Opening your doors to all who wish to enter and worship is a common goal at most churches, and if you’re attending a church who wants to see new faces, you’ve likely thought about how your experience is for guests. One element of outreach to new guests or visitors can be a simple church visitor card, also called a church welcome card.
Here are some points to consider as you think about reaching out to keep visitors coming back:
1. There’s more than one way to handle a church visitor card. A church visitor card can either be a response card you send to say “welcome and thank you for visiting us” or it can be the actual card the guest fills in when they make that first visit. Both give you options for communicating a clear and simple welcome message. You can order church visitor cards or fill-in sheets to be custom printed to reflect the heart and soul of your congregation. You can also order your own visitor response cards that clearly state that you’re glad they’ve come, and you hope they’ll be back.
2. Once you’ve selected the right cards and stationary, be sure you have a plan in place to share them. This includes having plenty on hand with established greeters, and being sure that new faces get a warm hello and a chance to fill in a visitor card if they desire. It sounds simple, but sometimes these steps can be overlooked in the middle of other activities – and in doing so, a visitor may not feel as welcome as you’d like them to.
3. Ask for volunteers to share the joyful task of sending church visitor cards to guests. It’s rewarding and fun and a great way for children, teens or seniors to get involved in the outreach plans for your church.
4. Consider ordering holiday-specific church visitor cards and then invite people who’ve dropped in to your church during the course of the year to come back. Sending a handwritten invitation a few weeks before a holiday event or service can mean a lot to someone who is undecided about their attendance – and it could open the door to new faith.
It’s even more special to send a card with a story, such as a card designed by the monks and artists of The Printery House. For more than 60 years, The Printery House has designed and printed greeting cards for all occasions, with new designs each year. Sales support the Benedictine monastery at Conception Abbey, set in the hills of northwest Missouri. Start your church visitor card outreach plan today!