Why Churches Struggle with Follow-Up

Podcast Episode #210

We discuss a recent post on guest follow-up and offer some tips on how to improve it in your church.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

One of the questions I get all the time is “How do we get guests to return to our church?”
Door-to-door visitation still works in some churches and communities, but not many.
Most churches put a lot more effort into events at the church facility than they do for being in the community.
In most churches a 20% return rate for guests should be the benchmark.
Most church members don’t know what a church does for follow-up because the staff do it all.
Some type of follow-up with church guests should happen within 24 hours of a visit.
Let the context of your community dictate how you do followup after an initial contact.
Every church should have a plan for how to follow-up with guests.

The six reasons churches struggle with follow-up are:

The church has no plan in place for follow-up.
Follow-up takes place outside the walls, a place of discomfort for many church members.
Follow-up ministry is not as splashy as other ministries.
Follow-up ministry can become discouraging.
Follow-up ministry is not emphasized or recognized by leadership.
Follow-up ministry is not even considered a ministry in many churches.

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