What happens after a first-time guest visits your church? Your follow-up letter can influence whether they return. I share four real-life examples that reveal what works—and what misses the mark—so your next visitor feels valued and invited back for more.
A church can have greeters, signage, visitor parking, and gifts yet still miss real welcome. This first-time visit story shows how strong systems failed without a living vision. Use it with your team to renew purpose, notice new people, and invite them back. Finish with the Coaching Corner and a concrete next step.
Visiting a church in a different tradition taught us three big lessons about church hospitality. We felt welcome as people, yet lost in the service. Let me coach your hospitality committee through three practical steps I learned.
A church that took over an abandoned post-office turned the exterior into a nice presentable building. It looked sharp, clean, and with fresh paint and landscaping. Since the church was in my normal commuting patterns, I would drive by at least 3-4 times a day. The facilities renovation attracted my attention. What time are your …
I’ve had the joy of connecting with a Spanish speaking small church. It is a small church, bouncing from 15-40 in attendance. Our first visit was sometime 2006, maybe October. I’m clearly an American, so I stuck out.
Most churches have an unofficial dress code that visitors do not know. When a visitor appears to break the dress code, how does your church react? Does your reaction help the church’s mission of evangelism, or does it create an environment that is hostile to evangelism? The ‘secret’ dress code One of our first-time visitors …
