What People Look for in a Church

When a visitor comes to your church you want to make a good impression and hopefully get those visitors to come back for a second visit. If your church is looking to grow, and get new members, here are some things visitors are looking for in your church.

Friendliness - Smile. Shake visitors hands. Introduce yourself. Ask if it's their first time visiting. Ask if they live in the area. Invite them to go out to eat with you and your family after services or to come back for a pot luck that's scheduled for next week.

Some churches take visitor information on Sunday morning, and then deliver muffins or banana bread to their homes later in the week. This is a great way to let people know you really do care.

The Bathrooms - I recommend putting up signs near the main entrance so that the bathrooms are easy to fin. Is there only one stall and a long line? Are the bathrooms dirty or dingy? Spend a little money updating the bathrooms. Perhaps some of the women in the church could take down the out of date wall paper and paint the walls a fresh, clean looking color. Keep them well stocked with toilet paper, working hand dryers or plenty of paper towels, and trash cans with liners.

Childcare - Visitors with children will definitely want to know all about your nursery and children's programs. Do you perform background checks on the people working with children? What are your policies regarding children's workers? If a child misbehaves, what correction is given? Do you have to sign your child in and out or do you let anyone pick up children? It's nice to have all this information typed up and printed for visitors when they drop off their children so that they'll feel their children are safe at your church.

Other things to consider regarding childcare: Are the toys, cribs and swings in good working order? If anything is broken, get rid of it. Keep things clean and safe. Ask a volunteer to watch for safety recalls on all of your children's things.

Your Beliefs. Print a simple sheet with your church's doctrinal statement to give visitors with a welcome packet or print this information in the weekly bulletin. Do you believe the KJV is the only valid version of the Bible? How do you believe man is saved? What are your beliefs about the trinity?

Also, visitors will be asking themselves if your church is a cult. You may laugh, but if everyone dresses alike, does their hair alike, and all the children go to the same school, you're going to scare some people away.

Keep these simple things in mind to make your visitors feel welcome, and you're sure to turn visitors into members.