5 Things Every Church Visitor Wishes You Knew.

[2bLikeJesus]

 

It is estimated that only 3 our of every 100 first time visitors ever return to a church.  So I set out on a project to contact as many "one and done" visitors I could find and I asked them one simple question only...“What do you wish church people knew about unchurched people that might turn their first into the first of many?”     

The following are the top 5 recurring responses I received. They are not in any specific order:

1. I WANT TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED NOT IGNORED 

This one was huge to me. Did you know that official greeters (like ushers, anyone with a name tag or who will be on “stage” at some point during the service) don’t count as genuine human contact to a visitor. The assumption is, “That person has to talk to me, it’s their job.”

I get it. If a doorman is nice to me I don’t assume that he is actually interested. That dude is getting paid to smile and engage with me. Even though I know that the motivation behind an official greeter’s kindness and concern is their love for Jesus, I’m going to immediately assume the worst.

We need organic acknowledgement.

We need organic greeters.

We need trained folks who come to church prayed up and ready to serve in this all important ministry of connecting with first-time visitors. 

Put away the name tags

2. I ALWAYS SUSPECT THAT THEY’RE GOING TO TRY TO “SELL” ME SOMETHING, SO MY GUARD IS UP

Jersey is the land of malls. I have no fewer than 5 malls within a 20 mile radius of my house that I can drive to anytime of day. Malls are pretty universal thought, so I’m hoping that this next illustration will make sense to you:

You’re strolling through the mall, eating a pretzel from Wetzel and a Sinner-bun from Cinnabon and as you lift your head from the gooey goodness you spot her . . . a lady with a clipboard. You try to pretend like you didn’t see her but it’s too late, you made eye contact. So now you have two choices: 1) throw your Cinnabon at her and make a run for it—or—2) prepare to convince this woman that you’re perfectly happy with your skin care products or your political decisions or with your love and outreach to children in third-world countries.

It’s an awful feeling.

Sometimes, that’s what it feels like to visit a church. You get a contact card (which if you fill it out you may be entered to win a brand new car), you get a welcome packet (free sample to convince you we’re great) and every now and again you get the sales pitch from a church member.

You have been specifically targeted, get ready for the sales pitch.

Small changes to how you “reach out” to first-time visitors are pretty simple. Simplify the welcome packet to one page of only the most relevant information (which on a first Sunday includes where the bathrooms are). Keep the information you are asking them to fill out on a contact card, very general and don’t ask for more information than you actually need (Name, e-mail address and space to ask a question.) Train your people to ask good questions and provide them with some rules of conduct.

3. WHEN I GO TO CHURCH I AM LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC

I have yet to meet the person who started to go to church for no reason what so ever. There are two problems with this: 1) we have no idea what their reason is—and—2) they might not be so sure themselves.

Church, in North America, is no longer something that’s just part of the culture. People go to church with a purpose, much the way you or I might go to a specialty shop. For instance, I have never found myself wandering around Home Depot without a very specific purpose. I know, to some men, wandering around Home Depot aimlessly is a great way to spend their day and I’m thankful for those men, I’m not one of them. When I go to Home Depot I have a reason. I drove there with a purpose. I am looking for something.

The same is true with most every visitor who walks through the doors of your church. They are joining you, that Sunday, for a reason, and they probably will not directly tell you what that reason is.

So, how do we address an unexpressed felt need? LISTEN!

Chances are that, if a visitor is looking to learn something specific about the church, they will hint at it in their conversations. Even if you don’t have the answer or you are simply a middle man to someone that they are attempting to gain access to, you are often the key to meeting that persons need.

Go out of your way to talk to a first-time visitor. Ask questions (that aren’t too personal) and really listen to their answer.

4. I AM CONVINCED THAT EVERYONE WAS STARRING AT ME AND TALKING ABOUT ME

You ever have that feeling that you’re being watched? It’s unsettling.

Welcome to the mental state of a first-time visitor in a small church. They know that you know that their new. They also know that there’s no way their presence escaped your attention.

With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide the feelings of discomfort rise up quickly for the first time visitor.

—BUT—

There are a few things you can do to help combat this feeling.

Give them a cup of coffee - It’s funny how an 8oz cup of coffee can hide a 200lbs man. It’s psychological warfare against feelings of conspicuousness. I don’t want to get into all the details here (as that is not the purpose of this post) but I will mention that there is a unique safety to holding something out in front of you (a defensive strategy) as a buffer. With a cup of coffee (or tea) in a visitors hands, they feel as if they are doing something, like they have control.  There is also the added benefit of occupying the mind on something other than yourself (like not spilling the coffee). It’s a small thing, literally 8oz, but it’s significant.

Breaking the 5 minute window - It will take a few minutes for a visitor to acclimatize themselves to their new surroundings. Within a few minutes time, though, they have looked at the bulletin, they’ve glanced at the decor, they’ve briefly checked out a few of the people . . . now what. That’s the window. It takes no more than 5 minutes for someone to get settled into a new space. After that 5 minutes is up they begin to notice themselves. If you can get to a visitor before this 5 minute window closes, chances are you will significantly reduce the anxiety they may begin to feel about being “new.”

There are certainly other things that can be done to help visitors feel welcome and inconspicuous, but at least this is a start.

5. I JUST WANTED TO FIND A SEAT IN THE BACK, IN CASE I NEEDED TO MAKE A QUICK ESCAPE

The back pew is sacred. I grew up sitting in the back. My mom said we had to sit there in case she needed to take us “outside” (which meant “out of the sanctuary to get a whooping”).

However, as we grew older, and slightly better behaved, we remained in the back pew because that was our pew. It’s were we sat every service.

If you are a regular church attender, you have “your” seat. That’s not a bad thing. Studies show that familiar environments where patterns are repeated and comfortable aid a person emotionally and intellectually. It may be easier for you to listen to a sermon in “your” spot or to participate in worship because your in front of that distracting woman who bobs around (or is it janes around for ladies???) during the singing and far enough behind that annoying heavy breather so that you don’t have to listen to him wheeze.

Your worship experience is just as important as the first-time visitors. However, this is already your church and you are already, pretty much, comfortable with what’s going to happen in the service.

The first-time visitor isn’t comfortable and really doesn’t want to feel trapped or stuck during their worship experience. Often, that’s how it feels sitting any more than 4 rows from the back.

Be conscious of this.

If you sit near the back of your churches sanctuary, consider relocating to another spot that will be just as conducive to your worship experience. Sacrifice your spot as an act of worship to God and as an act of love to any potential first-time visitor.

This is from Pastor Matt Carpenter.

Franklin Lakes Baptist Church

Franklin Lakes, NJ.