{"id":734803,"date":"2021-02-24T20:44:38","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T02:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=734803"},"modified":"2021-02-24T20:45:25","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T02:45:25","slug":"4-reasons-your-first-time-guest-process-should-be-boring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/4-reasons-your-first-time-guest-process-should-be-boring\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Reasons Your First-Time Guest Process Should Be Boring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many times we assume that we simply <\/span>have<\/span><\/i> to deliver the sizzle and sparkle to our first-time guests. After all, if we don’t knock their socks off with our golf shuttles and Disney-esque environments and free toaster ovens branded with our church logo, how can we ever convince them to come back?<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong: I believe in surprise and delight. But <\/span>I think <\/span>what surprises and delights our guests may be different from what we would imagine<\/b>.<\/span> I’ve found that most of our first timers are <\/span>surprised<\/span><\/i> to discover we’ve thought through their first moments on campus. They’re <\/span>delighted<\/span><\/i> by small acts of service. They’re <\/span>wowed<\/span><\/i> by clear processes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are four reasons I think “boring” is something to consider:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Boring is intuitive.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    From the perspective of a first-time guest<\/b>, you don’t want a code that’s difficult to crack. Your<\/span> signage<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> on-ramps<\/span><\/a> should be clear and obvious. The visual cues and<\/span> prompts from the stage<\/span><\/a> should all point guests to their first – or next – step.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Boring is easy to explain.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      From the perspective of a church member or a volunteer<\/b>, you want to provide the easy win of a consistently-delivered process. Whether they’re <\/span>bringing a friend<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>helping someone they just met<\/span><\/a> after the service, <\/span>a boring process is easy to remember and easy to navigate<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Boring is sustainable.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Pastor Mark Dever says that <\/span>what we win them with is what we win them to.<\/i><\/b> Too often, we put a ton of effort into a guest\u2019s first experience that can never be replicated with our “normal” systems.<\/span> In other words, our first-time guest processes write checks that the following weekend can’t cash.<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Boring isn’t really all that boring.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Keep in mind that <\/span>a first-time guest is seeing your “boring” systems for the very first time<\/b>. So while it may feel outdated and yawn-inducing to you,<\/span> it’s not about what wows you. It’s about what’s helpful to your guests.<\/b><\/p>\n

          So how do you get started being boring? I’m so glad you asked. <\/span>Get started.<\/span><\/i> Plan the weekend with your guests in mind. <\/span>Think through the experience before they have to walk through the experience<\/b><\/a>. Create simple, obvious, and repeatable systems, and make sure your regular attendees can help someone navigate those. Stop reinventing the wheel or creating additional hoops to jump through.<\/span><\/p>\n

          You might discover that your version of boring is actually helpful to your guests.<\/span><\/p>\n

          This post originally appeared on dfranks.com<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many times we assume that we simply have to deliver the sizzle and sparkle to our first-time guests. After all, if we don’t knock their socks off with our golf shuttles and Disney-esque environments and free toaster ovens branded with our church logo, how can we ever convince them to come back?","protected":false},"author":8242,"featured_media":734805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-734803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-first-impressions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n4 Reasons Your First-Time Guest Process Should Be Boring | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many times we assume that we simply have to deliver the sizzle and sparkle to our first-time guests. 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