With Easter fast approaching (Sunday, April 24), I want to devote some time on the blog in the coming days to help you upgrade your assimilation system.
In other words, I want to help you keep more of your first-time Easter guests this year.
In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back.
Think about that: Before a single worship song is sung and before even one word of the message is uttered, their mind is made up!
Now obviously, these newcomers aren’t making a logical decision based on the character of the church or the clarity of your doctrine.
Instead, they are taking in clues about your church’s atmosphere and the people’s friendliness on a much more rudimentary level. Their subconscious minds are working overtime to evaluate their compatibility with this new environment.
So the question for you becomes, What’s actually being judged?
And how much control can you have over making their experience ring positive?
Pre-Service: From The Street To The Seat
The pre-service period is your first opportunity to interact with guests.
You should use it to bring their guard down and even put a smile on their face before the service begins.
How?
By controlling the way they are Greeted, Directed, Treated and Seated.
Today I’m beginning a series of posts where I’ll address each of these four areas of Pre-Service and help you upgrade your first time guest experience, starting with:
1. Greeted
Memorize the next sentence and embed it into your thinking: Everything speaks to first-time guests.
From the moment guests set foot on your property, they tune in to receive the message your church is sending.
And your church is always sending a message, whether you realize it or not. The condition of your building, your sign, your grass and your parking lot all speak to guests… So make sure they are giving a welcoming impression.
You have an obligation to strive for excellence.
Examine your church through your guest’s eyes… What are you communicating?
The most critical part of the “greeted” area of initial contact is who your guests meet when they make it to the front door—your greeters.
A friendly face offering a warm welcome speaks volumes!
Greeters should practically radiate the underlying message you want to send to your guests: “We are nice people, and we are glad you are here!”
So…. What can you do about the way people are GREETED at your church this week?
* Conduct a “smile practice” before you chose your greeters for the main door.
Have all of your volunteers give you their biggest, most genuine smile, and then position those with the most welcoming energy as your first-line greeters.
Check in next week as I continue this series of posts.
P.S. If you’re truly ready to keep new people from slipping through the cracks at your church, check out The Assimilation Intensive.
With over 8 hours of audio training and dozens of sample files and documents, this is the most comprehensive resource available to help you turn First-Time Guests into Fully-Committed Members of Your Church. Click here to Download Now and Save $100.00!
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