In a recent Pastors Today newsletter, Rick Ezell talks about the importance of the first experience visitors have when they come to your church. He notes, “You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Your first-time guests have some simple desires and basic needs. They decide very quickly if you can meet those criteria. The decision to return for a second visit is often made before guests reach your front door.
Use the Following List of Questions as an Evaluation Tool:
• Are you creating the entire experience, beginning with your parking lot?
• Are you consciously working to remove barriers that make it difficult for guests to find their way around and feel at home with your people?
• Do newcomers have all the information they need without having to ask any embarrassing questions?
• Are your greeters and ushers on the job, attending to details and anticipating needs before they are expressed?
• Does anything about your guests’ first experience make them say, ‘Wow!’ and want to return?”