Comments on: A Visitor’s Perspective: A Visit from the Mystery Worshipper

By: Melanie

Melanie — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:40:02 +0000

Thanks for all the insights on being a visitor. I was so inspired by Ship of Fool’s Mystery Worshipper program that about a year ago we started our own program here in the U.S. Rather than send the “churched” to visit for the first time, we pay the “unchurched” to visit for the first time and provide us with feedback. The observations (not giving up a seat to trying to send a visitor to another church where they would be more comfortable) are only a few examples of the information we have gleaned. We identify the common threads through multiple visits and share our findings with church leaders. Is many cases the pastor had no clue that some of these things were going on. The program has been incredibly helpful. I remember one Pastor saying, “we know why someone comes to visit and they stay because we get to ask them. We don’t know why someone visits and never comes back.” We have learned so much through developing this process and I couldn’t agree more then when you said early on that churches have forgotten what it is like for a visitor to visit there church for the first time. Great articles! Thank you!

By: The TuneHead

The TuneHead — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:32:18 +0000

Another one I would ask is “What did the facilities look like?”
Things like water stains in the ceiling tiles, cracked or missing tile in the bathrooms, damage to the outside of the building are really indicative of an “Oh, well” mentality among church leaders. If your building looks well taken care of, you either have the funds to do the necessary maintenance (which shows that your pastor and leaders care), or you have members willing to donate their time and resources to make sure the house where they gather is in good shape.
Some people might consider that superfluous, not really an indication of whether or not it’s a church you’d want to be plugged into. However, the state a church’s building is in speaks volumes about the attitude and heart of the people in that congregation.

By: revolutionfl

revolutionfl — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:34:27 +0000

“Did anyone welcome you personally? That is, who didn’t have a name tag that says, “Greeter.” The “passing of the peace” doesn’t count either.”
This one is huge for me.