“The churches that I’ve seen that are the healthiest––that are thriving, that are growing––are always prepared for guests,” says Greg Atkinson, Founder - First Impressions Conference and Worship Impressions LLC, Charlotte, NC.
Those outside of the design community––aside from enthusiasts––don’t necessarily know why they enjoy being in certain spaces, and why others aren’t as appealing. But it’s this demographic that decides how “successful” a building is. Recently, Church.Design spoke with not a designer, but a church guest experience expert who serves as a voice for those who are ultimately the most important group that houses of worship serve: church guests.
Greg Atkinson is founder of the First Impressions Conference, as well as Worship Impressions LLC, a church guest experience-focused consultancy based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among the services he offers churches is conducting “secret shopper” missions, whereby he visits houses of worship––undercover––to examine how well they’re succeeding at providing an excellent guest experience. He’s even written a book about it: "Secrets of a Secret Shopper: Reaching and Keeping Church Guests." He is also author of the Hospitality Ministry Volunteer Handbook: Equipping You to Serve.
"We want [guests] to have a good experience and to be drawn back to return so we can have that opportunity and that privilege to walk alongside them in community.”
Greg Atkinson, Founder, First Impressions Conference
Atkinson’s focus on church guest experience is rooted in his belief that when first-time visitors don’t have an excellent first impression of a church, they’re unlikely to come back. “We’ve been given the Great Commission to go and make disciples, but I’ve found it very difficult to make disciples if they don’t return,” he says. “When it comes to making disciples in the local church, I think first impressions is one of the most paramount, first and foremost things we should be thinking about. We want [guests] to have a good experience and to be drawn back to return so we can have that opportunity and that privilege to walk alongside them in community.”
While many of the things involved in providing an excellent church guest experience rely on solid processes (such as consistent volunteer training, and good planning and preparedness), thinking through these processes can serve to inform church design. Here are a few factors Atkinson urges people to consider …
The restroom experience is more important than you think
We’ve all been to a restaurant that was lauded for its cuisine, only to discover (with proper horror) that its restroom was a mess. What, we ask, does this demonstrate about management’s philosophy on hygiene in the kitchen?
The same thinking applies to church restrooms. Not only do they need to be clean and well-stocked with toilet paper; they need to smell … not like a restroom. Atkinson argues that this is important because our sense of smell plays a large role in our overall impression of a facility. “The thing about the sense of smell is it’s often subconscious: you just have a bad experience, you can’t place your finger on it, but you get in your car and you think, ‘Nah, I didn’t like it. I’m not going to go back.’” This isn’t exclusive to the restrooms, he adds; the entire church may smell like bleach, or mould, or something that makes people think of a funeral home. “Sense of smell has such a long-term effect on us; we can remember smells from childhood. When you have a sense that is that powerful, you want to pay attention to it.”
Giving people space is even more important now
As we all know, the pandemic has people reacting differently to mask mandates, vaccine campaigns, and all of the new behaviors we’ve been encouraged––and sometimes obligated––to adopt. Regardless of our differences of opinion, Atkinson urges churches to set up hand sanitizing stations so that people may wash their hands as regularly as they wish.
Chad Ziemendorf
A look inside the lobby at Evangel Church in Bismarck, ND; design and image by Visioneering Studios
He also underlines the importance of giving people space. He says this starts in the parking lot. “When you’re walking up to the church building, you want to give people plenty of space; maybe your parking team and outdoor greeters just wave at people and they don’t come up and approach them,” he illustrated. Greeters should also be holding the door for congregants––and giving them plenty of space to pass through––so that the door handle isn’t touched by everyone who enters the lobby.
Atkinson urges churches to set up hand sanitizing stations so that people may wash their hands as regularly as they wish.
Wayfinding is key
One of Atkinson’s mantras is “never assume people know anything.” First-time visitors especially fall under this category. How can they be expected to know where kid’s check-in is? Or, for that matter, the restroom? This is why, he says, signage is so essential.
“When I think of planning and experience, and church design, I think of wayfinding signage and giving people solutions before they ask for them,” Atkinson says. “[Some people] may not have the personality where they want to speak up and ask, ‘Excuse me, where can I find the restroom?’ They just want to find it on their own.”
Storage space and aesthetics
When storage space is at too much of a premium in churches, the aesthetics are compromised. Nothing breaks up the look and feel of an otherwise welcoming café, or lobby, or gathering area than when there are extra chairs and tables stacked up against the wall, haphazardly, in plain sight. When consulting with churches that are constructing new buildings, Atkinson underlines the importance of storage space.
“Whatever you’re thinking about for storage space, double or triple it,” Atkinson says. “Every church I work with, they do not have enough storage space. When you’re thinking through a new building, [think about] closets and rooms for storage where you can store tables, chairs, signage, banners, and things that you use on a parking team. You can just never, ever have enough space.”
When consulting with churches that are constructing new buildings, Atkinson underlines the importance of storage space ... Nothing breaks up the look and feel of an otherwise welcoming café, or lobby, or gathering area than when there are extra chairs and tables stacked up against the wall.
When he thinks about church guest experience, Atkinson likens it to receiving guests in one’s home. You’ll probably clean up, stash away the clutter, and maybe even light a candle or two. You’ll also be prepared to feed your guests well and make them comfortable. The same mindset, he says, applies to receiving church guests. “The churches that I’ve seen that are the healthiest––that are thriving, that are growing––are always prepared for guests,” he says. “They’re not taken by surprise, they’re not shocked when new people show up. They know everything that they expect the guest to do, [and they know how] to get them plugged in and connected, and assimilated into the local church.”
