The Top 5 Reasons Churches Don't Grow 2

Still continuing in reverse order…

4. Lack of Guest Follow-up:

Churches, listen! Here’s a clue! If a visitor puts their contact details in the visitors book or on a ‘welcome card’ then they are interested! Some churches don’t have any way of visitors registering interest, others don’t follow up visitors until they have been two or three times and many don’t know what to do with the information when they have it. The statistic stands – follow up within 24 hours and your guest is 86% more likely to return. Leave it to the end of the week and the percentage drops to less than 25%.

3. Lack of Hospitality:

Bill Tenny-Brittian says he is constantly amazed at how inhospitable most churches are, scoring less than 5 out of 10 on this important scale. While the church members will tell you how friendly they are, in reality the nursery facilities are poor, the toilets need cleaning, the welcomers are busy with their friends or don’t exist at all. Other indicators that count in this measurement are coded language in notices/bulletins (e.g. acronyms for youth organisations that mean nothing on initial hearing), churchy language in worship and publicly identifying visitors in any way (this can range from name badges through to asking them to stand up and be recognised in a meeting). Then there’s poor signage around the building and lack of attention to visitors by church members and staff. It would be useful to have the equivalent of a ‘Secret Shopper’ visit your church and provide feedback!