For all of you who have read my book Fusion or listened to The Assimilation Seminar, you know that part of the Assimilation System that I teach is emailing out a brief online survey to every First Time Guest that attends The Journey.

There are a couple of reasons behind this survey: 1) To get an idea of their first impressions and genuinely assess how we’re doing as much as possible, and 2) To reinforce the positive experience they had and hopefully prompt them to come again.

Now, not everyone is willing to respond to a survey, but when they do it often says a lot about how we’re doing as a church.

Today I wanted to share a big win for our team at The Journey… here’s a survey response we received from First Time Guest last week:

What did you notice first?

I noticed smiling faces everywhere, how organized everything was (literature, tables, etc.), and a joyful spirit in everyone I saw or spoke to. For me, it can be a little intimidating as a first time in a new church. I like it to be more of a personal process and just get a ‘feel’ for it. Some churches, with all the best intentions, can be overpowering with things like ‘receiving lines’ at the front door, name tags, escorts to a seat, asked that first timers stand up, etc. When I entered The Journey on Sunday, I didn’t feel descended upon, just welcomed.

What Did You Like Best?

I loved the great music that lead off the service – very engaging. I especially liked that the service seemed designed to be interactive (connection card, worksheet), was relative to daily life, didn’t have a judgmental tone, and wasn’t preachy.

Overall Impression?

The Journey has a wonderful atmosphere. Several times I looked around at the members and was really pleased to see that people were attentive, engaged, and just plain smiling a lot. That doesn’t happen by accident.

Wow! That’s a great response – I was able to share this with our team to celebrate the win, PLUS just the very act of completing this survey served to reinforce the positive experience that this person had in their first visit to The Journey.

How do you solicit feedback from your newcomers? What can you start doing this weekend to find out what they’re experiencing at your church?

P.S. For a step-by-step process to help First Time Guests become Fully Committed Members of your church, check out The Assimilation Seminar.

This three hour seminar has helped thousands of churches just like yours do a better job of integrating new people into the life of their church – why not you?

Click here to read more and secure your copy of The Assimilation Seminar.

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.