Are Visitors Filling Out Visitor Cards?

Getting first time visitors to fill out visitor cards can be one of the biggest hurdles for congregations who really desire to grow. Whether it’s a pew pad, guest book or visitor card, some worship visitors will simply bypass that step and never write down their contact information. One of the questions I hear a lot is “How can we get more people to share their contact information?”

Contact information from Sunday visitors is essential to your follow up process. How else can you follow up if you don’t get their phone number, email or mailing address? Too often the announcement is shared, ushers distribute the cards but very few respond by filling out the cards. From comments heard in my workshop called Attract, Reach & Keep, this is a growing concern for evangelism teams across congregations.

Visitor follow up does matter. As Dr. James F. Miller shared in his book, “Go Grow Your Church!, “the process must be immediate, dependable consistent and confidential.” Based on experience and research, I suggest every visitor be contacted within 48 hours of their visit. That means that Sunday visitors need to receive a call, email or visit by Tuesday evening. To be most effective in encouraging a second and third visit, immediate follow up matters.

How will you get new faces to fill out visitor cards? Here are a few suggestions that work in congregations.

• Assign evangelism team members to greet new faces after worship with a gentle reminder, “Have you had a chance to fill out the visitor card?”
• Offer a small gift to visitors at end of worship when they return their visitor card.
• Announce the benefits of filling out a card such as getting announcements from the church.

What has been your experience?

Lynette Hawkins is a communications specialist with Awesome Insight of Beyond Marketing Group, Inc. based in Greensboro, N.C. She offers a free monthly e-newsletter for church leaders that reaches more than 1,000 Christian leaders and recently introduced, Make Room to Welcome, an interactive training DVD for members, ushers and greeters. Sign up for her free newsletter at www.awesomeinsight.com or e-mail her at info@awesomeinsight.com