Once you've finished this video, make sure to watch my video dedicated to the new visitor follow-up sequence here! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pd6b7eRzmg4.html
Dude, I was going crazy looking for the link because your video said that it was "linked on the screen and in the vide description below." (I thought I was losin' it!) See ya next week!
We just redesigned our connect card following some of these principals. We decided against the QR code as a large portion of our visitor population is the 70+ crew, but we included a photo with people from our church to make it more welcoming and friendly and already have seen an increase in people filling it out in just one week! The "Yellow" card, really helps. We also took this principal to our prayer request cards and our volunteer cards. Simple, color coded, and only information that is absolutely necessary. :) Thanks for your work, Brady!
So interesting. I was thinking about this very thing and designed a square card with a QR code that connects to a form on our site and has a simple picture on the other side. Glad to know I'm not the only crazy person. Haha
😎 Why have both sides? If you’re going to have a QR code, then simply have it, along with the church name & logo, on one side to keep things even more simple? ✌️ By the way, we got away from “Connection Card” and call it “Response Card” because this allows everyone to qualify to fill it out. We use our Response Card in the same way, however lean into using it for people to share prayer requests during the church service and we remember those prayers during our Wednesday Power Prayer Hour when we pray for each by name.
Thanks for the video! Question: What are your thoughts on having more than one card for different purposes? I.e. a guest card AND a card for those that have been around and desire to connect to an area of ministry. Or, this could be two QR codes that take you different text keywords for different workflows (guest vs. steps, etc.). We’re thinking through this process as we’re seeking to prioritize guests and that follow up on Sunday mornings, but also not sure if there’s space for also having an avenue of action for regular attendees in service. Thanks!
Yeah, the QR code should go to your ‘Central Hub’ on your church’s website. Here’s a full guide on that. Today, we recommend you use The Launcher by Nucleus for that. Central Hub Guide: www.nucleus.church/blog/central-hub/ The Launcher by Nucleus Guide: www.nucleus.church/blog/ultimate-guide-next-steps-launcher/
What would you suggest for congregations that have older people that cannot or will not use a digital connect card. Is there validity in having a space on the connect card also for hand written name/email etc?
I've heard it said the best way to encourage guests to complete connection cards is to develop a habit within the congregation of filling out a card as well so the guest doesn't feel singled out. Is there any veracity to this claim? If so, how do you actually get your congregation to do so because we've had little to no success in this area.
There's a reason this video shares a Connect Card for guests *and* a Next Steps card for the rest of the church. That way it's not isolating to just the new visitors. As for getting the congregation to actually use the card, the culture piece is bigger than this video. But the most important thing by far is having just ONE destination for every next step in your church. If there's just one place to go and one place only - people will use it.
Our church is considering giving a donation in honor of our guests using the auto email method you e mentioned previously. How does that work if only 1/3 of the younger generations are willing to share a real email address? How have you seen this play out at the churches you support?
That's the average for all industries. So understanding that there's a bias towards inaction, a thoughtful card like this should help boost those numbers. The other thing to consider is, what's the alternative? If younger folks are hesitant to give their email, are they less hesitant to give their phone number? Surely not. I don't have any data on their willingness to track down a staff member in the lobby. I would bet email and visiting a URL are the best bets.
Thanks. If they have children we need to place them in the right class. So we need their birthday so the church database will place them in the correct room. We need to associate the child with the right parent - so we need to have more than a first name in our database. There are a lot of common first names. We have to give the parent a tag that is associated with the child's name tag so we know they should be picking up the child. What type of card or do you want a qr code only for parents with children that show up?
All great questions, Alan. Next week's video is going to cover the actual form and follow-up emails that this connect card leads to. That being said, typically, the kind of information you're describing would be covered *before* the parents are seated in the pew during service and seeing these connect cards. Ideally, we capture kids info in the Plan A Visit form on our site. And if that isn't used, we'd still want the kids to be registered and in kids ministry prior to this connect card ever even being seen. And that registration would take place before service begins out in the lobby.
That would be ideal. I guess I would just like to see what method you recommend for getting info from parents who show up at a worship service with kids but who didn't use plan a visit. I like your designs and thought process. I wonder whether a qr code at the kid check in is the best approach or not. If not, or if they don't want to use a qr have you ever designed a paper version or a tablet version to use to check in kids? @@prochurchtools
I don't think the QR path is necessary for kids check-in before service. For that, we have just have an area in the lobby where parents can register and check their kids in with volunteers serving there to help.
Trying to think this through a bit....why at 07:41 do you make the URL /qr-connect rather than just /connect ? Would there be a scenario where you might want both /qr-connect and /connect - is that why you use "qr" in the URL?
That’s right. Because it’s a URL made for redirection and not an actual page I wouldn’t want to use up a route that could foreseeably used in the future.
That's perfectly fine. Mostly accomplishes the same thing. A few potential downsides I see: 1. Without the cards, you lose the ability to say "locate the blue card." Scanning the QR code on the "pew in front of you" is a fair replacement. But that leads to my second concern... 2. Are there two QR codes? One for the congregation's next steps and one for new visitors connecting? And if so, how do we tell those apart? 3. Obviously, having the QR codes fixed on the pews make moving things around much more difficult. Your mileage will vary if this is a negative or not. For many churches, making something like not permanent would be ideal.
That really depends on what you mean by "non-techy." I was pretty resistant to QR codes for a while because the barrier to entry was high. Post-pandemic they're a lot more mainstream. To assist though, the cards do have the church website on them as a fallback if folks don't know what to do with the QR code. If you're confident your congregation is incapable of visiting a website, our solution has always been in our announcements to say "locate the QR code on the back of the blue card or visit us in the lobby." Then, when people visit us in the lobby, we have a volunteer standing next to a kiosk to help them go through the same steps they would on their on a mobile device, but on a tablet with the assistance of a volunteer. In this way, they're being shown how easy it is to take a next step online with a personal touch so they're more likely to give a try themselves next time. We're also using the same platform on the tablet as we would on the phone so we're not having to juggle paper *and* digital. Finally, if this person prefers to never do it themselves, the kiosk and a friendly face is there to meet with them every week and help them take their next step using the kiosk.
![Modern Church Connection Cards [EXAMPLES]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
