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!