Comments on: Is Your Church Calling Visitors By The Wrong Name?

By: Finding a Church, Part 3: Sometimes all it takes… « Creative Theology

Finding a Church, Part 3: Sometimes all it takes… « Creative Theology — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:56:22 +0000

[...] post from a few weeks ago talks about first-time visitors and how we as a church can do better about [...]

By: Gospel Community Traits: WELCOMING « Crave Community

Gospel Community Traits: WELCOMING « Crave Community — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:17:19 +0000

[...] Be sure to read the full article HERE. [...]

By: Kenny

Kenny — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:42:52 +0000

@johnwyp and glenn khan - Great thoughts. The link is live in the text above to the PC USA survey. Here's the direct link again: http://www.pcusa.org/research/monday/newmemb2.htm

You can contact the author of the research as well via:
Email the author: Jack Marcum
Research Services
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(888) 728-7228 ext. 2040 (voice)
(502) 569-8736 (fax)

If you do find some more details, I'd love to feature some follow-up here, so please do share any more information you find out.

This is such a critical issue, and if there are successful tactics to bring people back, we should be trying to spread that knowledge as much as possible.

By: First Time Visitors: Don’t Scare Them Away « Wired to Serve

First Time Visitors: Don’t Scare Them Away « Wired to Serve — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:11:55 +0000

[...] also — “Is Your Church Calling Visitors by the Wrong Name?” When talking about the culture of the church, this blog asks this great [...]

By: Glenn Khan

Glenn Khan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:05:10 +0000

I would agree with johnwyp this visit from a pastor or leader in the first week would be intrusive. You would have to put pressure on first time visitors to get their home details so you could visit them aswell.
Maybe this is a California and UK issue? I would like to know how they go about getting people details and getting them to agree to a visit all in the first week?
Could it be that the 41% who liked a visit from the pastor in the first week were part of the 10% that would have come back anycase?

By: johnwyp

johnwyp — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:43:40 +0000

I'm wondering where the poll was taken. I pastor in California (SF Bay Area) and the feeling I get here is that visits are intrusive. Are the pastoral visits "pop in" or scheduled?

By: kkcoolj

kkcoolj — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:54:18 +0000

Rich, it was great to be nudged to think about this stuff.

I think one of the simplest shifts we can make it to call it what it is — the one time guest. If we even took that actual language and talked about them as "one-time-guests" our thinking would change. I bet we would start to look at everything we "give away" and "invest" in these one-time visitors and wonder if it's worth it. That 90% of them - that's pretty much all of them, won't ever come back.

If that's the case you'd talk to them differently (or actually talk to them for the first time), give them different messages/signals, and certainly different goodie bags.

We have to remind ourselves that the Gospel message is about relationships, not prizes and iTunes gift cards…any efforts that prioritizes return visits over authentic relationship building isn't Gospel-centered and something to be reconsidered…We cannot cannot cannot have the former without the latter!

By: rich birch

rich birch — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:14:53 +0000

kenny . . .

thanks for the mention.

i need to get back and finish this series on first time guests . . .