Guides · Churches
Church Guest Follow-Up: A Better Card and Four Touches in Seven Days
By Josh Croom · October 27, 2026 · 9 min read
Good church guest follow-up starts on the connection card, with questions that show what each guest was looking for, and then reaches out four times in seven days. When the card splits Google into three boxes, each message can offer the next step that guest came looking for.
Three cards that all say Google
Sunday, 12:20 PM. As the last family heads out to the parking lot, five connection cards sit in the welcome basket. Three of them have the same box checked under How did you hear about us, and that box says Google.
Those three guests came for three different reasons: one typed your church's name after a coworker mentioned it, and another searched for a church near her new apartment. The third searched for a non-denominational church because that's what he grew up in. The card can't tell them apart, so all three get the same letter, and the basket sits on a desk until Wednesday.
How newcomers search for a church
We studied the searches behind ad clicks on the church Grant accounts we manage, and newcomers looked for a church in three main ways before a first visit.
- 35%of ad clicks came from a search with the church's own nameacross 7 church Grant accounts
- 37%of the other local searches said near mesearches that didn't name the church
- 22%of the other local searches named a kind of churchlike non-denominational, Baptist or contemporary
Searches for your church by name draw the most ad clicks, and those visitors heard your name somewhere before they ever searched. Asking who invited them finds the person who told them, so you can thank that person too.
The other visitors were comparing churches in your area. A near me visitor chose you because you were close by, which is why their part of town matters. Someone who typed a style or a denomination chose it on purpose, and their own words tell you what to offer next.
Build the card around three searches
A connection card only helps when its answers change what you do next, so each question on the new card leads to a different follow-up.
A card with one Google box
- How did you hear about us? Google, Friend, Other.
- No question about where the guest lives.
- No room for what they were looking for.
- Every guest gets the same follow-up letter.
A card that sorts by search
- Who invited you? A line for a name comes first.
- I searched for your church by name, for a church nearby, or for a kind of church.
- What part of town do you live in? A ZIP code is enough.
- What were you looking for in a church? One line, in their words.
What each question on the card tells you
Who invited you comes first because a guest who searched your name had already heard it somewhere. When you learn who told them, you can thank the member who did the inviting by name.
The three Google boxes replace the one because each box points to a different follow-up. A guest who searched your name already has a reason to come back. A near me guest needs to know there's a place for them close to home. A guest who searched for a kind of church needs to hear that you're the kind they wanted.
The ZIP code question pays off over a few months, because near me guests chose you for the drive. Their ZIP codes show which towns and neighborhoods your guests come from, and that tells you where a small group or a second service time might take root.
What were you looking for in a church works best as one open line, and you should keep the guest's exact words. Someone who writes a place for my kids is telling you which next step to offer. Add boxes for a friend, social media and driving by below the three search boxes, and add an OK to text me box, so you only text people who said yes.
The four touches in seven days
Each touch comes from a real person, by first name, and each one has a single job. The days matter too, because each message lands at a different point in the guest's week.
Sunday
Text a thank-you that afternoon
Send a short text from a real person the same afternoon, while the visit is still fresh. Try this: Hi (name), it's (your name) from (church), and I wanted to say thanks for being with us today!
Tuesday
Send a note from the pastor
A short card or email from the pastor is enough, and it shouldn't ask for anything. It tells the guest that the person up front noticed them personally.
Wednesday
Invite one next step that fits
Read what the guest wrote on the card and offer one thing that matches it. Someone who wrote a place for my kids hears about kids, and someone who wrote a smaller church hears about a group.
Saturday
Send a see-you-tomorrow
Name the service time, the best place to park and the person who will meet them at the door. Try this: Hi (name), we'll see you tomorrow at (time), and you can look for (greeter) at the (door) when you arrive.
What the Wednesday text sounds like
The Wednesday message works because it repeats the guest's own words back to them. It shows that somebody read the card, and it offers one clear thing to say yes to.
Hi (name), you said you were looking for (their words), and we have (one next step) on (day) that fits. Would you like me to save you a seat?
Yes, that sounds great. What time does it start?
It starts at (time). I'll meet you at the front door and walk you over.
Why the Saturday text matters
People plan their Sunday on Saturday, and our church sites get 1.3 times the visits of an average weekday on that day. A reminder that arrives on Saturday reaches families while they're still deciding where to go in the morning.
On Sunday itself the phone matters most: across 6 church websites we track, 90% of Sunday visits came from a phone. A short text with the service time and the parking spot fits the screen a guest checks before leaving the house.
Keep a simple guest log
Your log needs one row per guest and six short columns. Fill it in Sunday afternoon, before the cards go anywhere, so the Wednesday text has the guest's own words to work from.
Count the boxes once a month, and set the totals beside your monthly ad report. The three Google boxes on your card match the three kinds of local searches your ads answer, so the two reports line up. When one kind of guest starts to grow on the cards, you can check whether the same searches grew in the ads.
| Date | Who invited them | How they found us | ZIP code | What they were looking for | Next step offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
Mistakes that lose second visits
Most of these take no more than a reprint of the card or a new habit to fix.
- One How did you hear box with Google and nothing else, which hides three different reasons for coming.
- Inviting every guest to the same next step, whatever they wrote, because a guest who asked about kids doesn't need the men's breakfast.
- Waiting until Wednesday for the first hello, when a thank-you text that Sunday afternoon reaches them while the visit is still fresh.
- Texting guests who never said it was OK, when one checkbox on the card would have asked them first.
Check your guest follow-up
Answer five quick questions, and your answers stay on your device.
Does your card ask who invited the guest?
Does your card split Google into name, nearby and kind of church?
Does someone text new guests on Sunday afternoon?
Does your Wednesday invitation change based on what the guest wrote?
Do guests hear from you on Saturday before their second Sunday?
Your follow-up is in great shape, so keep counting the boxes each month to see which searches bring your guests.
You're close, so fix the first question you answered No before next Sunday. Each touch you add gives a guest one more reason to come back.
Start with the Sunday text this week, since it takes five minutes and reaches guests while the visit is fresh, and then reprint the card.
Before you print new cards
Tick each one off as you go, and your ticks stay on this device.
0 of 8 done
How we help churches reach new guests
Google’s Ad Grant gives a qualifying nonprofit up to $10,000 a month in search ads, and we manage the whole account. We start with local searches like church near me in your town, then fill the rest of the grant with Bible and life questions. You pay half of the Grant money we put to work for you each bill, and never more than $750. Our Google Ad Grants guide explains how the Grant works, and our Google Grants page shows what we do in each account.
A guest who fills out your plan a visit form needs a fast reply too. Our speed to lead guide has a callback routine that a church office can run as easily as a shop.
If you'd like to talk through your guest card or your Grant, book a call with Miguel. He'll ask how guests find you today and which searches you want to reach next.
Questions people ask
How should a church follow up with first-time guests?
Reach out four times in the first seven days, and give each message one job. Text a thank-you on Sunday afternoon, send a note from the pastor on Tuesday, invite one next step that fits what the guest wrote on Wednesday, and send a see-you-tomorrow text on Saturday.
What should a church connection card ask?
Ask who invited them, how they found you with three separate search boxes, what part of town they live in, and what they were looking for in a church. Add an OK to text me box, so you only text people who said yes.
How soon should a church contact a first-time visitor?
Reach out the same Sunday afternoon, because a short thank-you text from a real person reaches them while the visit is still fresh. It also arrives days before a letter mailed midweek would.
What should we text a first-time church guest?
Keep it short and personal: their first name, your first name, the church's name and a thank-you for coming. Save the invitation for Wednesday, and match it to what they told you they were looking for.
See how we run Google Ads for churches
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