Beyond the First Visit: The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church (Paperback)

by Gary L. McIntosh (Author)
Key Phrases: regular worshipers, ministry area, good rumors, United States, Great Commission, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
All churches like to think that theirs is the friendliest in town. But do visitors see it that way? Church consultant Gary McIntosh invites readers to take a look at their church through the eyes of visitors and potential visitors. His starting point, grounded in an understanding of God as a "welcomer," is that churches should see those who enter their doors as not merely visitors, but as guests, and themselves as gracious hosts. This practical book offers sound advice on assessing and improving the ways in which churches attract people, welcome them, do follow-up, and bring them into the church family. It also offers suggestions for making a welcoming attitude part of the very fabric of the local church.

From the Back Cover
Does your church put out the "Welcome" mat or the "Do not disturb" sign? We all like to think that our church is the friendliest one in town. But do visitors see it that way? Church consultant Gary L. McIntosh invites you to take another look at your church through the eyes of a first-time guest to identify the things that might be holding them back from a second visit. This very practical book offers sound advice on assessing and improving the ways in which your church attracts people, welcomes them, does follow-up, and brings them into the church family. More than simply offering mere techniques, it gives suggestions for making a welcoming attitude part of the very fabric of your church. "McIntosh is a coach who knows the fundamentals of church life and outreach. Beyond the First Visit is an essential training tool on how to implement these fundamentals."--Dr. John W. Ellas, Center for Church Growth "Gary McIntosh has learned, as a church consultant with years of experience, to see the churches he visits from the first-time guest's point of view. We have only one chance to make a first impression!"--Eddie Gibbs, Fuller Theological Seminary "McIntosh's new book fills a long-standing void. No one (to my knowledge) since Lyle Schaller's Assimilating New Members, published in 1978, has addressed the challenge of effectively including new people in the church's life with this much background, savvy, and precision."--George G. Hunter III, distinguished professor of Evangelism and Church Growth, Asbury Theological Seminary "This book is great! It's filled with practical ideas to tackle every local church's greatest challenge: how to connect and disciple new people. We have already begun to implement many of Gary's excellent ideas."--Dr. Gary D. Kinnaman, author, senior pastor, Word of Grace, Mesa, AZ Gary L. McIntosh is professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He is a former pastor with many years as a church consultant. He is the author or coauthor of thirteen books on church leadership and growth, and the editor of Church Growth Network and Journal of the American Society of Church Growth.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801091845
• ISBN-13: 978-0801091841
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,674 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful but unremarkable..., September 19, 2007

By	Chad Oberholtzer (Boalsburg, PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm on staff at our church in the area of First Impressions, and the subtitle of this book ("Connecting Guests to Your Church") is a major part of what I do. When I first saw this book, I knew that I needed to read it.

Quite frankly, I was disappointed on several fronts. First and foremost, this book felt like it was written for the church of the 1980s. I was taken aback by the almost complete failure to mention internet strategies. When it was discussed at the end of Chapter 5, it was almost as if the reader was supposed to be only vaguely aware that the "World Wide Web" even exists.

I was also frustrated by the rather hokey feel of many of McIntosh's suggestions. The DWYPYWD principle (Do what you promised you would do)? Come on, that's a ridiculous and utterly useless acronym. The rule of three-thirty-three? The MOT (Moment of Truth)? I just think that this stuff is silly.

I was disappointed by one underlying message throughout the book, that the purpose of making good connections with guests is to convince them to attend your church rather than another church. But this totally misses the point of caring about guests. We don't need to be very concerned about the folks who are going to end up at a church somewhere. Our energies should be directed to the folks who are going to choose between attending our church and never attending church again. Those are the folks for whom first impressions and guesterizing strategies should be focused.

Finally, I could not see how Chapter 13 fit into this book. In the midst of all of his connection strategies, McIntosh spends this chapter providing a brief summary of the emergent church movement. Maybe this primer would be helpful for older pastors who have missed the entire emergent thing (and have only recently discovered the World Wide Web and really enjoy acronyms like DWYPYWD), but it seemed completely out of place in this book.

Having been rather critical and even somewhat sarcastic so far in my review, "Beyond the First Visit" was not a complete loss. The strength of this book is that it is relatively comprehensive. McIntosh speaks into a host of topics and goes to great lengths to explain why each of these seemingly insignificant details is actually quite important. His attention to the little things is commendable and should help the reader be aware of the myriad of things that churches need to consider as folks outside the church investigate what we do every week when we come together for corporate worship.

Ultimately, I'm glad that I read this book. There is much good content that can help church leaders to think through the impression that they leave with guests. However, it was far from what it could have been. If you're looking to think about these things in a totally new and refreshing way, I'd recommend Mark Waltz's "First Impressions" instead.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read, November 9, 2006

By	Derek A. French - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

He has several, practical steps for making your church more hospitable. From the 10 foot rule, to the 5 minute rule, to such advice as "Recruit for attitude, Train for people for skills," it was worth the purchase.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Recyling of Material, May 1, 2008

By	Pastor Chris "EvangelismCoach.org" (Richmond VA) - See all my reviews

The cover promises to offer the reader a complete guide to church hospitality, and is written by well know church growth scholar Gary McIntosh.

If you have NEVER picked up a book on welcoming visitors, this can be a helpful introduction.

This book does have some strengths in looking at the visitor flow of your church.

Attracting Visitors -- Getting them to come.
Welcoming Visitors -- The art of Hospitality, dealing with first impressions and service.

But there are better books on the market Such as FusionFusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church

How do YOU welcome a visitor

McIntosth begins with reminder of how important it is for churches to welcome the visitors that come.

He asks: How do you react differently between a guest and a visitor?

A guest is invited, expected, and thus you make sure the house is clean and in order.

A visitor shows up unexpectedly, uninvited, and typically when you're doing laundry or dressed in your painting clothes.

McIntosh encourages the church to think through how it welcomes guests, to review what it thinks about guests, and to encourage churches to see themselves through the eyes of a guest.

In the 2nd chapter, he reminds of how to be a great host. Welcoming guests doesn't happen accidentally, but on purpose with some careful planning and attention to the process (which is where a consultant can help you).

He cites research from the 80s that churches need to keep 25 to 30 percent of their first time visitors to grow rapidly, while churches that only keep 5 to 8 percent will decline.

Assuming those numbers are still current, let's settle on a average of 16%. How many visitors does your church need to grow?

What is the first impression of your parking lot, your building.

Signage? Upkeep of the Building?

First impressions -- Do visitors have a positive interaction with the people in the church?

Disappointments
Though McIntosh offers some excellent advice, most of it is clearly dated, and most of the supporting research is from the early 1990s. Most all the footnotes cite citations before the year 1995, the majority of which stretch all the way back to the 70s. I kept feeling like I was reading late 1980s church growth stuff all over again.

Our society may have changed, but this book doesn't have any current research to make sure those conclusions are still valid.

I've read widely on assimilating visitors, and if you have as well, you'll find this book disappointing.

It has a throw away chapter about the emergent church that feels like an attempt at being current and not really relevant to the book. A few times I had to perservere through rabbit trails that had very little to do with welcoming visitors (for example, a whole chapter on launching new ministries).