Do this to see your Christmas guests return in 2021
Christmas at your church will be different this year.
Some churches will be seating people 6 feet apart.
Some churches will have volunteers wearing masks.
Some churches will be having “no touch” greeting.
Some larger churches will have certain campuses meeting outdoors (like mine).
Some will be having Christmas services online.
With so many potential changes, it could be easy to create a Christmas celebration that is a little less “merry” than in years past.
Here’s the good news: I believe that people will be craving the message, hope, familiarity, and nostalgia of Christmas more than ever this year. We are all craving an anchor that feels familiar at this point and Christmas will offer it in a way that could help guests at your church consider worshipping with you in 2021, if you put that vision at the core of your Christmas efforts.
Here’s the good news: I believe that people will be craving the message, hope, familiarity, and nostalgia of Christmas more than ever this year.
Skeptical? Watch this 2-minute video to see how your Christmas services could be a catalyst for first time guests becoming a vital part of your church as they experience the transformation that only Jesus makes possible.
I believe you could see Christmas guests return in January not just in spite of COVID but because of COVID. Are you ready for that possibility? You just need to identify at least one new way to engage guests by answering the following questions:
Do I have enough volunteers to fully engage guests at our Christmas services?
If not, click here for 4 ways to get new volunteers placed. Watch the 7-minute video with your team this week and use the discussion questions provided to be ready in time for Christmas.
For ways to actually involve new guests as volunteers in your Christmas service and see them get connected through your ministry teams, click here.
Do I have volunteers placed in the right locations, doing the right things to engage guests?
If not, click here for a special checklist for your staff and key volunteers so you can make a great first impression on your Christmas guests.
Do I have the right welcome gift for motivating a Christmas guest to share their contact info with you?
If you’er not sure, click here and read about the first lesson we learned in Christmas 2017 regarding our giveaway. It probably has to be different for Christmas than your usual giveaway.
Do my volunteers know what to do when a crowd of guests shows up at your One Place all at once to receive their welcome gift? Hint: that’s not a good thing.
Click here to watch a 2-minute video and share it for training your teams this questions (or make your own version). Have guests fill out your guest card online using their smart phones and a QR code that links to an electronic form would so the process is done before they reach the line.
They can just show the screen on their phone to your team members to receive their welcome gift (even if they fill out the form standing in a circle around a volunteer so you can engage them all at once).
Do I have the right follow up strategy for Christmas guests?
Christmas guests are different than any of the guests who come on the other 51 weekends of the year. That requires a slightly different follow up strategy if you want to see them return in January. Click here to learn the strategy we use at Christmas. We are adapting that strategy this year by using an email with a gift coupon instead of the hand written option so no one is touching pen and paper.
Do I (or my team) feel overwhelmed by Christmas this year and need a little courage?
Read this and share it with your team as a devotional thought this week to neutralize the power of fear and intimidation as you approach this opportunity.
Christmas is our Super Bowl.
Believe it or not, 18% of the guest cards we receive all year come at our Christmas services.
If you ask people to raise their hand if their first time at our church was at Christmas, you can’t count all the hands. It is by far our number one entry point.
There is no way we won’t leverage that for the sake of impacting the lives of those who visit our church this Christmas.
For all this and way more, download our FREE Ebook, “The Complete Christmas Engagement Guide” →
