I like to think of 1st time guests as 1st time GIFTS!  They are gifts from God, and as a gift from God we, the local church, have a responsibility to be good stewards of them, or in other words to TREAT THEM WITH SUPERNATURAL CARE & TO CULTIVATE THE DIVINE SEED THAT HAS BEEN PLANTED IN THEM THROUGH THE PREACHING AND TEACHING OF GOD’S WORD!  We can cultivate this divine seed by watering and nurturing through an effective guest follow up system.

Once a guest visits our church for the very first time (which we see every week here at The Dialogue Church; we average about 6.5% of our adult attendance as first time guests) we want to FOLLOW UP WITH THEM in order to show our appreciation for visiting our church and to nurture the seeds of love and truth planted from the worship experience.

In order to follow up with genuine appreciation we have to first collect their information and have them indicate that they are visiting for the very first time.  This is why we use a CONNECTION CARD.  A Connection Card is a simple tool to help guests feel welcome and let us know about their visit to our church; its also the primary tool we use to begin the follow up process.

There are certainly many viable ways to collect a guest’s information, but here is why we have chosen to use a connection card:

1. It is a non-threatening way to ask for a guest’s contact information and to give them more information about the church’s ministries.
2. It allows church leadership to ask for info from guests without calling them out, drawing attention to them, or pointing them out in any way.
3. It is participatory.
4. It allows for participants to mark off a step of faith.
5. It provides church leadership the necessary information to follow up.
6. It is a simple way for worship participants to communicate with the church leadership (staff & key volunteers).

No matter what shape you make your connection card you will want to keep the “asks” to a minimum.  Only ask for information you are going to use – otherwise it takes to long to fill out the card and it is a waste to ask people for information you don’t plan on using.  At The DC we keep it simple: name, address, email, and contact phone.  Then we ask who invited them (I am a guest of) so we can follow up with that person as well (we like to encourage those who are inviting people to Christ and our church).  We also ask if they are married, this helps us determine what kind of life group would best meet their needs.

Below is a SAMPLE Connection Card from the Dialogue Church.  We’d be more than happy to send you any psd files so you could steal it and make it better (just let us know so we can improve ours as well:-)

When a small group of 16 people first launched The Dialogue Church on Easter, April 8th, 2007 we had no idea how challenging the road would be, BUT MAN HAS IT BEEN WORTH IT!  We are seeing Jesus save people, literally save people from total destruction; we are seeing Jesus change lives, restore marriages, rescue teenagers from drug abuse and suicide, and young men surrender to purity!

It was tempting in the early days of our church plant to “pit ourselves against other churches” in an attempt to make US look better – can you see how jacked up that is.  Our Church is really GOD’S CHURCH and so is every other church that determines to lift up the name of Jesus according to the Scriptures and invade the culture with the Incarnational ministry of Jesus Christ!

So, we decided to become PRO-CHURCH, no matter how different the church or how big the church or how small the church – we are going to cheer on, celebrate, love on, share with, and promote the churches that are PROMOTING JESUS ABOVE ALL ELSE!  You won’t catch me trashing another church that is actively transforming lives in the way of Jesus – and you won’t see me allowing anyone else around me doing it either! It is God’s Church not mine (now this doesn’t mean we don’t call sin – sin; and we don’t call deception what it is – deception.  We need to uncover lies and injustice, but we don’t need to dog God’s church simply because we are jealous, envious, or different.

Most of the unchurched people in our community already have an uneasy feeling about the “division” in the church today.  As many see it, this is the problem with world religions – religions divide, divisions cause conflict, and conflict starts war – and war creates chaotic power struggles where nobody really wins, but a lot of people die.  NOW, I am not saying I think that way, but if in our churches we spend more time “TRASHING OTHER CHURCHES” in stead of TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS AND SIMPLY BEING THE CHURCH – then we won’t see a lot of changed lives and we will only confirm the suspicions of the unchurched – that we can’t get along! But we know better, Jesus said, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have LOVE ONE FOR ANOTHER! Let’s be ONE!

We are a BIG PART of an amazing movement of churches here in New England called NEW ENGLAND UNITED, pioneered by Pastor Anthony Milas of www.GraniteUnited.com.  We are the 4th church plant out of GraniteUnited.com and our desire is to continue “churching” New England through this network of amazing churches.  We share teaching resources, financial resources, fund new church planters, mentor young pastors, love on one another, take a pastors retreat every year together as a family of pastors and their families, we host a men’s conference every year (www.warriorconference.com), and a women’s conference every year, we have monthly leadership gatherings, and now we are starting a new branch of ministry training for all of our volunteers to be equipped for “kingdom impact”; another new venture is doing servant evangelism together – check out www.unitedlove2010.com!

Giving away free resources and gifts is one way of showing guests that we appreciate them and their willingness to investigate the spirituality of Jesus at our church and hopefully to encourage them to come back again – where they can experience Jesus on a hole nutha level!

We love giving away FREE STUFF because it helps to brand Jesus & His Church as GIVERS instead of takers (which is clearly the biblical view on Jesus & the mission of his Church).  Many unchurched people think that God and His Church are simply on the TAKE.  But that just isn’t true, GOD IS A GIVER, NOT A TAKER – and we are here to prove that one GUEST at a time!

Giving away free stuff, especially to guests, is such a fun and simple way to demonstrate God’s HUGE HEART OF GENEROSITY.  TheDC has learned this art of generosity from watching other amazing churches here in New England and around the country.   Every week we get to give away FREE STUFF, not just to our guests but to regular attenders, members, and those who have never even attended our church.  We give away free SERMONS online, free bibles, free books, free food, free coffee, free literature, free t-shirts ALL IN AN EFFORT TO COMMUNICATE AND DEMONSTRATE WITH GREAT CLARITY THE JESUS OF THE BIBLE – HE IS A GIVER, NOT A TAKER!

We see churches in the New Testament giving to the poor, giving to other churches, giving to one another and giving to the mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ!  As a 3 year old church plant we have experienced all of those things; our mother church GraniteUnited.com has really led the way in teaching and modeling for us what it means to GIVE GENEROUSLY, as they never ceased to bless us and bless all of God’s churches all over New England and around the world!  May we cultivate the same kind of God-hearted generosity!

Every major department store has one thing in common – GUEST SERVICES! This team of “relational savvy” employees are equipped to handle any question, comment, or concern that make come their way. They help to add a real personal dimension to the organization as a whole.

In the church I believe we need to make it EASY, OBVIOUS, AND STRATEGIC for guests to navigate the hallways of our church, but also to navigate the next steps in their spiritual journey.  Having a one stop shop for guests to visit before & after the worship experience is vital to connecting guests with the right people and the right information.  Sure, the pastor and his staff might be available at times on a Sunday, but not every guests knows who is on staff – so having a Guest Services team easily identified and stationed in a highly visible place is key to helping guests feel welcome and also helping guests to discover more about the church and their own personal relationship with God.

At TheDC we utilize Guest Services for most of our weekend “connecting” – it is the main connecting point for people, mostly guests and regular attenders, before & after the worship experience.  We encourage every 1st & 2nd time guest to fill out a Connection Card, and then drop it off at Guest Services where we will quickly hand them a “thank you gift” (usually its a $5 Gas Card, that says, “Thank you for being our guest.  We’d love to have you back, and we’re even willing to help you get here.”)  For 2nd time guests it is usually a book with a custom DC Bookmark:-)  As a side note we don’t try and harass our guests, it is a fine balance between making a guest feel welcome and simply pushing them too far.  This is a kind of an art, but we try and train our HOST TEAMS to warmly greet people, ask if they need any help, engage in light conversation if the guest seems willing, if not let them know we are here to help in any way.

Have you ever been to a store, asked for something that you have just spent the past 20 minutes of your life hunting for, only to receive a store employee willing to POINT TO IT, as if you can see down their arm into a laser like scope that magically enables you to see through shelves to the product you are looking for.  This can be frustrating and I’m sure its not what they were trained to do; what they were trained to do most likely is to escort the customer to what they are looking for – to go the EXTRA MILE!

I love it when an employee is willing to walk me over to the product instead of sending me off on another wild goose chase. In the church, we can really love on our guests by simply refusing to point and instead “escorting” them to their desired destination. If they are looking for the restrooms, and you are thinking, gee they are just down the hallway, resist the temptation to simply point it out, if they felt comfortable they would have just ventured out on their own. Take an extra minute, go the extra mile, and walk with them, who knows you might even spark up some conversation and make them feel even more at home in God’s House! And when people feel at home in God’s House they are more likely to invite God to feel at home in their house!

At TheDC the God-Experience starts in the parking lot, in fact I believe it starts the minute people pull up our website, pull onto our street, and park in our parking lot.  We have smiles and team members with name tags ready to ESCORT & not point. I know we can get better in this area, but I love seeing a team of passionate Christ-followers own the vision and boldly step up to help others feel welcome in God’s House.  We call them parking lot attendants, greeters, and ushers – we also have a hospitality team that is responsible for preparing coffee, treats, water, and literature on the seats so every guest has an unforgettable experience with Jesus.  Its all connected to each other – and its all about escorting people one step closer to Jesus!

Sometimes I like to pick on the Walmart greeters, let’s just say that not all Walmart Greeters are created equal. Some will smile and give a genuine, HI, HOW ARE YOU, THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY, can I help you with anything? Others appear as if they just rolled out of bed into a jar of pickles, then slapped on a Walmart Apron.

When you go to a party where you hardly know anyone, you and I both know how great it is to have THAT ONE PERSON who notices you and sincerely welcomes you. They might say, “Hey man, so glad you came here today, let me know if you need anything.” It’s even better when they try to engage you in some light but genuine conversation, or they offer a cold beverage.

I believe we can do the same thing in our churches with the right kind of planning and preparation. We can welcome our guests with a smile, a genuine greeting like, I’M SO GLAD YOU CAME HERE TODAY. If you hand out any literature, make sure to include something that helps guests feel more engaged, like everything has been thought out for their benefit in order to create the most meaningful experience possible for them.

When someone comes to visit our church for the first time the last thing I want them thinking is, “IS THIS THE RIGHT PLACE? ARE WE AT THE RIGHT BUILDING? IS THIS THEIR PARKING LOT?” Unfortunately, we have definitely heard that before; which prompted us to invest in signage – and we could definitely use a lot more! When you & I start attending a church for a while you and I become numb to the stuff that is glaringly obvious to a first time guest (which is the reason why we have 1st time guest surveys).

I want our guests the minute they pull onto our street to be ASSURED AND PUT TO EASE that this is the right place. We have signs on the street, on the building, in front of the building, in front of the parking lot, next to the parking lot, across from the parking lot. In fact, a first time guest recently said, “Gee, you certainly couldn’t miss The Dialogue Church, there were signs everywhere.” For us that is a win – and a step up from when one someone said after finding us on Twitter, “You guys must be a secret, I didn’t even know you were there.” Well, none of our churches can afford to be a secret!

Signs help people know where they are going, which makes guests feel comfortable & welcome; when people feel comfortable in our church, we know they are more likely to tune into the Word of God and enjoy the experience rather than sweating about all the “unknowns.”

We need signs outside and inside, a number of respected church planting gurus will say that the first thing people want to know about the building is, “WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS?” If you think its “not that hard to figure out”, then your guests are probably freaking out and ready to bail because they can’t find their way around. It should be easy and obvious.

At TheDC we view our website as a kind of “front porch” to our faith community. It is a place where the conversation can begin with those far from God or who have never been to our church’s gatherings. Make sure the church website has information that is helpful to new comers and first time guests, such as: worship times, location & directions, how long it will last, what’s for the kids, and what to expect (in the area of music, message, media and what to wear). If there will be coffee, let them know. And let them know where they can go if they have any questions. I would also say to post your messages online. At theDC I am always amazed at how the LISTEN ONLINE section of our website is changing lives and drawing people to Christ and His Church. I would also say utilize social media sites like Twitter and Facebook (we have had a number of people visit our church because of these two sites). As a church we can’t afford to not be GREAT at the Great Commission and in order for that to happen we must GO INTO THE COMMUNITY – WE MUST GO TO WHERE THE PEOPLE ALREADY ARE, INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR THEM TO COME TO US. Facebook is one place where people already are – so why not bring the Good News to them!

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2 NLT)

1. Start with a warm invitation to your church.

Every conversation about your church with an unchurched person is an invitation to your church, whether you realize it or not.  People can pick up on our negative attitudes and our sarcasm.  If you want to help guests feel welcome in God’s House then start by HONORING THE HOUSE in every conversation, on facebook, in emails, on your blog, at the salon, in the home, at work, in the pubs, clubs, and cafes around your community.  Let your words be seasoned with grace, and be as wise as a serpent in the words you use.  And most importantly be sure to TAKE A REAL INTEREST IN THEIR LIFE FROM THE START, and don’t be afraid to share how Jesus &  His church has changed your life.  You may want to carry around some INVITE CARDS to your church that you can hand out at the end of a conversation!  Why not?  I do it all the time, most people are very appreciative!  Be sure to have a link to your website on these cards:-)  At theDC we make these invite cards available before the launch of every new sermon series so our Jesus-peeps can pass them out to their friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, & whomever else.

For most of our guests they have never really been a part of a church, and for many they have never even been to a church (except for a funeral or wedding) – and we know how those can make us feel.  Most of our guests are unchurched, meaning they aren’t already part of a church anywhere and typically never have been.

For most people, going to any place as the new comer can be quite intimidating and nerve wracking.  I remember recently going to “an event” and I was the new comer.  I wanted so badly for someone to notice me and greet me, but not attack me and try and get me to do something I didn’t feel comfortable doing.  Most of our guests are looking for something spiritual, something that will connect them with the divine, the transcendent, the other side, the other world, the other Way.  They don’t know how to describe it and they don’t know how to define it, but they sense IT is there and they want to not just learn, but connect, they want to experience, they want to breathe it in, they want to consume it, wrestle with it, discover it, and bump & grind with it.  But by no means do they want to admit or convey that they are RELIGIOUS – but they are looking for something spiritual.

As a pastor I can get sidetracked and think that because unchurched people don’t want to associate with anything “religious” that they in fact don’t want anything spiritual, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  I believe we live in a generation and culture that is craving the supernatural.  Look at the rise of everything paranormal, supernatural, and other-worldly; in the movies, music, and all over the web people are going crazy for the supernatural.

So, the challenge for the church of Jesus isn’t to get people interested in the supernatural, its to show people the SUPERNATURAL POWER OF GOD THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!

I believe when people come to our churches they want to see, hear, and experience the SUPERNATURAL.  Well, the best way for that to happen is to teach them about Jesus, let them rub shoulders with the people of Jesus, bump fists with the Body of  Christ, have conversation with the kids of the Creator, and intermingle their lives with the culture of the Kingdom!

One more thing about preparing for the WELCOME…I have a very high view of the church (my ecclesiology).  I simply believe that there is no greater place for someone in your community to go than your local church.  Why? Because the local church is the only prescribed agent by God to make known the message of Jesus Christ, the local church is the only organism on earth with a promise to be unstoppable with hope, faith, and love!  If someone in your community had received an invitation to the White House and an invitation to your local church – then I would vote for the local church.  Don’t get me wrong, meeting the President of the greatest country in the world would be a very high honor, BUT JUST IMAGINE GOING INTO GOD’S HOUSE AND MEETING THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS; I mean really meeting Him for the very first time and finding out that He has invited you to sit at the table with Him, to be a part of His family for all eternity.  Well, I would say that is an invitation you don’t want to pass up.