Will Guests Hear From You Again?

Lynette Hawkins

A few Sundays ago I visited a wonderful worship service with a very dynamic ministry. As a guest I felt welcomed from the front door and throughout my visit. The members were friendly, the music was inspiring and the message was very thought provoking. There were four worship guests the morning that I attended. We were welcomed during the worship service. An insert was placed in the bulletin for guests to record their contact information. At no point during the service were these forms announced or given special attention. As I left the service that Sunday I could not help but wonder if guests would hear from this church?

Following up with guests can be one essential step in increasing Sunday attendance and growing church membership. Being intentional with how you follow up with Sunday guests can matter. Some things we do not want to leave to chance. Following up is one of them. In my conversations with several church leaders who have experienced significant church growth, one of the common denominators is that they all had intentional plans for following up.

Now may be a great time to make plans to follow up with guests. Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Always request guests’ contact information – Make available guest cards, pew sign up sheets or guest books.
• Encourage guests to sign up – Take time during worship to suggest filling out guest connection information.
• Personally remind guests – Ask ushers, greeters or the evangelism team to gently remind guests to sign up at the end of worship service. People may actually need to stand there to collect the completed information.
• Be intentional with how you follow up – Assign a special team to follow up within 48 hours of a church visit by phone call, email, letter or visit.

Creating a plan to follow up is so important to church growth. I would love to hear how you are following up.

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, resource tools, seminars and consulting on welcoming and reaching out. Sign up for her free newsletter at www.awesomeinsight.com or e-mail her at info@awesomeinsight.com