Connecting visitors into church community

Learn how to be mindful and creative about connecting visitors into your church community

Debbie has just finished her kids holiday program for another year. A full-on week of noisy excited children, happy chaos and talking about Jesus with over 60 kids! The children are happy and tired and the parents are happy about that. Debbie and her leaders are still buzzing but also exhausted. Lots of families invited friends from the local school and community and Debbie now has a list of new contacts that she is hoping will visit on Sunday. But will they? 

Lots of great programs happen after school or during the holidays with the aim of reaching out to the local community but often lots of those new connections will never make it to a Sunday service or any other church program. Why? 

There are probably as many reasons as there are people. However, one reason may be a lack of intentional planning of how our new friends will make that step. We keep hoping that a positive experience at kids’ club or holiday club will be enough. But continuing to do the same things and expecting different results is unlikely to work. There needs to be some careful and intentional plans made to remove the obstacles and encourage newcomers to take the next step. Here’s a few thoughts about how to do that.

Have a follow up plan

Having some vague, good intentions is nice, but not enough. We need a clear plan that has been communicated to all leaders, each of whom have committed to doing it. This plan might involve a follow up phone call, a thank you for coming card or a handwritten invitation in the post.

Some examples I’ve seen churches around the West doing include sending birthday cards to the children, and personally delivering photos. Think about who you are following up because families who are completely new might need a different kind of follow up to those who regularly come to only one program. Make the most of natural connections like families whose children attend the same school.

The plan needs to be clear on what follow up will happen, when it will happen and who will do it. It’s great to include a wide range of leaders, parents and volunteers (even kids!) in your follow up plan but make sure they know the “why” and are equipped with all they need to actually do it. 

Plan for prayer

There is one practice consistently linked to effective evangelism: prayer. The people who pray for opportunities to talk to their friends about Jesus are the people who have the most conversations about Jesus. It’s a miracle when someone becomes a Christian, only God can do it, so we need to pray. Set aside time to pray, regularly and consistently for the new contacts, on your own and together with other leaders and parents.

Remove the obstacles

Often, we don’t see the obstacles that prevent newcomers from coming and staying because church is already a familiar place for us. Small things like clear signage can make a huge difference.

I once met a fellow parent Googling the church address where she needed to pick up her daughter who had come to kids’ club for the first time that day with friends. She was actually standing right in front of the hall door. But the door was closed and there was no way for her to know she was in the right place.

If you’re not sure about what obstacles might be in your context, invite a friend to be a ‘test subject visitor’ for you and chat about their experience afterwards. 

Real relationships

Jesus said people would know who his disciples are by the love they show one another (John 13:35). We want to give newcomers the opportunity to see God’s love amongst his people as they live in community, and know they are welcome to be part of it.

I’ve seen lots of churches intentionally having a parent hangout space at kids’ club, or free coffee at drop off for holiday club. This is a great start. Let’s keep thinking it through:

• Is that parent hangout space actually big enough for lots of parents to stay and chat?

• Is it a comfortable, accessible space or do they need to negotiate the front gate, the sliding door that sticks, walk through the kitchen and then out the back?

Another option to foster real relationships is through hospitality. Is it part of the church culture to be regularly having people in their homes? Hosting meals, playdates, afternoon teas, bible study groups, book clubs, discussion groups for people investigating Christianity or parent discussion groups can all be ways in which we can extend the relationships with each family who have become connected through our kids’ program. 

Special events

Lots of churches already do special events that are linked to regular programs with the hope of encouraging new contacts to take the next step, so I’ve left this until last. Also, it is very easy for special events to become something we do without much intentionality because we ‘always do it this way’. They can be a way we tick the evangelism box.

But there’s no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Special events can create a context of a number of good things: for relationships to deepen, for the gospel to be clearly proclaimed and for lots of food to be eaten. The key is to be clear about what the purpose is and make sure everything aligns with that purpose.

Sometimes we get caught up trying to do everything in one event. Despite the challenges, an invitation to a special event would be a good thing to include in your follow up plan. 

Lastly, be clear about what you’re aiming for. It would be great to have more people in church because of the awesome holiday program you just ran. But the goal is people, children and adults, coming to Jesus and growing in their faith. That might mean coming to church or it might mean meeting with a friend to read the Bible.

As God’s people, we have the words of eternal life which is the gospel message that saves. It’s worth continuing to think long and well about how to encourage everyone to come in and hear it.