• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Smart Church Management

Smart Church Management

Helping Churches Manage Their People, Time And Money

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
    • Training
    • Advertise With Us
    • Recommended Reading
  • Bible Verses & Quotes
    • Bible Verses To Help Manage Your Church
      • Anxiety Bible Verses
      • Conflict Bible Verses
      • Leadership Bible Verses
      • Management Bible Verses
      • Wisdom Bible Verses
    • Encouraging Quotes
      • Church Growth
      • Don’t Quit
      • Generosity
      • Integrity
      • Leadership
      • Progress
      • Serving
  • Church Administration Training
    • Church Admin Training Login
  • Helpful Articles
    • Church Administration Tips
      • Church Performance Management
      • Church Communication
    • Church Volunteer Management
    • Church Human Resources
      • Church Member Experience
  • Job Descriptions & Forms
    • Login Forms And Job Description
    • Church Forms
    • Policies and Procedures
    • Human Resource Forms
    • Employee Job Descriptions
    • Volunteer Forms
    • Volunteer Job Descriptions

6 Things a Guest Will Evaluate While Visiting Your Church

July 19, 2017 by Patricia

Facebook32Pin365

True church growth is a result of a positive church experience, members inviting family and friends as well as a reputation that is spread by word-of-mouth.

Many people will visit a church several times before making a decision to call that church home.

The challenging part, particularly for churches of a few hundred people, is that visitors can sneak in and out without anyone even knowing they were there.

Someone once said that a visitor will make a decision about a church long before the pastor even begins to speak.

 If this is true, what is the visitor evaluating in the process?

6 Things a Church Visitor Will Evaluate

1. Easy Way-finding

Finding your way around any new environment can be challenging, particularly if there is not appropriate directional signage.

Drive through your campus and look for those pivotal decision points and determine if a directional sign could help a visitor find where to park, drop children off or enter the building.

This is particularly important if the campus has multiple buildings or entrances.

The easier you can make it for a visitor to find what they are looking for, without asking questions, the better their first impression will be of your church.

2. Friendly Encounters

As a visitor enters the building, who is the first person they interact with?

Is it a friendly parking volunteer, greeter or usher? Are these pivotal people trained to be friendly yet not overbearing?

How welcoming are members to someone they don’t know who is sitting next to them? Are there people assigned to look for new people and say hello?

church visitor

This can be tricky because some people like to be recognized as being new and others want to blend with the crowd while they assess the environment.

3. Inviting Facility

How inviting is the facility?  Is it clean and clutter-free or do the windows have fingerprints on them?

Is there debris laying in the flowerbeds or is the landscape meticulously manicured?

All of these subtle things leave an impression on a visitor and tells a story about the culture and priorities of the organization.

4. Multiple Access Points

Visitors need an easy way to access information about the church.  They look for the types of activities and programs that are available. They are thinking about things like:

  • What does this church believe?
  • What is this church trying to accomplish – what is the mission?
  • What kinds of programs are there for my kids?
  • What kinds of volunteer opportunities are there for me?
  • What kinds of discipleship options are there for my spiritual growth?
  • What are the steps to becoming a new member?

It is important to make this kind of information easy to access and understand.

5. Communication Process

Think about how information is shared and the different avenues for providing that information.

Does all information get communicated through announcements, video or the church website?

Is the information consistent in every forum?  How often is information updated and how much notice do members receive when marketing an upcoming event?

Manage church communications by taking the time to think about who needs to know what kinds of information and when do they need to know it.

6. New Member Expectations

Visitors who decide to become members need to understand what will be expected of them once they make that commitment.  

Think through the new member process and be sensitive to putting too much pressure to participate, particularly at the level of longtime members.

The last thing you want is to scare someone away because they couldn’t fulfill the requirements of being a new member.

Most churches want to grow and include more people to help fulfill their mission.

Taking the time to think through a visitor experience can be one way to help transition a visitor into a new member!

church forms and job descriptions

Primary Sidebar

Learn Church Administration Skills Quickly and Efficiently

Subscribe And Receive A Free eBook!

Join over 25,000+ subscribers and receive weekly tips to help you manage your church! As a thank you, we will send you a FREE copy of our eBook – “Are We There Yet? “

Check Out Our Newest Book!

Smart Church Management

This is the updated THIRD EDITION of this book and has been expanded with chapter questions to reinforce learning. This book is perfect for Ministry Students, Church Board Members, Executive Pastors, Business Administrators, or Church Leaders who need help managing the day-to-day operations of a church. To access our book, click here.

Recent Posts

How Often Should Church Staff Receive Pay Increases?

6 Tools to Help Build Your Church Brand!

9 Keys to Effective Church Management

Merry Christmas!

Use These 10 Checklists To Simplify Church Operations

About

About Smart Church Management

Recommended Reading

Contact

Are You A Church Leader?

Join 25,000+ subscribers and keep up to date on current church topics! Every week we post articles that provide helpful tips for managing the day-to-day operations of a church!
No charge. No spam. Only love. Don't worry you can unsubscribe anytime!.

Subscribe For Free
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Affiliate Disclaimer
SCM is dedicated to Church Management and Nonprofit Training by offering consulting services, online courses, and helpful articles to help churches and nonprofit organizations better manage the resources God has provided: people, time, and money.

© 2012–2021 · Smart Church Management · All Rights Reserved

Exclusive Member of Mediavine