Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/84

Contributor - Unknown

Title - Visitor Follow-up

Topic - Church Growth

Every church has visitors. Sometimes they are invited, sometimes they just drop in. Sometimes they intend to come only once, and others have no plans.

The first person who responded to an invitation to come forward to receive Christ was a man who was literally "jogging by" one Sunday morning. On the spur of the moment, he decided to visit. Another person who has since found Christ, is a woman who had a fight with her husband one morning, left the house to cool down, and wandered into a service just to sit and think.

Every Sunday morning early in the service we invite those who are visiting for the first time to stand and share their name, and from which municipality they come. At another point in the service, everyone present is invited to stand and greet those around them, ensuring visitors with at least two or three personal contacts. Each visitor is also greeted with a colourful "Visitors Pak" consisting of a special letter of welcome, a church bulletin, and other information about the church. in the time since October 1982 when we moved into our present building and began inviting visitors to identify and introduce themselves, not a singe Sunday has passed without first-time visitors. Every church has more visitors than it thinks.

But how can a local church follow-up its visitors so that at least some of those visitors become committed disciples of Jesus Christ?

Most churches send visitors a letter of welcome the week following their visit. We have found it helpful to send different kinds of letters. One form of general letter is sent if we do not know if the person is a Christian. Another form of letter is sent to those who are members of another church. We thank them for coming and encourage them to remain faithful in serving with their home church. Another form of letter is sent to those who are Christians but do not indicate a home church. To these people we send a letter indicating the date, time of meeting, and location of the "home fellowship group" meeting nearest to their home and invite them to come and participate.

Further, it is important that most visitors receive a return visit at their homes. Research indicates those home visits are most effective if they are done early in the week following the visitors first Sunday visit, and that the call is made by lay-persons rather than the Pastor.

We ask those who are responsible for greeting visitors on a specific Sunday morning to do the following:

1. visit that person in their home during the week following their initial Sunday visit;

2. if that person returns a subsequent Sunday morning, invite that person to your own home, perhaps after worship.

3. if the visitor accepts the invitation to your home, invite them to your"home fellowship" group and go with them until they have made other friends;

4. return an information slip to the pastor indicating your efforts and results.

Other efforts at assimilation should be made. Until a visitor develops meaningful personal relationships, a significant ministry, and finds his or her place" in the fellowship, that person remains a "visitor" emotionally and will stay no longer than a few months to a year.

Each month we match people still in need of this assimilation with those in the fellowship committed to helping provide it. They are given the name and a few details about a recent visitor and are encouraged to establish contact and invite them to their home at least once that month. Other efforts toward assimilation include an invitation to a home fellowship group (if that hasn't already taken place), an invitation to participate in "Smaller ministries such as nursery care, children's church, and the reception of a weekly personalized prayer sheet prepared by another member of the fellowship.

If Jesus placed His emphasis on going out into roads and country lanes (Luke 14:23), certainly we need to take good care of the visitors who come into our fellowship of their own volition.

May the Holy Spirit make us effective in identifying following-up and loving visitors into His Kingdom to be effective, obedient disciples of Jesus Christ to the glory of the Father.

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