If Your Visitors Posted a Blog…
Not long ago, there was a post titled “If Your Volunteers Posted a Blog”. Taking another viewpoint, what if new visitors blogged about your church and their experience? The Blogging Church has a
- Pay closer attention as you drive into your church. If you are a staff member, this is critical for you, as you are used to the neighborhood. What works and what doesn’t? Is the signage easy to read? Do you have small signs in a 1 mile radius to guide your guests if they are unfamiliar with the areas?
- Clean your palette – we are often used to the “taste” of our church, but if you “scrub your palette” once in a while, you may get to experience your church flavor again. What happens when the visitor pulls into the parking lot? Was it easy to find a place? Do they see smiles from the moment they see their first member? Are they welcomed with open arms, or is a program shoved in their face and they are told to hurry in? Are you treating them as kindly when they leave as when they arrive?
- Bring a friend, asking for them to pay close attention and to give you an honest report afterward. Just be warned – it might hurt, but it may help you in the long run
- Attend as an audience member by taking a day off, putting someone in charge to handle any issues, and just sit. If you have multiple services, attend one you normally miss to get a different feeling and to break those old habits.
- Sit next to people you don’t know and get to know them – often, we sit next to those we know and forget that the visitor’s experience during the service
Remember: the visitor experience starts from the mile outside the parking lot as they arrive and completes a mile away from the building as they leave. Everything in between is fair game for them to critique – whether you know it or not.
[tags]church visitors, church leadership[/tags]
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I recently blogged just a little something about something at a friends church from their passion play…and then afterwards…I felt a little guilty…I was like “who from their church will see this, will they find this funny?”
But I guess that’s just the way it goes. I told my friend about my post so she just wouldn’t find it on her own.
–RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
RC,
Thanks for sharing. It can take some getting used to, but often the people will thank you. Most people won’t take the time to comment (as you did) about a post, event, or church visit. Taking the time means you care. Be careful what you write, though, as it will be immortalized by Google, et. al.
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