• Chandler_at_vbmb.org

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The Goal of All Follow Up

• Getting people to return one more time!
• The odds of a person connecting with a church
  increase exponentially with each additional visit

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Percentage of Visitors Who Become Active Within a
Year
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Assumptions about Visitors

• No one joins a church without first visiting
• Visitors wont tell you what they really think
  about your church
• You dont have a second chance for a good first
  impression.

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Two reasons visitors return

• Based on friendliness of the church
• Basis their perception, not ours, of
  friendliness
• Basis did anyone talk to us?
• Quantity, not quality
• Before they leave the first time

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When do Visitors determine the friendliness of
the church?

• Based on the first ten minutes after the end of
  the service!
• Application idea
• After-service hosts

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Visitor Phobias

• Being singled out
• Being asked to speak

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What do you call them?

• A person who resides temporarily
• one who goes or comes to inspect
• one who makes a short stay at a place for a
  particular purpose
• Term visitor

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A better term

• A person welcomed into ones house
• A person to whom hospitality is extended
• A person who is due special courtesies
• Term Guest

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What do you call yourself?

• One who meets or extends welcome in a specified
  manner
• One who gives a formal salutation at a meeting
• Term Greeter

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A better term

• One who receives or entertains socially
• One who opens the home for a special event
• One who takes particular care and concern that
  guests are well accommodated
• Term host

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Where are your hosts?

• After-service hosts
• waving hosts!
• Parking hosts
• 1st ten minutes are the 2nd most important!
• Lobby hosts

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Where are your hosts?

• Worship hosts
• Class hosts
• i.e. Sunday School
• Coffee hosts
• Before, after, or between services

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What do Guests Look For? Bob Bast, Attracting
New Members, Church Growth, Inc. Monrovia, CA

• The friendliness and warmth of the church
• The character of the worship service
• Clear and uplifting experience of Gods presence
• A place for their children
• The adult program
• The church facilities
• Dont cause church to grow but can prevent it
• Goal for facilities to feel like where people
  live

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A few random ideas

• Celebration balloons
• Piped-out music
• Direction signs
• Guest info tape/packet
• Pastors welcome
• Church tour
• 3 Minute Rule
• (no talking to friends for first 3 minutes after
  service)

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Two discussion questions

• What are the first impressions guests have of our
  church?
• We cant say
• What are our intentional guest-welcome strategies?

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Five Principles for Effective Guest Follow Up

• The Time principle
• Contact guests within 48 hours of their visit
• Sunday-Tuesday is best return rate
• If you wait till Wednesday, youre too late!

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Five Principles for Effective Guest Follow Up

• 2. The Purpose principle
• The goal of the follow up contact is simply to
  see guests return, rather than a high-push
  evangelistic aim

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Five Principles for Effective Guest Follow Up

• The Personnel principle
• Laity, not staff, should make the follow up
  contacts
• Phone call often better than visit
• Also easier to recruit church callers
• Over twice the effectiveness in return rate when
  unpaid servants do the calling
• Believability factor

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Five Principles for Effective Guest Follow Up

• The Entry Path principle
• Create windows of opportunities for newcomers to
  get involved
• The more side doors for newcomer involvement
  (beyond worship service), the better

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Five Principles for Effective Guest Follow Up

• 5. The small group principle
• The more small groups you provide, the more
  newcomers will get involved

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Conclusions

• Youve got to catch em before you clean em!
• Warm, quick, lay-led follow up is catching
• Churches who practice hospitality see a higher
  growth rate

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Effective Guest Follow Up

• Dr. John P. Chandler
• Courageous Churches
• Virginia Baptist Mission Board
• Chandler_at_vbmb.org
• Copy right John P. Chandler, 2002