One of the biggest challenges for churches is keeping their guests and not losing them out the back door.
Searcy has created a plan for all churches to achieve this.
Searcy's plan calls for churches to spend between $400-$600 per guest on free gifts. (books, gas cards, etc...)
Doesn't this almost seem like bribery? I have a friend who would go to a large church that offered free coffee for first time guests. Each week they would go and claim to be first timers.
Having said that, this book is a great resource for anyone interested in church growth.
1 comment:
Thanks for the post about Fusion!
One clarification - I do not advocate $600 - $700 on first time guest follow-up. I do suggest you send them a personal letter with a gift card (currently we send a first class letter with a subway/bus pass - total cost $5) and then at their second visit we send a letter with a CD (about $2 with postage).
At the service Guests have the option to big up a free book designed to answer their questions about Christ (maybe $3.50 each).
So, I guess we do invest (I like that word better than 'spend') around $10 to get a first timer to return. I see it more as evangelism since everything is designed to move them forward in their spiritual walk.
In the book, I do mention that the average church spends hundreds of dollars to get guests through the door (based on the money invest in evangelism) and my challenge is to invest a few more dollars to help people return/grow.
Hope that makes sense. Again, thanks for the shout out!
Feel free to communicate with me offline if you have any questions. My email is below.
Nelson
ns1@journeymetro.com
blog: www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/blog
Post a Comment