5 Ways to Get Christmas Visitors to Keep Coming Back to Your Church

1. Make sure they feel welcome when they first come.

Of everything I will share with you, this is the most important thing. If you fail here, then it will lessen the impact of everything you do after. There is an old expression that says you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Nowhere is this truer than when a visitor walks into your church, whether they are returning or visiting for the very first time. Everything that happens in the moment they walk in is critical. Are they greeted with smiling greeters that make them feel like they're valued and welcomed? They should feel you are excited that they have come, and you should be genuinely excited. Make sure your greeters are outgoing, warm, and friendly. Don’t underestimate that experience when you first walk into the building because this can set the stage for everything else that happens

A few years ago, I went to a men's meeting that was held at a church I had never visited before. I walked into the building without a lot of expectations. What happened after I walked in literally overwhelmed me. The members of the church who were there to serve were the nicest, kindest, and most loving people I had ever been around, and I have been in church since I was 6 years old. I was so impressed with how they made me feel that I even went to the pastor during the conference and told him how incredible his members were. When I got home, I told my wife of this experience and how overwhelmed I was by the sense of love and service I received that day. I have never forgotten that experience.

When you have visitors coming in during the Christmas season, this is how you must treat them. If they feel love, kindness, and people who treat them like they matter, it will spark a desire in them to want to come back. This does not guarantee that they will, but when they think about your church or if they drive by the church, they're always going to have that memory of how your church made them feel.

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2. Invite them to come back.

There's an old southern colloquialism that says, “y'all come back now, ya hear.” Typically, this was an invitation to come back again after someone had visited a restaurant or someone's house. When you have visitors who come to your church for the very first time, especially around Christmas, it makes sense to invite them to come back. You do this because this is what you want them to do.

There are different ways you can do this. You can simply give them a welcome card which shows the times of the services and maybe a bit of information about the church. You can make them aware of different ministries that are available for them, especially if they have children, young adults, or someone with them who has special needs. This should happen within the flow of conversation, so be observant and make sure you have people who are comfortable doing this.

I was having a conversation with a friend recently who had invited someone to visit our church. The person had a wonderful experience and the first question that he asked was is there a ministry here for my daughter because she is in college. If you have a variety of ministries, make people aware of them. However, you should do this in a casual, not pushy way, and then invite them back to come and visit that ministry. However, this will only work if they had a wonderful time being there in the first place. That’s why what you do first is so critical because it sets the stage for them to want to come back.

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3. Have a follow-up event already planned.

Another way to get visitors to come back is to plan a follow-up event specifically designed for them. Even more specifically for those who might come to your church for the first time during Christmas. Chances are, if they are visiting during the holidays, it’s likely for a special event. It may be a Christmas play, a concert, or a festive service that’s a little different from your usual Sunday morning service. That’s why you need to give them another reason to return. Don’t just think about the event you are inviting them to. Have the next event already scheduled, because this is how you can build momentum. This could be a fun social event, a family-friendly activity, or even a short teaching series designed to spark curiosity.

The goal is to create an opportunity for them to come back through your doors. When you invite them to the next event, it sends an obvious message that you’re not just glad they showed up for Christmas; you want them to be part of your church family. That second invitation is often the next logical step in the process of helping to move them from a visitor to a regular attendee.

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4. Be wise in the way you follow up with them.

When visitors come, you may collect their contact information. How you handle that is crucial. The worst thing you can do is overwhelm them with information or invitations to come back to your church. This can be a huge turnoff. I had a friend who visited a church we were attending. They came and enjoyed the service. While there, they filled out a card, as many visitors do, and the church added them to their email and text lists. Afterward, they were constantly invited to events at the church. With the number of messages they received, it was borderline harassment. Even after she requested to be removed from the list, she was still receiving these messages. Needless to say, she never stepped foot in that church again.

This is not how you engage people. While you want them to come back, activities like this reek of desperation. A better way to do this would be to send a card with a handwritten message (don’t underestimate the power of a handwritten card), thanking them for visiting the church and inviting them back again (Y’all come back now, ya hear!). If you have another event coming up that is appropriate for them, then you can include that information in the card. If your church has the budget, then include a small gift card for coffee. Remember, as nice as these touches are, they will only matter if they had a great experience when they came. These other things are just icing on the cake.

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5. Make sure the pastor is available to greet people.

There are some churches you attend, and after the service, the pastor is nowhere to be found. Granted, I understand the demands of a service, especially if you were the one preaching. You may be tired and just want to get away from everyone, but you must push through that. When the pastor takes a moment just to greet people, shake their hand, introduce themself, and maybe have a brief conversation with someone, the people don’t forget those moments.

I recall a time when we visited a church for Easter, (no, we are not CEO’s). We were looking for a new church because we were new to the area. We went to the Easter play, and afterward, we visited the area they had set up for visitors. While we were there, the senior pastor came over and greeted us. He engaged us in conversation and spent about thirty minutes with us. I have been in churches a long time and I never had a pastor do that. I know that is unusual, and I would not expect a pastor to do that with everyone, but that experience left an indelible mark on us. Because of that experience, we both felt we should come back and visit this church. We went back and eventually became members. What sparked that was the pastor taking some time to make us feel like we mattered, which all ties back to the first way I mentioned above.     

If you are a pastor and you can connect with people and make yourself human, that is attractive to people. One reason people were drawn to Jesus is he never turned people away. People were valuable to him, and he made them feel that way. A simple, warm, genuine greeting by the pastor before or after the service can go a long way in encouraging someone to come back and visit again.

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