RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

You have to be intentional if you want to see first-time guests return.  

Did you know that the average church only sees about 7% of guests return? 

That's a pretty low percentage, but there are some proven ways you can see more guests return. Let's take a look at 5 ways you can see more guests return. 

The first one is a big one. 

If you want to see more guests return, then you must give them a great first experience. 

You only get one opportunity to make a great first impression. If a guest has a bad first experience, I don't care how many times you email them, text them or even visit them, they are not going to return. You must exceed their expectations on their first experience. 

I've shared before about the time I was having lunch with the pastor of one of the fastest growing and largest churches in the country. I asked him how he followed up with first-time guests and he told me he doesn't follow up. Instead, he puts all of his effort into giving guests a great first experience. As they create what he called "irresistible environments" they see guests return for a second time.  

That strategy was new to me, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  You want to see more first-time guests return? Then raise the quality of your environments. 

Send them a handwritten postcard.  

In the day of digital communication, a handwritten note is golden. A good way to do this is to have your guest service volunteers write the note. They are the people who interact with your guests and this helps the note mean more. Mention something in the note that is specific to that family. An example would be a family who just moved to your area from Pittsburg. Put something in the note that mentions this. 

Offer them a return gift. 

I decided to start offering a t-shirt on their second visit. This has been highly successful in seeing more guests return. We put a note about the return gift on the handwritten postcard. It obviously costs us some money to do this, but we felt it was worth it. When we started offering the t-shirt on the second visit, our return rate went up to 38%. 

Send the parents a text message. 

Did you know that 98% of text messages get read?  94% in the first minute. That's a high, high percentage. On the week after their visit, send your guests a simple text message that thanks them for coming. 

Establish a personal connection. 

I got this idea from another church and it is highly effective.  

Ask a guest parent to meet you for lunch that week.  

Yep. You read that right. Approach a guest parent cold turkey and invite them to meet you for lunch that week. You will be surprised to find out that most will say "yes." Obviously this should be a man meeting a man and a woman meeting a woman. 

Use the lunch to get to know them. Make a good connection and you are almost guaranteed they will be back the next Sunday.  I have seen this work time after time after time. 

Do these five things and I guarantee you that your return rate will go up. 

p.s. Have you gotten a copy of my book "Be Our Church Guest?"  It is full of ideas like this to see more of your guests return. Get your copy today at this link. 

I was shopping for an item this week.  I went into a store and walked to the section where this item is located. It is held in a glass container that has a lock on it. 

I found a salesman in that area and approached him.  When I asked him if he could open the cabinet for me, he gave me the "Don't bother me" vibe. You know what I am talking about?  They make you feel like it is a big hassle to have to open the cabinet door for you. 

To top off the amazing customer service experience he gave me, he also said that he had a couple of items he had to put back first before he could help me. Okay...so I stood there awkwardly waiting for him to do his "task" before he helped me. It caused me to feel unimportant and not a priority.

I don't think his manager has taught him proper costumer service skills. He should have been trained to always take care of the customer first before you take care of a task.  The task can wait...the customer may not want to wait.

This is why I rarely go into this store unless I have an emergency item that I need to get. Customer service is such a big part of the average person's shopping experience.

People don't return because of your merchandise.  They return because of how you make them feel.  

The same could be said about the experience you give first-time guests at your church.  If your guest doesn't have a good experience, I don't care how many times you call them, email them, text them or even show up on their door step. They are not going to return. 

It is crucial that you consecrate on giving guests a great first experience.  A big way you can do this is to always put people before tasks. If you are in the middle of a task and a person approaches you...drop the task and give your entire attention to the person and what they are asking from you.  

Ministry is all about people. First and foremost.  People are more important than any task you find yourself immersed in.

I had another incident that happened a couple of weeks ago at the church where I serve. We had a first-time guests family show up a little late after service had started. I took them to the classroom and was met at the door by one of our team members.  Our team member let out a sigh and said "Pastor Dale, why are you bringing us more children.  We don't have room for anyone else."  She said this in front of the new family.  The truth was we had plenty of space in the room and the ratio was fine as well.  

I was so embarrassed for this family and will be having a conversation with this volunteer.  People always come first and we never want people to feel like they are "bothering us" or causing us an inconvenience. 

Yes..we have to keep good ratios and not jeopardize kids' safety.  That being said, we also have to make guests feel welcomed and valued. For this to happen we have to put people before tasks.

Have you read my new book "Be Our Church Guest?"  It is full of ideas that will help you see more of your guests returnf or a second visit. You can get it at this link.

When was the last time you were in an adult worship service?  If you are a children's minister / director, you may not be able to remember. 

I find that for the average children's minister, they rarely attend the adult service. For some it has been months or even years since they were able to worship with other adults. 

Why is this?

The biggest reason is lack of volunteers. They haven't been able to enlist and equip enough volunteers to run the children's ministry without them. If they tried to step out to get in the adult service, things would fall apart.

Another reason is they don't enjoy the adult service. I find that often children's ministers love children's ministry so much that they begin to feel restless when they try to sit in the adult service.  They would rather be in the children's ministry area than in the adult service. 

Another reason is because they feel like the ministry can't run without them on hand. They are striving for perfection and feel like the ministry will not function at a high level without them being involved every single minute.

A final reason is they feel guilty being in the adult service while their volunteers are serving.  If they are asking their volunteers to serve, then they feel like they should be there as well all the time.

I understand these reasons. I have personally struggled with some of these as well.  Now that these reasons have been established, let's talk about why children's ministers should attend the adult service. 

Attending the adult service helps you stay connected to the church's overall vision and direction.  It is easy to become a silo. You can become isolated from the rest of the church while you do your own thing in the world of children's ministry.  Being part of the adult service helps you stay connected to the rest of the church. 

Attending the adult service helps you grow spiritually. Hearing the Word of God taught is an important part of growing spiritually. It helps you stay healthy spiritually and keeps bitterness, resentment, discouragement, and disillusionment at bay. 

Attending the adult service sets an example for your volunteers to follow.  Hopefully you are making sure your volunteers are attending the adult service. In fact, you should make it a requirement if they want to serve in children's ministry. You should hold yourself to the same standard. 

So what do you think? 

What has been your experience in this?

Do you attend the adult service? Why or why not?

What are some other tips you can share about this?  

Share your thoughts in the comment section below. 

p.s.  Here are some resources that can help you. 

"The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams" book. 

"Lead Well in Children's Ministry" book.   

Volunteers. Without them, there would not be a children's ministry.  I believe they are the most essential part of what we do. 

It's important to let volunteers know how much you appreciate them.  

One study revealed that over 60 percent of volunteers have never heard the words "thank you for serving."

Showing appreciation keeps volunteers engaged. When people feel valued, they’re more likely to stay involved.  

Thanksgiving and Christmas is a great time to thank your volunteers.  Here are 20 ways you can do this. 

Idea #1 - Handwritten note.

Every week sit down and take some time to write some of your volunteers a thank you note. In a day of electronic communication, a hand written note is golden.  

Idea #2 - Give volunteers a note with a $100,000 Grand candy bar attached. Have the note say "you are priceless."

Idea #3 - Honor their years of service.

Honor their commitment. Express your appreciation for their years of service and faithfulness. 

Idea #4 - Find out what their favorite dessert or snack is and bring it to them.

Keep a list of your volunteers' favorite snacks and desserts. 

Idea #5 - Award volunteers with a "volunteer of the month" award.   Pick one volunteer per month for this and spotlight them.

Idea #6 - Host a volunteer appreciation dinner.  Serve them a meal and tell them how much you appreciate them.

Idea #7 - Give them a gift card to a coffee shop.  Better yet...meet them at the coffee shop and spend some time hanging out with them.

Idea #8 - Make a volunteer appreciation video. Grab your phone and shoot a 1-2 minute video where you brag on them and tell them how much you appreciate their heart for the next generation.

Idea #9 - Personally thank each volunteer each week when you see them.  I say this to every volunteer each week - "Thank you for serving and making a difference."

Idea #10 - Give them a Christmas ornament for their tree. Write the year and your ministry name on the ornament. You will find they will keep these and put them on their tree each year. 

Idea #11 - Almond Joy with a note that reads, “It’s a JOY having you on the team!

Idea #12 - A s’mores kit with a note that reads, “We'd like to have s’more volunteers like you! You are amazing!"

Idea #13 - A small plant with a note that reads, “Thanks for planting God’s Word in the
kids’ hearts!”

Idea #14 - Have the kids write thank you notes to them.

Idea #15 - Life Savers Candy - On a card write, "Thank you for being a kidmin Life Saver."

Idea #16 - Flashlight with a note that says "Thanks for shining Jesus' light to the kids each week."

Idea #17 - A journal and pen set.

Idea #18 - Candle that says "You are a light to the next generation."

Idea #19 - Microwave popcorn that says "You are a POPular volunteer with the kids."

Idea #20 - Give your volunteers a t-shirt with your ministry name / logo on it. 

Your turn. What are some other ways you have thanked your volunteers? Share in the comment section below.