Category: Guest Services

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The First Time Guest Box

We have always wanted to give out something significant to those who come for a visit for the first time. When we started we had no idea what we were supposed to give out. We tried to do a cool tiered pocket folder with each ministry in the church highlighted for visitors to take home and peruse. We failed at keeping that updated immediately! We settled on a sad handled craft bag with uninspired cookies and a letter of thanks for dropping by. Lame! We gave these out for years knowing how lame they were because we could not think of anything better.

One day I noticed the care and thought that our worship leader put into boxes she sent out to her photography clients and got inspired. Here is the current edition resulting First Time Guest Box we give out after every weekend service.

The Box

We buy these in boxes from uline.com. They are 9x8x2 inches and cost $0.63 when buying 100 at the same time. We print an invitation to connect on our website and facebook. We trim it up to fit nicely on the box and attach it with a glue stick. As you can see from this one, the corners were not glued well, resulting in that lived in look. It is a good reminder that quality control is essential!

The Crinkle Paper

We also get this from uline.com. It comes in big 10 lbs boxes that last us a very long time. It is $33 a box. It really sets the box apart by the feel of the quality and thought that went into the design.

The Good Things to Eat

We buy a dozen cookies from The Cookie Shoppe, a local gourmet cookie bakery that everyone loves! Having only one in the box seems kind of lame, but it is an awesome cookie of a size worthy of sharing. We want everyone to know it is a cookie from The Cookie Shoppe and proudly wrap each cookie individually with a sticker from The Cookie Shoppe! (Yeah, the wrappers are from uline.com as well.)

The tin is Espresso Pillows from Trader Joe’s. It is a scrumptious espresso bean and chocolate creation that is outstanding! They are $2.30 a can.

Good Things to Read

We include two books I really like. The first one is How Good is Good Enough by Andy Stanley. It is a good starter book for following Jesus. Andy talks about how people seem to think that the entrance requirements to heaven are based on our behavior. As it turns out, not one of us is good enough to earn heaven on our own. That is why we need Jesus! These books come in packs of 6 for $12.

The second book is The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. These books are $12 a piece. Keller tells the story we know as the Prodigal Son from each of the character’s perspectives. The kicker of book is that the flagrant spender turns out to be God, who lavishes His wealth of us. He spends a lot of time helping us understand that the older son wasn’t just indicative of the Pharisees of the day, but also those of us who grew up in church.  It is a power book to inspire those who are already kingdom people who happen to be looking for a new place to worship and contribute.

Each book as a bookmark that says READ ME at the top. I wrote a small description of why I liked the book enough to include it in the box. It is cut to just the right height that READ ME sticks out the top of the book.

Also included in the book stack are Invite Cards. This box has our worship invite card as well as an invitation to download our app. When we have special events coming up we also like to include a quarter cut card stock invitation to that next event.

All of this is held together by elastic loop ribbon, also purchased at uline.com. It holds everything together and looks great! They are $45 for 1000 loops.

Every Guest

At the end of the service, our worship leader prays and thanks everyone for coming. She will also say something like, “The pastors are making their way to the lobby. IF you are a first time guest with us they want to meet you and give you an awesome box with some great stuff in it! Be sure you find them!” People find us in the middle of the lobby. We give these out to every first time guest. If they come in a family, we try to give one to the family, but we don’t stop people from taking more than one. If there is a hoard of people in the family, we try to supplement with extra cookies, but they don’t need extra books!

Yes, the cost of each box approaches $20. It is a whole lot of money and, frankly, we don’t have any extra to throw away. We think this is an important investment. Once a person has decided to come for the first time, it is our job to get them to think about coming back. The boxes give guests a reason to come find and chat with one of the pastors and the quality of the items speaks to how valuable we think their visit was.

Do people come back because of the box. No. Well, not that alone. It is part of a larger effort to help people come back. No matter what you put in the boxes, it must feel like it is something valuable to you, otherwise it will hold no value to the person receiving it. That would be worse than not having anything to give in the first place!

 

 

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A Guest Thank You Card

For our church, every first and second time guests get a handwritten thank you card from the person who brought the message that weekend. Yes, handwritten. WE do not send form letters or post cards — we actually sit down with a pen and write! We include in the card a $5 Starbucks gift card (sans the sleeve) and an Invite Card with the service times on it.

A typed form letter used to be the hallmark of good guest communication. Now, it just looks like one more piece of form junk mail. Do not waste the opportunity to make a big impression! Who writes thank you cards by hand beyond the obligatory wedding gift thank yous? That’s right — no one.

That is an exclusive club you can be in for the price of card and a stamp! I cannot tell you how many people come back the next week and rave about how astonished they were to get a hand written card in the mail! Most pastors never find the time to do this, but this is such a basic and simple way to increase your ability to get visitors to come back! Why? Because they know that you do not consider them anonymous and you acknowledged their effort to roll out of bed and try something new. That’s why you should hand write first and second time guest thank you cards at all costs!

Write your guests on Monday. Get that card in the mail as fast as you can! The faster you get it to your guest, the sooner they will think about returning! Really! It works that way! Monday is also a much better day to recall who you met and which cards came from people you didn’t get a chance to chat with.

First Time Guests

I write nearly the same kind of message on every first time guest’s card:

Mark and Margret,

Thank you for joining us for worship on Sunday! I hope you felt at home with us, because we think church should feel like family. Please consider coming back again soon!

Pastor Ron

If I recall meeting them I will include, “It was great to meet you!” If the guest wrote down that someone I know invited them, I will say, “Thanks for letting Kevin drag you along with him to church this weekend.” If I do not recall meeting the person on the card, I will write, “Please come again and hunt me down after the service so I can put a face with your name.” (Almost a direct quote from Fusion, by Nelson Searcy.) It works!

Take a look through your stack. Many times roommates will come to church together and fill out separate Connection Cards. I switch up the language a bit so I don’t send the exact handwritten card to the same address! Also, look for people you don’t know in your stack. Sometimes guests will not tick the box identifying them as first or second time guests. Sometimes it is because they have been coming a few weeks and you have just recently earned the trust to receive their Connection Card. Either way, if it is a first time Connection Card they should get a note from you. If you get a Connection Card from someone and you are uncertain if it is a first time card or not, check the name against your database.

Second Time Guest

If the Connection Card comes from someone who also gave me a first time guest card, then the handwritten note says:

Mark and Margret,

You came back! Thank you for trusting us again with your weekend worship. Please keep it up! Perhaps you will find a church to call home in us.

Pastor Ron

If the Connection Card marked “second time guest” is the first time they trusted me enough to leave the Connection Card, then I combine the two sentiments.

At East Ave Church, we have a Kids Zone check-in system. We use the one with our database. When new parents check in their kids, they often give us information that they wouldn’t leave on the Connection Card. When that happens, our Children’s Director writes the family with much the same idea.

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Visitor vs Guest?

The English language can be ambiguous at times and we tend to use similar words interchangeably. And sometimes the subtle differences can make a huge difference in timbre of the meaning you wish to convey.

Much in the case of “visitor” and “guest”. In our weekend services we found that we were using these to words interchangeably to identify the new faces that show up at church each week. Is there a difference in how we use these two words? Does it matter? This may seem obvious to you, but it was not for us!

This has actually been a staff meeting discussion on many occasions! After much debate we have declared, at least for ourselves, that the people who show up for the first time in weekend worship are often “visitors” to our worship service, but we should always refer to and treat them as “guests”.

“Visitor” is a generic term for someone who does not yet belong. This word can refer to anyone from a diner at Denny’s to an intergalactic alien.

On the other hand, “guest” refers to someone that has been invited — someone that has been long anticipated and wanted! That is a big deal! Referring to someone as a “guest” means that we have been planning for them to join us and that we have been awaiting their arrival. It is another level or two above “visitor”.

That said, everything we do focused on new people attending our worship services has “guest” attached to it. It takes some disciple, but even the words that come out of our mouths need to convey the say idea. We have been anticipating these people walking through our doors, even if they simply wandered in off on the street! So, in print, from a microphone and in our signage we have purposefully changed our nomenclature to bring honor to every guest that walks through the door.

May your church be full of guest that will soon become family!