Why do you need a visitor information card for church? Church membership in the United States currently accounts for 47% of the population. That's well down from historical records, where 3/4s of the population were church members. Due to the declining numbers of churchgoers, ministries must do more than in the past to nurture new visitors into new members. Free church visitor card templates can help.
It’s not always easy to catch new visitors when they arrive at the sanctuary. Your staff might not notice them in the crowd, or your congregation members may be unable to reach out. A church contact card helps you connect with them and integrate them into the existing church community.
Because church welcome cards are so important for visitors, we created a guide to help ministries like yours. This guide explains the basics of Connect Cards and shows churches how to use them. We also offer some church visitor card templates for free that you can print. They feature an optimized design to capture the attention of newcomers, enabling you to increase the number of completed forms.
Table of Contents
- What Are Church Connection Cards?
- How Do Connection Cards Work?
- Eight FREE Church Connect Card Templates
- Tips for How to Use Church Connection Cards
- Download Our Complete Visitor Kit Complete with FREE Templates
- FAQs
Download Eight Church Connect Card Templates & More!
Download our free church welcome kit to get...
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- 8 church connection card templates.
- Church verse & quote cards for your welcome packets.
- 40 amazing welcome quotes to use in your printed material.
- Free welcome message templates for visitors.
- 7 free letter templates to welcome new members.
Don't miss out on getting all the church visitor cards and other materials you need to welcome new members to your church!
What Are Church Connection Cards?
Before we jump into using first-time visitor cards, we need to talk about them. Church welcome cards are physical cards your ministry hands out to encourage members and visitors to communicate with the parish.
These first-time church visitor cards gather contact details. However, they can also be great for collecting prayer requests and other information from current members.
Many churches also use a church visitor registration form to collect information. That way, they can digitally store info in their records.
Connection cards are an essential part of your hospitality ministry because they offer a way for ministries to assimilate new visitors into the church. Church welcome cards also help people feel appreciated and connected to the church.
How Do Connection Cards Work?
Now that you have a solid understanding of church connection cards, let's talk about how they work. By understanding how churches use these cards, you can develop more innovative ideas to use them and improve their effectiveness.
Connection cards serve three goals for growing church membership. And while you may not achieve all three goals with one card, you have a good chance of achieving at least one of those goals that lead to a growing church.
1. Collect Visitor Information
For the most part, church connection cards collect visitor information, allowing church leaders to connect with newcomers, welcome visitors to the church and support them through prayer.
2. Share Information
First-time visitor cards also serve to share specific information about the church. They can list special services, evening prayer times, and church events to help encourage people to get involved.
3. Generate Interest
The third purpose of these cards is to generate interest in the church. They get visitors excited about what the church is doing and who they are.
4. Building Meaningful Connections
A church connection card can mark the beginning of meaningful relationships. You can use them to stay in touch with new members, ensuring they come back. They may even bring friends and family members, making them a powerful component of your church growth strategy.
For example, The Unstuck Group shows that 20% of first-time guests become loyal members. Church connection cards could increase your odds. The more effective your church is at building these connections, the more new members you'll receive.
Free Church Connect Card Templates
A customizable church visitor card template makes the process of introducing or improving welcome cards much easier. In the examples below, we offer eight samples you can print and use as is or edit to fit your needs.
1. General Church Welcome Template
You’ve already done the hard work of getting a new family through your doors. Capture their information on the church connection cards so they don’t simply walk out after service, never to be heard from again. Your cards will make them feel welcome, inspired and excited.
Consider placing blank cards on their seats before they sit down, or have an usher hand them out during announcements. These methods ensure they notice the cards, increasing the odds that they will fill them out and return them.
2. Formal Church Welcome Card idea
If your church is a bit more conservative, it’s a good idea to carry that over to your church connection cards. Your visitors should get a cohesive sense of what the church represents before deciding if the congregation is a good fit for them. A good way to do this is to add a more professional tone to your church welcome cards. For example, you may add a church quote or hymn to your welcome cards.
Card A
Card B
3. Welcome Card with a Personal Touch
You can welcome visitors to church by adding a personal touch to your church connection cards, such as showing gratitude or offering a complimentary gift. The gift could be a coffee mug or a gift card. A simple gift will go a long way in showing how much you value your guests and members.
4. Volunteer Request Ideas for Church Connection Cards
If your church has a particular role that needs to be filled, consider creating church connection cards for that specific mission. You can place these cards in your church pews alongside your welcome cards for visitors. This will enable your church to welcome visitors and recruit members to join missions.
Card A
If you don’t have a specific mission that needs to be filled, create generic volunteer church connection cards to see how your members want to participate in your church. You can even include them in or alongside your church welcome cards for visitors.
Card B
5. Feedback Church Connection Card Templates
Obtain feedback from new visitors on the church visitor cards to gauge areas for service improvement, thereby enhancing the ability to attract and retain members. Visitors, as outsiders looking in, sometimes make the best critiques. Keep in mind that you will still need to hold onto the church’s values before implementing changes. This will ensure you aren’t upsetting current members.
Although collecting feedback from first-time visitors is essential, it is also important to consider your existing members when creating feedback-focused church connection cards. Make your members feel at home. Continuously ask for ways to improve your service by using a church connection card template, such as the one below.
Tips for How to Use Church Connection Cards
Now that you know how first-time visitor cards work, let's talk about how you can use them in your ministry. There are several ways to enhance your church connection cards to make it easier to connect with parishioners.
To help you out, we've put together a list of quick tips. Following these tips will make it easy for your church to succeed using these cards.
Simplify Your Connection Cards
When creating church connection and church visitor cards, it's tempting to include numerous different questions on the card. You want to get to know new members and learn about them!
However, the more fields you have on the church welcome cards, the more difficult it is to fill out. People may get frustrated and ignore the cards altogether.
When creating church connection cards, think about the essential pieces of information. Then, only place the details you need on the connection card.
Remember, even if you don't gather all the information you need on the connection card, you can always do so later. Once you've established a relationship with someone, you can follow up on those extra details.
Use Easy-to-Understand Language
Your church connection cards need to be straightforward and easy to understand. Avoid using slang as this can seem confusing or unwelcoming.
Instead, keep the language on your connection cards simple. Make the text appeal to your audience's curiosity and entice them to fill out the form.
Consider Going Digital
It's not uncommon to receive a church connection card that's completely illegible. Perhaps there's a coffee spill on the card, or maybe the handwriting is sloppy.
Either way, this can render your church connection cards useless, leading you to throw them away and miss out on the opportunity to connect with visitors.
One way to get around this issue is to create digital church visitor cards. With digital connection cards, you can capture the necessary information and ensure it's easy to read and follow up on.
Use Different Cards for Different Purposes
If you think you can only have one type of connection card, think again! You can have as many kinds of connection cards as you like, which can be great for highlighting specific aspects of your church.
When visitors arrive at your church, you can offer them a range of church visitor cards to fill out, tailored to their interests. A few suggestions for church connection cards include:
- Volunteer cards
- Church welcome cards
- Bible study cards
- Small groups
- First-time church visitor cards
- Membership classes
Using various cards makes it easier to connect visitors and members with the groups in your church that pique their interest.
Make Use of Color
Color psychology is an integral part of your church marketing strategy and is a great way to better connect with members and visitors. Making intelligent choices about using color on your church connection cards can help make it easier for visitors to communicate with you.
Try creating essential pieces of information in bright colors that pop off the page. Likewise, use other splashes of color to introduce further key details onto the card and capture visitors' attention.
Use Photos
Photos can also be an essential part of church connection cards. They can showcase what you're talking about on each of your cards, making it easier for you to convey ideas to new members.
Additionally, images capture the eye. They help catch visitors' attention to your church and make them more likely to fill out the church visitor cards and learn more about your parish.
Finally, using images on your cards makes it easier for your visitors to get to know you, which is a great way to build the foundations of a relationship.
Choose a Fun and Lively Vibe
When creating church connection cards, aim for a fun vibe. You want the tone of your connection cards to be friendly and welcoming.
Add life to your connection cards by using a unique, modern design or playing on words. These turn a boring old connection card into a fun and engaging way to connect with visitors.
Provide Options Instead of Write-Ins
Tons of blanks and 'write-in spaces' on your church connection cards mean more work for the visitor and a lower chance that they'll get filled in.
You can create options such as checkboxes and bullet points to work around this. They make it much more likely that someone will fill out the card.
For example, if the purpose of your free church visitor cards is to get people involved in your various ministries, you can list out all the options you have. That gives visitors and members ideas about how they can help, increasing the likelihood they'll sign up.
Follow Up
The final tip for using church connection cards is to follow up with church guests and parishioners promptly. No matter how beautifully designed your connection cards are, they're no good if you don't follow up.
A case study on the Pastor Mentor website reveals that structured follow-up using church welcome cards can have a positive impact on guest retention. The specific system used involved entering connection card data, sending an email the next day, making a phone call within 48 hours, and sending out a letter later that week. The process made guests feel more valued, increasing the likelihood they would return.
Create a process for your church welcome committee to reach out to the new visitors. It's best to follow up on the church welcome cards the same day you receive them, or at the latest, within a few days. The sooner you follow up with the connection card, the fresher your church will be in the visitor's mind.
Connect With Your Congregation and Visitors
This church connection card guide prepares you to start using this method to connect with first-time visitors and existing members. Our free church visitor pew card templates ensure that each card is effective in capturing church member information. You can also try our guides on church welcome centers and church visitor gifts to better nurture newcomers into members.
If you want to continue growing your congregation through innovative tools, we can help you achieve this goal. Contact Vanco Faith today to learn more about how we can help you grow your parish.
FAQs
What should I include on a church visitor card?
Your church visitor card should ask for everything you need to stay in touch, including basic contact info. You may also request additional information, such as prayer requests, the date of their visit, the programs they would like to participate in, and feedback. Ask for any information that will make them feel like a relevant part of the church.
Is it better to use digital visitor cards or physical copies?
Both digital and physical cards have their advantages. Digital cards are ideal because some people may find them easier to fill out. They are also automatically stored in your system, so they can't get lost and they eliminate poor handwriting issues. However, you can give physical cards out at church, ensuring everyone has one to complete.
How often should I update my church visitor card templates?
There is no set timeline for updating your church connect card template. You can update it if you notice that key information is missing or if you make changes to what your church offers. Some churches update templates based on the season, while others make monthly or annual updates. Determine a timeline that best suits your organization.
Get All the Materials You Need to Welcome Church Visitors
We’ve built a complete kit of templates to help you get started on building a comprehensive welcome packet for newcomers. Download our free church welcome kit to get...
- 8 church connection card templates.
- Church verse & quote cards for your welcome packets.
- 40 amazing welcome quotes to use in your printed material.
- Free welcome message templates for visitors and new members.
