The US Congregational Life Survey shed some light on why people visit a new church, and why they return after their initial visit. Four questions from the survey stood out:

How people find out about a church

• 49%: Someone invited them
• 23%: They passed by the church
• 9%: They’re looking for a specific denomination
• 6%: They saw advertising

Why people make a return visit

• 55%: Friendliness of people
• 34%: Sermon quality
• 30%: Overall worship experience

How churches follow up after the first visit

• 24%: No follow-up
• 20%: Letter or postcard from the pastor
• 18%: Call from a church member
• 13%: Call from the pastor

How churches attract new people (growing vs. established churches)

• 72% vs. 43%: Call visitors
• 85% vs. 72%: Use email
• 50% vs. 31%: Visit visitors
• 70% vs. 71%: Church website

 Observations

• Denominations aren’t the most significant factor. Only 9% of visitors heard about a church because of its denomination, compared to 49% who became aware because of a specific invitation.
• Personal invitations are more important than flashy advertising. 49% knew of a church vs. 6% knowing based on advertising—that’s a huge margin.
• Children’s programming didn’t rank high for return visits. General friendliness gets credit for 55% of return visits.
• Nearly a quarter of visitors never receive any kind of follow-up.Visitors should feel welcomed and valued when attending a new church, and following up is an easy way to acknowledge that.
• Phone calls are effective. 72% of growing churches call visitors, but only 43% of established churches do.
• The website makes no statistical impact on church growth.

So, what's the point of all this data? Simply this: invite your friends to church. They are just waiting to be invited, and a few of them are probably even wondering why you haven't invited them yet.