The Most Overlooked People in Church
Lately I have been spending a lot of time looking at retention stats. Our church sees a lot of first time guests and returning guests, but I haven't been pleased with our retention when comparing apples to apples. While I know you can't retain every person who walks in the door (and some you wouldn't if you could), I want to make sure we are doing our part in reaching out to people who are searching for a place to worship. So, after hammering out a few thoughts with my coach, I began to put something together that I believe is pivotal in reaching and retaining, what may be, the most overlooked people in church on Sunday...returning guests. Like most churches, we do a splendid job at touching first time guests; the free coffee mug, the warm greeting at guest services, the email and letter from me on the next day. First time guests know they are appreciated. Then it occurred to me, we put a lot of energy into first time guests, but returning guests (2nd time, 3rd tim