The #1 Reason Guests Return to Church

The #1 Reason Guests Return to Church
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.” -Hebrews 13:2

 Thom Rainer is a pastor and Christian author from whom I have benefitted greatly. In his book, “Becoming A Welcoming Church”, he interviews visitors to local churches. Some of those visitors returned for a second visit, and some did not. After conducting hours upon hours of interviews, Rainer categorizes visitor’s responses into two “top ten” lists: the top ten reasons visitors returned to a church, and the top ten reasons visitors did not return to a church.

I’ll have more to say about the negative list in the future, but today I’d like to focus on the #1 reason visitors returned to a church. If you had to guess, what reason would you give? The preaching? The music? These important aspects of worship didn’t even make the top ten. I think the reason these important aspects were excluded is fairly simple. Nearly everyone who visits a church today has already watched that church’s worship service online. The fact that they made their way to the church’s physical campus means they liked the worship they saw.

So what is the #1 reason guests return to a church? The #1 reason guests return to a church is that someone at church asked the guest to sit with them during worship. Yes. It really is that simple.

Most healthy churches are “friendly”. In other words, when guests walk into the church for the first time, church members welcome them and speak to them. In very intentional churches, guests are given a welcome bag, shown to the children’s area, and offered coffee. These are all wonderful things.

But then guests sit down for worship – alone. Guests reported that the worst part of their first visit to a church was the last few minutes before worship began. Why? Because they feel like the teenager sitting alone in the corner at the prom.

If this subject seems trivial to you, remember that many people who visit a church for the first time are not yet Christians. Their experience at CPC won’t just determine whether or not they attend our church, it may very well determine whether they go back to church at all. Hospitality really is a gospel issue. Next time you see a visitor in church on Sunday morning, will you ask them to sit with you during worship?

Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster