Making that first impression count!

Some key points that came from a book that I have been reading called

Beyond the First Visit (The complete guide to connecting guests to your church) - - by Gary L. Mcintosh.

If guests to our church don't think we are friendly we aren't

Welcoming guests does not happen by accident.

Helping people feel welcome is the responsibility of the church not the guest.

People stay in churches because of relationships.

A church keeps about 85 percent of its guests who come back for a second visit the week after their first visit.

The healthiest churches are intentional about welcoming people, but becoming members of a church is not the same as fitting in or belonging.

People make 11 decisions about us in the first seven seconds of contact.

Remember that your church exists in such a person's mind only when he or she makes some type of contact with you, either directly or indirectly.

The end result of any contact is a feeling - positive or negative. - about your entire church.

Newcomer anxiety creates a heightened sensitivity in new people that causes every experience to make a greater impact on them than the same experiences would make an old-timers in the church.

Newcomer anxiety causes new guests to form the bulk of a their impressions about a church within thirty seconds of walking in the front door. All the impressions are subconscious, but they are being made quickly nonetheless. Contributing to their subconscious thoughts are such things as sounds, smells, signs, pictures, bulletin boards, colors, lighting and the general decor.

For every three people willing to tell a positive story about your church, thirty-three are willing to tell a negative one.

It takes one hundred positive stories to overcome the impact of one negative one.

Positive word of mouth takes place when you exceed what people expect. Poor service results in negative rumors.

Just doing what people expect results in no word of mouth. People won't talk about it since it's what they expected, nothing special. When people receive more service than they expect, they spread good rumors.