Success Stories

Buildings Speak – Do you know what yours is saying?

It is commonly accepted that a visitor to your church will decide within 7-10 minutes of entering your parking lot whether they want to come back for a second visit. This makes it imperative that your facility reinforce who you are and what you value. At National Covenant Properties (“NCP”) we encourage you to be aware that your building is speaking and, more importantly, that you know what it is saying to visitors.

Well maintained landscaping, a clearly marked parking lot, and visible signage all make a visitor feel like you were expecting them and want to welcome them to your fellowship. Visiting a church for the first time can be intimidating, so making the initial entry as smooth as possible helps a visitor feel more at ease.

It should also be noted that most visitors have “met” your church before they have stepped into your facility. They have either heard about you from friends or, more likely, visited your website. The Lead Pastor website (www.leadpastor.com) tells us that 80% of people visit a church website before attending. More importantly, 75% of visitors make judgements about a church’s credibility based on what they see on the website.

Based on that data, it is vital that visitors see evidence of what your church values when they enter your building. Having your mission statement prominently posted, along with pictures or videos of your church living out its calling in your community, helps visitors determine if what they saw on your website is reflected in their experience in the building. These displays also help regular attenders to remember the mission and outreach of the church.

Visitors may also be unfamiliar with your architecture and customs. Having both clear interior signage that guides a person to key areas in the building and trained greeters can help ease the transition for the visitors. Avoid using jargon or unfamiliar acronyms on your signs. If possible, use simple descriptions that do not require someone to be an insider to understand what is being described. Also make sure that greeters are clearly identified and easy to find.

Visitors also see and experience things differently than regular attenders. For instance, as a regular attender you probably feel your church is very friendly. A visitor, however, may see evidence of friendliness between regular attenders but may not experience that friendliness themselves. The condition and quality of your building is another area where a visitor may notice things that regular attenders no longer notice because they are fully committed to the church. NCP sees this most often with children’s areas. Visitors with young children are often most concerned about where they leave their children. A regular attender may not see the peeling paint or outdated furniture and toys in the children’s area but that is one of the first things a visitor notices.

It is a challenge for regular attenders to see their church through the eyes of a visitor. One resource that may help is the book 52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith, by Peter DeHann. In this book the author shares his journey visiting a new church each Sunday for a year. He discusses his experiences, both good and bad, at each church and provides a key takeaway for each visit, so the reader can apply the lesson to their own church. There is also a companion workbook that helps a church to further apply these lessons to their own experience.

Another option is to have the NCP Real Estate Services division do an Undercover Visit to your church. One of the vice presidents of real estate services can tour your facility and maybe even worship with you on Sunday and provide you a report on their visit. The goal is to help the church to see their facility through the eyes of a visitor. The Undercover Visit report will give you a raw look at your facility, highlighting both the positive and the negative, in order to help you see how your facility speaks to visitors.

If you are not sure what your church is saying to visitors, reach out to the NCP Real Estate Services division, and we can work with you to help make sure your facility is serving as an effective tool for your ministry.