Why Churches Struggle with Follow-Up – Rainer on Leadership #210

Podcast Episode #210

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We discuss a recent post on guest follow-up and offer some tips on how to improve it in your church.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

• One of the questions I get all the time is “How do we get guests to return to our church?”
• Door-to-door visitation still works in some churches and communities, but not many.
• Most churches put a lot more effort into events at the church facility than they do for being in the community.
• In most churches a 20% return rate for guests should be the benchmark.
• Most church members don’t know what a church does for follow-up because the staff do it all.
• Some type of follow-up with church guests should happen within 24 hours of a visit.
• Let the context of your community dictate how you do followup after an initial contact.
• Every church should have a plan for how to follow-up with guests.

The six reasons churches struggle with follow-up are:

1. The church has no plan in place for follow-up.
2. Follow-up takes place outside the walls, a place of discomfort for many church members.
3. Follow-up ministry is not as splashy as other ministries.
4. Follow-up ministry can become discouraging.
5. Follow-up ministry is not emphasized or recognized by leadership.
6. Follow-up ministry is not even considered a ministry in many churches.

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Feedback

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Resources

• Camel Falls into the Crowd at Family Church