One Next Step to Invite Visitors to Return to Church

It’s the next week and you see the Smith family come back after visiting for the first time last week. You walk over and welcome them back to worship with you then continue on with service and miss them yet again on their way out. You sort through connect cards and find they didn’t fill one out this week either.

What if, instead, you asked for their phone number and invited them into their next step with your community?

Why would that yield a different result?

Communicating a single, clear next step for visitors is the best way to retain new faces.

Here is one we like but it can be anything – so long as it’s clear!

Coffee with the Pastors

One of the highest priorities for any church visitor is to get to know their pastor. While you can get a sense of a pastor's personality and values from the pulpit, there’s nothing like an in-person connection to share a conversation and ask some questions.

Inviting new and recurring visitors to a bi-weekly or monthly opportunity to grab some coffee with the pastors is a great way to welcome new people in and let them get to know the leaders of the church they’re considering attending.

Some Considerations

Coffee with the Pastors can be before, after, or between services but definitely consider capturing their attention while they’re already there rather than asking them to return at a later time. Consider also providing a few snacks or doughnuts, especially since the people who attend may have skipped breakfast or lunch to be there. Lastly, consider inviting other key leaders to this event – someone may be interested in speaking to the worship leader or a small group leader in their neighborhood.

Remember, Just One

By choosing just one single step to point new guests toward, you create a clear path for guests to become a part of your church in a way that is welcoming rather than confusing. Give it a try or try something else that may work better for your context.‍

Are you ready to invite your church’s guests to get to know you more?

Try this:

Hey Paul, it was so great meeting you this week. I wanted to invite you to grab coffee after service next week in the Living Room so we could get to know each other and maybe answer any questions you might have about Local Church! Think you’ll be able to make it?

– Pastor John

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