3 Reasons People Don’t Come Back
Brian Davis
The giant concern of churches everywhere is that people come, but they don’t come back.
It’s the problem of Outreach without Retention.
Pastors and Church Leaders continually stress out and experience frustration because they see people come in and TRY their church, but they never see them again.
There are lots of reasons why this may be happening, but here are THREE:
1. They Don’t Know Where to Go
As soon as a person turns their car onto your church property, it should be glaringly clear where they should go. Finding a Parking place should be easy, Finding the Correct Entry Doors should be Easy, and Knowing where to take their kids and enter the sanctuary should be Easy. If these things aren’t Easy, the anxiety begins.
2. They Don’t Know What to Do
If newcomers don’t know what to do, they look out of place. Nobody likes to feel out of place. The two biggest questions new guests have when they come to your church for the first time are “Where are we supposed to Go?” and “What are we supposed to Do?” They want to fit in, not stick out like a sore thumb. Do everything you can, through signage and trained greeters, to help them fit in fast.
3. They Feel Like An Outsider
People can detect whether they are truly welcome or not. Fake faces and words don’t go far with anybody. Your church (especially the front-liners) must have a true CARE and COMPASSION toward every single person that walks into your church. When the real CARE is there, they will feel it and know it. The last thing a guest needs is to feel isolated and alone in the one place they shouldn’t be.
Like I said earlier, this is something that every church battles – the battle of Retention. Nobody wants to see Guests come once but never return. That’s the main reason I wrote Retention 101 – to provide a solid resource to help church leaders.
You can drive your Retention Rate UP by eliminating these three things. Make it Easy for Guests to know where to go and what to do, and make sure people feel welcome, not like an outsider.
The above article is written on May 9, 2012 by Brian Davis, and retrieved from, http://blog.tbriandavis.com/2012/05/3-reasons-people-dont-come-back.html.
The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study and research purposes.
This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the saying goes, Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.
