Most visitors are already deciding whether they want to come back to your church within the first 10 seconds of arriving at your church. Since none of them have ever attended your church before, they will be evaluating their experience based on questions like:
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- How easy was it to find where I needed to go?
- How safe did I feel leaving my kids in the nursery?
- Did the members make me feel welcome?
- Did the sermon motivate me to change?
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At one of the previous churches I served at, we would survey our first time guests by email and ask if they could provide feedback on their first time visit. It was interesting how many of the negative responses were related to “I had a bad experience with the kids ministry” or “I couldn’t find anyone to help answer my questions”.
When it comes to preparing for your Back To Church Sunday event, how do you create an irresistible first impression for first time visitors?
After working with thousands of churches of all different denominations and styles, we’ll explain five simple steps for creating an awesome first time experience for your visitors. Let’s jump in!
- Outdoor signage
This is especially important for churches meeting in temporary spaces like a school or movie theater. When visitors arrive on campus, you don’t want them to feel confused about where to park or which entrance to walk into. Having signs like outdoor A-frame signs or yard signs to give direction to people is important to removing any confusion. - Outdoor greeters
Having a smiling face to wave and welcome people to your church as they find parking is a super effective way to give a great first impression. One pastor said this about his church parking lot greeters, “We want each person to feel loved as soon as they drive on to our church property”. You can create an even friendlier interaction by giving your greeters handheld signs that display a welcoming message. - Lobby hosts
Once visitors enter your facility, having one or more greeters available to help show them where to take their kids or answer any questions they have is important. We call these types of greeters “hosts” because you want your volunteers to see themselves as a hospitable host and visitors as guests in their home. A great way to help your hosts stand out to your guests is by giving them serve t-shirts. That way newcomers can distinguish them from others in your lobby. - Indoor banners
Banners help communicate where to go for your visitors. This is crucial because your visitors won’t know which hallways lead where or which classrooms have which ministries before or after service. We see a lot of churches advertising Sunday school classes and kids programs before service, but when their visitors arrive, there are no helpful directions showing them where to go. You need to help your visitors understand where they should go and how to get there. This is especially true if you don’t currently have lobby hosts. Some banner ideas for this include vertical indoor banners, indoor rigid signs, and A-frame signs. - Visitor center
A visitor center is a beacon of light for newcomers who have questions and are looking for someone to connect with. You don’t have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to renovate your lobby and install a permanent visitor center. Instead, you can pick up a portable counter and use a jumbo sleeve banner as a backdrop in order to attract visitors to you. This is also great for portable churches.
Back To Church Sunday – Order now to receive on time
With Back To Church Sunday being September 15th, it’s important to place all your orders as early as possible to ensure they arrive on time. If you need any help finding a product or just need some guidance on setting up your church to be more visitor-friendly, contact our team today!
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