I’ve spent the summer consulting with congregations for Your Phoebe and serving as pulpit supply at a variety of churches, and I remain astonished at the number of congregations who have no formal plan for welcoming and nurturing visitors. Other churches might have plans, but those plans don’t extend beyond the week of the visit. Still other churches might have developed a plan for welcoming visitors to their building but have yet to develop a sequence for welcoming visitors to their online worship and programs. Wasting these opportunities is just a darn shame.

If someone shows enough interest in engaging you to visit your church or to stream your content, then you are already in a favorable position to invite them further into your fellowship. That’s going to take some time and some effort though, and it’s going to take more than one follow-up note or adding them to your newsletter list. Here are a few proven strategies for converting first-time visitors into regular attendees and disciples.

The Welcome Gift

To be able to follow-up with visitors, you’ve got to get their contact information. Your chances of getting that increase dramatically if you can sweeten the deal with the promise of a welcome gift. A custom imprinted coffee mug, shopping bag, or water bottle can be an inexpensive way to thank your visitor and to get your church’s name and logo out into the world. I’ve also seen gifts offered that were more specific to the church’s location, like jams or other goods. Likewise, I’ve seen churches offer more seasonal gifts like a Christmas ornament or a Lenten prayer book. The point is that the request for the visitor’s contact information should come with a promise of welcoming and that promise must then be fulfilled by you. You are building a relationship and trust, and you’d best not blow it!

Set yourself up for success by creating one web form to collect visitor information whether that visitor has come to you in-person or online. Make the url simple enough that verbal invitations to visit it are intelligible. Here’s an example of a simple form at welcome.twelfthpresby.org It’s rudimentary, but you don’t need anything more.

The Immediate Follow-Up

By responding quickly to your visitor, you show that you value their presence and engagement. You also take advantage of their favorable disposition. They’ve indicated that they want to communicate with you, so let’s get to communicating! Here are a few steps to consider taking as soon as that visitor contact information is submitted.

Text Alert

Your visitor has most likely submitted her contact information while attending worship with you. Sending an automated text alert to folks like worship leaders, ushers, deacons, or chat moderators allow you to take advantage of the opportunity to personally welcome that person. That can mean greeting your visitor by name from the chancel or in the online chat. It can also mean looking for that new face and introducing yourself after the service. In doing so you’ve begun demonstrating your commitment to welcoming that visitor. Other visitors will likely also notice and will hopefully find themselves more inclined to share their contact info as well.

Welcome Email

Respond to the receipt of your visitor’s contact information with a short email including a video welcome message, links to your website and social media accounts, and the contact information for your church and staff. Again, every response to your visitor’s engagement builds trust and furthers the relationship.

Welcome Gift

Send internal notifications and reminders to ensure that you get that welcome gift out. You might be the first church to make a promise to this person. Don’t risk hurting anyone through carelessness or neglect. That gift must be delivered!

Pastor/Staff/Elder Follow-Up

Make a plan for the first contact this visitor will have from you, and ensure that the plan is followed consistently for every visitor. Whether your process involves a call from the pastor or a hand-written note from the chair of membership care, demand that every visitor receives the same care and in the same timely fashion. Likewise, plan for when your folks are on vacation, ill, or otherwise unable to complete this task. Again, don’t let anyone fall through the cracks.

The Long-Term Follow-Up

Things look pretty good so far, but we can do better. Let’s look at some ways we can further this relationship toward discipleship.

Nurture Email Sequence

Adding your visitor to your email list ensures some further contact, but let’s face it; those weekly newsletters are geared more toward members than seekers. They don’t tell the full story of who you are and what you do. Creating a separate email sequence for visitors allows you to maintain contact and to highlight programs, staff, stories, and opportunities.

The good news is that you’ve likely already produced this content. Much of it is available on your website and committee/program descriptions for you to copy and paste. These brief emails should focus on one aspect of your mission or ministry. Examples include introducing a staff member or a committee chair, describing a regular service opportunity, spotlighting a local community partner, and featuring a particular small group. Ideally your sequence should be at least 12 emails/weeks long, but keep building! Every little nudge helps your visitor get to know you a bit better.

Pastor/Staff/Elder Further Follow-Ups

You’ve sent emails and a welcome gift, and you’ve made an initial contact. Now that your visitor has had a chance to process the worship experience and the material you’ve sent, see if they have any questions. See how they’re doing. See if you can get to know your visitor and your visitor’s needs better as well. Nothing compares to personal contact whether through text, phone, or email. If you can arrange a coffee date, all the better! A practical goal here is at least one contact every 15 days, and vary those contacts between pastor, staff, and members. Encourage your visitor by building a network of relationships in your community.

But How?

Following-up with visitors both immediately and for the long-term increases the likelihood that they will become active participants in your congregation. Still, this process can be a lot to manage. A detailed-oriented leader can accomplish much of the above through the diligent use of spreadsheets, calendar reminders, and notes. It will take a lot of work, but the resulting increase in membership will prove the value of your efforts. If, however, you’re like most congregational leaders, you lack the time and staff to accomplish these tasks consistently and well.

Here’s the good news: Your Phoebe is here to help. I’ll work with you to develop strategies and to automate the process, likely using tools that you already have available. If that sounds good to you, let’s chat! I’d love to show you what Your Phoebe can do for you and your church.