A Letter from A Church Visitor

Dear Local Church,

I really want to attend your church on Sunday, and I know you want me to come to your gathering as well. I understand that we all need to follow the public health guidelines and I’ve read them over to be sure that I am informed. I know that I’ll need to always wear a mask indoors and will need to sit physically distanced from others.  

I visited your church website and at times it took a while to find your Sunday service information.  Sometimes I was asked to register for a service and other times not, but I was told that you are following a 1/3 capacity limit. That’s great, but it made me wonder if there will be space for me at your service?  What happens if I show up on Sunday morning and you’ve reached your 1/3 capacity?  

It was super helpful to receive a confirmation when I was able to register for one of your services, but it didn’t tell me what to expect. It’s clear in my work environment and when I go to restaurants and other places what the expectations are and what I can expect, but it was a little confusing and made me a little anxious to not know what to expect at your church. You see I’m mindful of my well-being and that of those around me – my family, co-workers and people I interact with. I need some assurance to be confident that when I attend your church I will be in as safe an environment as you can provide. 

I know everyone is trying to figure this thing out and you’re doing your best with fewer staff and volunteers. But I wonder if you realize that I’ve never been to your church before. When I pulled into your parking lot, I wasn’t sure which door to enter, then I didn’t know where to go. I sort of followed other people and ended up in a large dark room. I passed people who I’m not sure are there to help me or not. They sort of seem friendly but didn’t want to get too close to me – which I understand. But I couldn’t hear anything they might be saying to me because sometimes the music is too loud and we’re wearing masks. Other times they back up when I approach them and then I think maybe I shouldn’t try asking them a question.

I’m sure you work hard to make the room that the service is in look a certain way. But it’s difficult for someone like me who has never been in your church before to see anything when the lights are off or turned down. I don’t know where the stairs are, can’t see what signs you may have about seating and I’m wearing a mask and glasses. I saw a few elderly people stumble in the dark and wondered how much harder it is for them. I’ve been to a lot of concerts and theatre productions, and they don’t turn the house lights down until people are seated and just before the show starts. That’s sort of what I was expecting, as well as ushers to help me find a seat. I have to say it made me a little uncomfortable when strangers sat right beside me, not leaving 6 feet between us. I’m not used to being so close to people like that anymore and I must admit I spent a lot of the service wondering if they were vaccinated or unvaccinated and wondering why so many people weren’t wearing masks.  

Thank you for trying your best to create a “normal” experience. But to be honest, I was really distracted during the service. I don’t think I got as much out of it as I could’ve. While it was good to be in the same space as other people, I found it sort of stressful and think maybe I’ll try an online church or maybe try again when the pandemic is over. I wanted to tell you about my experience so that you would know, but there’s wasn’t any follow up email to my registration or when I texted the “Visitor” number from the screen – but I might have gotten the number wrong because the number wasn’t up for very long.

Sincerely,
Sunday Visitor

Tips for Welcoming New or Newer People to Your Church

Our goal is to reach lost people and make disciples, so we want unchurched people to come to our Sunday worship gatherings. Keep in mind that they are new, they don’t know your culture, your practices, your expectations, or your lingo. Here are some things to keep in mind that will make Sunday visitors want to come back again.

1. Tell people about what they can expect to experience.

   The church website is a great place to post this, or as a message on your church phone system at an extension. Give people information in advance about what they can expect when they come to your church. Where do they enter? How do they find the room that the service is in? How does your seating work? What will their children experience in Children’s Ministry? Don’t bury this information on your website. If you have an online registration process for people to attend services, the receipt should include all this information. 

2. Do what you say you are doing.

   Whatever type of environment and practices you say you will be doing – do it. If people are required to be masked when indoors, in the room that your Sunday gathering is taking place in – then they should be. Determine and develop your plan for enforcing health restrictions that are invitational, rather than confrontational. Ensure your staff and volunteers are well-informed practitioners and be consistent. Apathy will always lead to non-compliance. 

3. Re-Train Volunteers

   Recruiting volunteers has been extremely difficult during the ongoing pandemic and last-minute cancellations are the norm given the health restriction protocols. However, we need to create a new norm and that will require re-training volunteers. As the conversation is more challenging with mask-wearing, how can your greeters, hospitality team and ushers be easily identified?  Consider coloured lanyards or even vests that are something people will be willing to wear and makes them easily identifiable to a first-time visitor. Have them wave at people, rather than the instinctive desire to shake their hand. Place greeters just outside the main entries to the room where the service will be taking place so that they converse without being drowned out by music that might be playing. Ensure your welcome/information kiosk is clearly marked and visible. In a crowded foyer, especially between the rush of multiple services, it can easily be missed. Consider including in your online registration receipt one sentence about where the welcome/information kiosk is.

4. Accessibility & Seating

   Ensure areas are well marked. Consider having a Visitor QR on a pop-up stand that a visitor can scan and receive all the information about your church and its facility that they may need to know such as auditorium, children’s ministry check-in, restrooms, etc. Or attach a link to registration receipts with this information. Think about lighting as people enter the room where the worship service will take place. Can a first-time visitor easily navigate it? Is it too dark? Have clearly marked seating. Don’t assume everyone knows and everyone will sit six feet apart. If you don’t have ushers, put laminated cards in pews or on chairs with instructions that people can adjust in their row when they are seated. Or post an instructional sign at the start of every row inviting people to keep 6 feet between households or cohorts. If you have welcome slides, post reminders in a friendly way for visitors and your regular people who may need reminding.  

5. Follow Up

   Have a means of follow-up with visitors. Send a follow-up email from service registrations and invite visitors to click on a link to tell you about their experience. Have a slide up after your service that can remain for a longer time for visitors to text in their experience. Have a clickable link on a Visitor QR code to give feedback. Follow up with visitors and invite them back!

Make visiting your church an easy and pleasant experience. Remove hindrances that might keep people from attending and engaging in your local church.  

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