It’s one thing to attract first-time visitors to your events, but the fastest way to grow your women’s ministry is to retain and engage as many guests as possible. Here are some tips that work for other WM groups like yours.

Start your follow-up efforts during the guest’s first visit.

No matter how wonderful your follow-up plan is, unless it was well received during your visit, you will not be impressed. It is important to train your entire group to intentionally welcome visitors. Each guest should be warmly welcomed by several regulars, and should never be left alone – someone should adopt her at night.

Also, before you leave, it is imperative that you obtain contact information so that you have a chance to follow up. Here are some ideas that have worked successfully for groups:

– Create a welcome brochure or information pack to hand out to each guest upon arrival. Include a card for them to fill out that they can list their family and contact information on.

– Circulate an attendance list (where repeat customers simply log in, but newcomers fill out basic contact information at the bottom of the page). Key to success: repeat customers MUST sign in, modeling that behavior for newcomers.

– Find some girls with the gift of hospitality to serve as guest hosts. Ask them to keep an eye out for new friends, and before the guest leaves the building, ask the hostess to invite her to the next event and offer to take her out for lunch or dessert afterward. Get their contact details and before the next event, make a personal call. Key to Success: Focus on Fellowship, Not Food!

Hire a follow-up coordinator.

This organized person will be responsible for keeping good records. This can be handled through a simple Excel worksheet or you can purchase computer software designed for this purpose. There are numerous options and they are easy to find if you do a Google search for “Church Membership Tools.”

Use Proverbs 18:16.

“A gift opens the way for the giver” and it would be wise to bring a gift to your guests for the first time. Call ahead and ask if someone can drop by briefly * to bring a gift. Here are some gift ideas:

– homemade church freezer broth cake

– a loaf of fresh bread and jam

– church fridge magnet gift bag

– inspirational book

– copy of the church directory

– cup full of sweets (with church / group logo)

– Ministry DVD

Simplify your tracking systems

The First Church of the Nazarene, in Kansas City, KS, takes the hassle out of handling personal visits. A group of volunteers bakes treats and organizes them with the recipients’ names and addresses at a table in the lobby. The table sections are labeled by zip codes or neighborhoods. Each section contains the gift bags / boxes labeled for that area plus the corresponding city map.

When the worshipers on Wednesday night leave the building, they stop by the table and grab the treats so they can deliver them to the people who live near them on their way home. Volunteers simply leave the boxes, unless they are invited to enter. After the visit, the delivery volunteer completes and returns a feedback form to the coordinator, so the team can determine which households have not yet received a gift (if not the home) and what steps to take next.

Throw a line

Someone in the group could send a handwritten or typed note, or request a friend / follow-up on the guest’s favorite social media site.

Host a low-key welcome party

Karen Marie’s group from Peoria, Illinois, sends the visitor a special invitation to the next meeting or event. The guest is invited to come 20 minutes before the meeting, for coffee, cake or cookies with some of the team leaders. They take time to make introductions and welcome everyone, but guests are not asked to join a committee or anything like that. It’s just a time to have some serious fellowship and to serve up some goodies. They have found that 15-20 minutes is plenty of time for them to feel comfortable and answer any questions they may have.

Actions often speak louder than words, and as your group works together to extend gestures of love to each guest, they will experience agape love – compelling love that makes them hunger for more. And, for some girls, this may be the first time a stranger has truly loved them without requiring any kind of refund.