You Got Them to the Event. What’s Next?

As I’m writing this, we’re getting to host Harvest Fest Christ Greenfield. And I have to confess, it wears me out. It wears out a lot of our staff, too. We want to know the juice is worth the squeeze.

We’re putting in a lot to get people to the event. What happens after they show up?

We use a simple engagement model: attract, get, retain, disciple, multiply.

Attract means people want to know more. Get means they’re willing to try it out. We make a connection so we can follow up. Retain means they keep coming and begin to belong. Disciple means helping them grow as followers of Jesus. Multiply means equipping them to reach and disciple others.

An outreach event gives people a chance to try us out. We’re using it to solve for attract and get: give people a reason to come, welcome them, and make a connection.

But what are we doing to retain them? What will help them come back, build relationships, and begin to belong?

That needs to be part of the plan before anyone shows up.

Know who you’re reaching.

Harvest Fest is designed for families with kids. That should shape both the event and the invitation that follows.

Your event may be reaching a different audience. The next step needs to fit the people you’re inviting. Start with who they are, and give them an invitation that makes sense for them.

Make the connection.

Attendance matters. We want families to come, have fun, and have a good experience with our church.

But we haven’t really “gotten” them if we have no way to connect afterward. That’s why we’re asking people to register. We need to know who came and have a way to follow up.

Registration gives us a starting point. Then we need to do something with it.

Make the next invitation clear.

Decide on the next step before the event.

For families, that could be a family-friendly sermon series or Christmas Eve worship. It could also be a date night or parents’ night out that gives them a chance to connect with people from the church.

If the invitation is Sunday worship, give people a specific Sunday and a reason to come. If it’s a relational opportunity, make sure it helps them build relationships and move closer to Sunday morning.

Explain the invitation while they’re with you. Make it easy to respond. Give someone responsibility for following up.

“Someone should reach out” needs a name attached to it.

The next invitation is how we begin addressing retain. Following through helps people make connections and gives them a reason to return.

Answer this before the doors open.

As you prepare your next outreach event, finish these sentences:

We’re trying to reach ___.

We’ll make a connection with them by ___.

Their next invitation is ___.

___ owns the follow-up.

Getting people to show up takes work. Put the same thought into what happens next.

Monitor the results.

You may believe this event will attract new families and help them connect with your church. But is it actually doing that?

Monitoring the results helps you test that assumption. Did we reach new families, or did our existing church families attend another event? Both have value, but you need to know which happened to evaluate an outreach event. Are the new families taking the next step afterward?

Do you have a system in place to identify when new people show up in worship? Can you trace that visit back to the outreach event?

Connect what you learn from worship guests with your event registrations and follow-up. Ask what brought them in. Without a system to monitor the results, you’re left guessing whether the event is doing what you intended. With one, you can see what’s working and where you need to adjust.

These events take a lot out of your team. Keep welcoming people, make the next invitation clear, and learn from what happens.

Want to keep the conversation going? Join us on Lead Time Plus, or reach out to us to talk more about outreach, follow-through, and helping people connect with your church.

www.uniteleadership.org

---