Church Gift Bags for Visitors

[Pastor Matt]

I'm getting some ideas for putting together visitor packets and gift bags for our church guests. What are some things that your church has and what are somethings you may think is a good idea to have in a visitor gift bag?

[Rebecca]

I've been a visitor in quite a few churches so I have seen a variety of visitor packets. Here's what has been included: Information about the church (from extremely detailed with the entire history to just the basic service hours/days), a pen with church name on it, coupons to local businesses, bookmark with a poem or Bible verse, small notepad, and encouraging note from the pastor. 

[SureWord]

How 'bout a box of Omaha Steaks? You'll no doubt get people in the pews with that.

[BrotherTony]

1 hour ago, SureWord said:

How 'bout a box of Omaha Steaks? You'll no doubt get people in the pews with that.

I totally hope you're joking.

[1Timothy115]

We give... A cup with the church name on it, with some wrapped candy. A visitor folder with typed sheets containing church hours & ministries, another with brief primary faith tenants, a Gospel tract and a pen with our church name on it.

[HappyChristian]

We received a gift bag that had a cup with the church name (I collect mugs, so was quite happy), candy (hubs enjoyed that), a pen, and church info, along with a tract.  We have not done gift bags at our church, but it got us to thinking about doing them.

We purchased notepads for our members for Christmas this past year - the pads are bound; the cover has the church name, and there is a pen and some sticky pads inside. We ordered enough to put some in gift bags.  We thought it would be a bit different than just a pen. Hubs is working on an idea for an info card to put in the bag. We do have so me other odds and ends which we could possibly use.

Candy is always a good idea. You could look on Oriental to find "religious" candy, maybe include one or two of those in the bags.

We had leftover gift bags from our Christmas party which we kept ready in case we had visitors. The bags were really nice - brown, with sturdy handles, and the silhouette of the nativity and the wise men...with words from Christmas songs. Got those on Oriental, also.

Please let us know what you end up doing, as that helps with ideas. 

[BrotherTony]

The three churches we were members of in the past who used this approach used the same approach and items as were mentioned. The glass or cup had the church name on it, there was a tract, a pen and a devotional booklet. This worked quite well for us.

[Pastor Matt]

Our current gift bag includes information about the church, personal hand sanitizer, $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts, a church t-shirt with the yearly theme, church pen and a copy of John and Romans. I'm currently seeing what else to put in as we are running low on t-shirts for the year. 

We'll  gladly offer Omaha steaks if any of you visit us. 

[Salyan]

Wow… never heard of a gift bag for visiting church before! Best I’ve seen (and it’s not common) is a small folder with visitor card, tract and church info, and a pen - which may or may not be fancy. 

[1Timothy115]

Hey, a cup brought me back here 

[Pastor Matt]

2 hours ago, 1Timothy115 said:

Hey, a cup brought me back here 

Wow, I forgot all about those OB mugs. Thanks for the reminder, I think I may order more of those. 

[SureWord]

12 hours ago, BrotherTony said:

I totally hope you're joking.

Of course, he should wait until Father's Day to hand out the steaks. 

7 hours ago, PastorMatt said:

Our current gift bag includes information about the church, personal hand sanitizer, $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts, a church t-shirt with the yearly theme, church pen and a copy of John and Romans. I'm currently seeing what else to put in as we are running low on t-shirts for the year. 

We'll  gladly offer Omaha steaks if any of you visit us. 

Where's your church again? 

 

[Salyan]

18 hours ago, SureWord said:

Of course, he should wait until Father's Day to hand out the steaks. 

 

Why not Mother's Day? Why do dads get all the good gifts? 

 

[Pastor Matt]

21 minutes ago, Salyan said:

Why not Mother's Day? Why do dads get all the good gifts? 

The ladies of our church said the same thing, so I ended up grilling steaks for them after their Bible Study. 

[SureWord]

5 hours ago, Salyan said:

Why not Mother's Day? Why do dads get all the good gifts? 

 

Well, I was thinking of the Father's Days deals they have at Omaha Steaks. I don't know if they have Mother's Day sales especially since grilling and BBQ'ing is considered misogynist now.