Connect Cards

Getting contact info from newcomers is so important because we can’t follow up with them if we don’t know who they are. I’ve found that the difference between fast-growing churches and churches which are plateaued often isn’t the number of 1^st-time guests, but the number of guests who are returning.

Churches who are serious about reaching people for Christ must be focused on their weekend guests. Their visit to your church reveals they are actively seeking to meet a need – whether it’s the need for a fresh start, to connect with others, to know more about Christianity, or for a church home. You can’t help someone grow spiritually or encourage them to take their next steps toward Jesus if you never see them again. So being able to follow up, making people feel welcome, and inviting them to return are ultimately the first steps of your church’s discipleship process.

With that in mind here are ten tips to encourage more first-time guests to fill out your connection cards.

• Connect the card to a gift. When the card is explained during your announcement time, connect it to a gift for 1^st-time guests. Churches who spend $5-15 on a guest bag will find that it’s worth the investment.
  
• Have pens available for everyone. It seems like a no-brainer, but people can’t fill out the card if they don’t have anything to write with.
  
• Use the communication card for all sign-ups. Rather than requiring people to go to a table in the lobby to sign up for an event or group, give them the option of signing up right on the card. You don’t even have to customize the card to allow for this. You can just announce, “If you want to participate in this fun outreach we’re doing at the park, just write ‘PARK’ at the top of your communication card and we’ll follow up with more details.”
  
• Make it easy to turn in the card. If newcomers are required to take their completed card to a welcome center, many won’t. Especially if they’re introverts or unfamiliar with how churches operate. Make it as easy as possible.
  
• Make the process clear. Show people what the card looks like. Ask them to fill out as much information as they’re comfortable with. Tell them when and where they’ll be turning in the card. Explain where the gift bags are (and have them at every exit point).
  
• Build a culture where everyone fills out the cards. By having ALL attenders fill out information cards, your guests aren’t singled out. Since it isn’t necessary to get a regular attender’s contact info week after week, we ask them to at least write their name.
• Less is more. When designing your communication card, ask for only the information you’re going to use. Don’t ask for info just because you find it interesting. The fewer form fields you display, the more cards you’ll have filled out. Barna Group found that 82% of millennials will share their first name, 33% will give their e-mail address, and only 12% will write their phone number. If you want more information about a guest, you can always find that out through later interactions.
• Solicit prayer requests. Provide space for people to submit prayer requests on the connection card and encourage them to do so. Pastor: when you let people know you will be personally praying over every request received, people will use the cards to share their burdens with you.
• Use your children’s registration form. Most likely, your church requires families to fill out a registration form before dropping off their kids. While parents will gladly answer every item on a child’s registration form, many will choose not to complete a guest card, so be sure to process your children’s registration forms just as you would connection cards from the worship service, since those forms already have all the contact info you need for guest follow-up.
• Do good. If your church partners with other non-profit organizations, you can commit to give something to a worthy cause for each connection card received. This encourages people to fill out their cards to support the charity and allows first-time guests to immediately see that the church is outward-focused and prioritizes meeting needs in the community.
  

If you begin implementing these best practices, I believe you’ll start receiving more completed guest cards than ever before.