The 11 Minute Difference: 7 Checkpoints to a Great Guest Experience at Your Church
When a first time guest drives onto your campus, they will decide within 11 minutes whether or not they are coming back.
Yes, the decision is made before your guests experience worship and the content of the sermon- the two elements that demand most, if not all, of our time and attention in preparation.
What would it look like if you extended the same level of intention to the 11 minutes prior to walking in the sanctuary or worship center? Maybe the better question is “What would it feel like for your guests?”
It’s hard to overstate the wow factor a church body creates by serve generously through a system of hospitality. For the last 10 years I have observed and analyzed over 200 churches while conducting a “secret worshipper” experience. It is a service at Auxano we call the “Guest Perspective Evaluation.” One of my greatest thrills in ministry is tasting the variety of size, location, and spiritual heritage of these churches. But the most important observation is that any church can take small steps to make a dramatic difference in welcoming guests.
This post is the first time I have shared any of our tools or learnings. And the first place to start is to imagine seven checkpoints for your guest. Think of the checkpoints as “gates” or even “hurdles” that any first time guest must navigate to get from their comfy family room to your worship service. With every gate comes a simple question: Has the church removed the inherent difficulty of navigating the gate for the first time?
More specifically I look for every opportunity to make each gate simple, easy and obvious to navigate. Any particular difficulties created by your location or facility should be viewed as hospitality opportunities. By providing a great solution to an obvious barrier, you enhance the wow-factor of the hospitality.
THE SEVEN CHECKPOINTS
#1 Before Departure: Are directions and service times immediately accessible to guests from your church website, phone recording and yellow pages?
#2 Travel to Location: Do guests know where to turn into your church location?
#3 Parking Lot: Do guests know where to park?
#4 Building Entrance: Do guests know which door to enter?
#5 Children’s Ministry: Do guests know where to take their kids?
#6 Welcome Center: Do guest know where to go for more information?
#7 Worship: Do guests know which door to enter?
I look forward to sharing more tools and resources related to my work here. If this is something you are interested in, please leave a comment. Also, let me know what great resources you have found to help with church welcoming ministries or guest services.
Will, you know I’m all over this one! Guest services is one of my passions in serving the church (at large) and in my church (Elevation in Charlotte – on the Guest Services team as a Parking Team Leader). As for resources, one book stands above all others: “First Impresions” by Mark Waltz, Connections Pastor at Granger Community Church. Other resources: churchrater.com; communicorps.com; shipoffools.com; and Stan Toler’s book “Five Star Church”. I also go to the corporate world of Guest Services for transferable learning: Starbucks, the Ritz Carlton, and Disney are my primary sources. Finally, the restaurant world has some great lessons for churches wanting to learn how to serve their guests. I’ve got tons more, but that’s a start! Whether I’m doing a mystery guest visit to a church or a full-blow guest services learning experience, there’s no doubt that the first 11 minutes are KEY to a guest’s return visit. Appropriate Andy Stanley quote: “the church should be like a family, ready to welcome guests to its home.”
[...] Mancini on the 11 minute difference. The first 11 minutes someone spends at Revolution are the most important, love our first [...]
[...] #3 Your guests are assessing very quickly whether or not they are coming back. This happens much faster than we think. For example, read The 11-Minute Difference. [...]
[...] #3 Your guest are assessing really fast either or not they are entrance back. This happens most faster than we think. For example, review The 11-Minute Difference. [...]
Yes, Will, please do share more insight, tools and resources on this subject. Having just assumed responsibility for the hospitality ministry at our church, I am in ’sponge mode’!
[...] first time guest will decide in the first 11 minutes whether or not they are coming back next week. Here are some of the things that help them [...]
[...] #3 Your guests are assessing very quickly whether or not they are coming back. This happens much faster than we think. For example, read The 11-Minute Difference. [...]
duh no kidding, you insult our intelligence by even listing thoe items
Found this both simple, practical and important. Looking for a way to forward it.
Will, thanks for turning your attention to this crucial ministry. (Some say 7 mins, some say 11, right?) How do you compare the effectiveness of signs versus personal interaction. It seems to me that some people arrive and just want to chat and be shown around, but others want to slip under the radar, rely on clear signage, and find their own way. Are signs or trained people a higher priority?
[...] The 11 Minute Difference: 7 Checkpoints to a Great Guest Experience at Your Church [...]
[...] #3 Your guests are assessing very quickly whether or not they are coming back. This happens much faster than we think. For example, read The 11-Minute Difference. [...]