By Jonathan Howe
As we’ve seen churches become more intentional about guest assimilation, many give away a small gift to guests to make an impression and to convey appreciation for their visit. If your church decides to do this (and I would recommend that you do), the gifts don’t have to be overly expensive. But they should convey that you care about the guests.
Here are four popular gifts churches give to guests and some tips for how you can maximize their usefulness:
- Coffee mugs or tumblers. This is probably the most common gift given to church guests. Churches typically print their logo or other information on the mug as well. If you do this, consider including the name of the church (if the logo doesn’t include it) and website on the mug to provide future reference for the guest.
- Gift cards. Churches typically include these in thank you notes or welcome letters to the guest. The most common amounts on the gift card are either $5 or $10. Since they arrive with the letter, the guest is more likely to read the letter to find out why they got a gift card than if it’s just a letter in an envelope.
- Books. These are often given out at a welcome center or guest information desk (as with coffee mugs) in exchange for a connection card. If you are going to give away a book, go with something that has a wide appeal but is focused on what you want the next step for the guest to be. I Am a Church Member has been used by several churches because it outlines the biblical basics of church membership.
- Cookies or bread. Baked goods are another popular guest gift because they signify caring and a personal touch. I know many churches that have teams of volunteers who collect guest cards and have goodie baskets waiting on the front doorstep of guests when they get home after Sunday service. If your church does this, be sure to include information about the church with the baked goods that are delivered. Also, be mindful of common allergies. For example, cookies with peanut butter should probably be avoided.
Does your church provide any of these to guests? Have you tried something else? What has worked best for you?
We decided to do a locally sourced gift. One, we buy something in the community from a private business owner and two we promote local. We have a popcorn company in town and we buy bags of their kettle corn to give out.
I like the local flair of a gift. Well done.
We give pecan pralines from a company owned by a church member.
Ohhh. Pralines. This is great.
We hand out mugs with our logo and website information. We were averaging 10+ connection cards and mugs a week; however, the trend seems to have caught on. It doesn’t seem to be as appealing as we first started two years ago. I may look into other options to change it up a bit and keep it new.
Good point. It’s also good to remember the mug won’t connect with them any more than the people do. So that’s got the be the key, not the item.
We give chips and salsa. It’s cheap, and a hit all year long. They are given the items as the leave by the greeter who welcomed them initially. Plus, our folks get involved by donating the chips and salsa. I was skeptical at first, but it’s a big hit.
Best. Gift. Ever.
I’m now going to plan a vacation to Canon City, CO.
You are always welcome here!
I like your suggestions.
We give out a 8GB USB drive with our church logo and ministry introduction videos on it.
How often do you have to update the info on those?
When someone turns in a Guest Connect card, our church donates $5 to World Vision. They can opt for it to be applied domestically…shoes and clothing for children in the US or internationally providing medicine for children around the world. Thanks to grants through World Vision, each gift is multiplied 12x and has the value of a $60 impact.
I’ve seen more and more churches moving to this model as well. I like it.
I am liking the chip and salsa idea too!!!
Sheila, could you please share your Guest Connet card – because I am interested in how you communicate the church’s gift to World Visión. How do you get that message across to the visitor?
Thanks for the idea – would like to follow that
Eduardo
Sheila Laurence says
June 22, 2017 at 8:59 am
When someone turns in a Guest Connect card, our church donates $5 to World Vision. They can opt for it to be applied domestically…shoes and clothing for children in the US or internationally providing medicine for children around the world. Thanks to grants through World Vision, each gift is multiplied 12x and has the value of a $60 impact.
Eduardo,
Not sure how to get a picture on here but we have two check boxes on the card with this wording:
Welcome to Faith Community Church! We are glad you are here…etc Please fill out this Guest Card and drop it off at the HUB (main lobby) and we will donate $5 towards a World Vision project providing shoes clothing or medicine, your choice!
Donate $5 towards shoes and clothing to Children in the United States
Donate $5 towards medicines to children Internationally,
They pick and we also follow up with a hand written note and mention the impact they made.
As long time travelers with visits to many different churches we have quite a collection of coffee mugs (we finally had to say a gracious “thank-you”, and ask for a pass on the gift). We’ve also had many delicious breads & muffins presented to us as we departed church.
I like the idea of the Guest Connect Card with donations to organizations like World Vision.
We just purchased Water bottles that has an infuser on it. Has our logo and website on it.
What processes do you use to hand these out?
We gave jars of locally grown honey with a specially printed label (website, worship times, etc.) and Psalm 19:10. We wanted something that wouldn’t disappear like cookies, but would hang around the pantry for a while!
I like the thinking there.
So, do you say, “Come back, Honey!” 😀 We have a member who is a beekeeper. This may be financially doable for us.
We find there are 2 kinds of guests that visit. One, they want to “check us out” and come/go relatively anonymously & two, they are “church shopping” and want people to be friendly and give info/gifts. The challenge is to distinguish between the two and welcome the first group without seeming pushy, and try to connect with the other group with info/gifts & a personal visit.
Our church gives a custom gift bag with our logo on it, a mug, info on the church, a book, and a baked treat. People really appreciate the thought and effort. We often get people calling us back to tell us home much they appreciate it.
It makes an impression. Well done.
Lately we’ve been giving out gift cards to a local coffee shop, but we too are thinking through/planning on going the route of instead of giving them a gift, letting them know we will donate a certain amount of money to a local ministry for every “new here” card that is filled out and turned in.
One thing I’ve been wrestling with that I would love input from y’all on is at what point does it feel like we are “buying our congregants” or that “what you win them with is what you win them to”? In one book I read, the church would give them a gift at the 1st impressions tent on their first visit. Then they send another gift card in the mail later that week. If they return as a 2nd time guest, they get yet another gift.
Struggling with knowing how to show guests that we are thankful they attended, that we desire to help them grow deeper as followers of Christ, and truly care about them as individuals and not that we want to just attract them back by giving them merch so they can add another coffee mug, water bottle, pen, or book to their shelf of stuff churches have given them.
Hopefully that comes across properly and not as attacking. Would honestly love some input/feedback on this, especially as I feel like we have three camps in our church – those who love the idea of giving out merch to guests, those who think we should/can get people to return with solid preaching and striving for excellence in all aspects of the service, and those who don’t really care what we do 🙂
I get your point there. While I’m not sure gift after gift after gift is a good strategy, it makes an impression for sure. That said, I’d hope that churches would have conversations with the guest before they join that are deeper than “how did you like your coffee mug” and that the gifts would not be a major factor in their decision to join, but could be a factor in a second or third visit.
Thanks for the feedback, Jonathan!!
Thanks again for your insight. We have use the coffee mug that remind guests that “Refills Are Free!” We have gone to candy jars filled with sweet. “Because He’s Sweeter than the Honey in the Honeycomb!”
What are these things called “guests” everyone is talking about?
I visited a church that gives out Mexican Coca-Cola (I was told it was special because it’s made with *real* sugar. I was just thankful for a cold drink on a hot day!) After services, guests and a few members gather around the cooler of Cokes to chat, share info, and make connections. For a church that has the reputation for being “big” on community, I feel like their gift for guests really helps new people be a part of that. It’s a simple gesture, but it made returning the next week easier because there were suddenly more familiar faces!
Nice.
We have some wood workers in the church. They make decorative fishes and crosses. We let visitors choose from the selection, even the kids get one to play with. When I visit people they love showing me the fish or cross when they first visited the church.
That’s neat.
We currently give out coffee samples from a roaster in our small town.
We’ve given out bread before, but we recently received some surprising feedback. Some found it creepy to have someone from the church they visited come out to their house. They weren’t ready to cross that boundary yet. Didn’t come back.
Fascinating
We have had a visitation ministry, but many visitors would not answer their doors. We left gifts at the front door. The feedback we received was that they didn’t open doors to people they didn’t already know, and it was weird that someone was coming to visit their home uninvited. We try and be welcoming in other ways. now… like being friendly!
there you go
We moved to Central Florida about nine months ago and visited a whole mess of churches trying to determine where God wanted us.
We got mugs, coffee gift cards, Chick-fil-A coupons, reusable grocery bags, a backpack, etc., etc. The best visitor gift of the bunch, though, was a jar of strawberry jam from one of the local strawberry farms here. I’m not really a jam person, but even I though it was fantastic. Sadly, the jam was the best thing about that church. But the gift was still greatly appreciated!
Strawberry jam sounds delightful
We just started something different so I’m not sure how well it works yet, but so far so good. Instead of giving something to them, we give something on behalf of them to someone else. On the back of our “Connection Card,” we have list three local ministries (not connected to our church). The may select the ministry they connect with most and if they bring the card to the pastor’s connection table following the service we will make a $5 donation to the ministry they selected in their name. It reinforces our core value of being #GenerousGivers and keeps them from taking home stuff they don’t really want or need.
I guess I should have read all the responses before sharing since it appears others are on to the same concept.
That’s a good one. I like how it shows intentional thinking on the part of the church.
Our church gives out a reusable bag with a small bag of candy, a notepad, a magnet, a pen, a coffee tumbler that all have our church logo on them. The most important thing we put in the bag is a booklet called “Done”; it gives a clear explanation of the Gospel. We always follow up with our guests that turn in a guest card. We come with a sleeve of cookies that are purchased from a restaurant in our town. It seems to be a good warm impression when we come bearing gifts.
Those are solid. I like the inclusion of the tract.
We give all visitors a copy of my personal book – Response is awesome.
Mugs with the church logo. Books related to the sermon series. Books related to Christian discipleship. Gift cards for a free movie rental. Gift cards for free latte or other specialty beverage of your choice at a local coffee shop. T-shirts with church logo. Pens with church logo and church website URL.
Where is or what’s the best place to order coffee mugs I was just looking the other night for a place, and what are they costing per 100
Hi Ronnie,
We would love to help you out with a coffee mug for your guests! We have lots of style/size options and price points for different churches. http://www.equipmr.com
We give our guests a bag that contains a campus map, bible study class schedule, a list of church ministries, etc. The bag includes a “golden ticket” for a free church meal for the guest family or guest. The meal time allows us to sit down with our guests and fellowship. Once the meal is over, we give them a church cookbook.
I like the golden ticket. Gives them an incentive to return.
We give guests a mug with a scripture verse and our church name on it. Then we mail them a hand-written note and a copy of “More Than a Carpenter.”
We give out a box of candy and $10 Chick F Lia card
Visiting another church showed me that gifts have to be quality. Flimsy, cheap items negatively impacts the impression you want to leave. Does anyone know where to get quality promotional items that are discounted?