What turns a casual church visitor into a connected, contributing member of your church family?
The reality is, every engaged member of your church started the same way: as a first-time visitor. Maybe they arrived uncertain and unsure of what to expect. Or maybe they spent weeks researching, praying, and preparing before ever stepping through your doors. Regardless of their path, they all made that first visit, and something convinced them to come back.
This blog post summarizes that journey. It’s not just about attendance, it’s about cultivating genuine connection and helping people move from curiosity to commitment.
From the moment someone walks through your doors to the day they begin serving, leading, and investing in your church community, there are intentional steps that can guide their growth.
The Journey: Visitor → Passive Attender → Engaged Member
This process is the heart of healthy church growth. The path isn’t always linear, but recognizing the stages helps churches meet people where they are. By identifying key traits, setting clear goals, and knowing how to help, church leaders can create a culture that nurtures connection and inspires spiritual growth.
It can be a lot, but we’ve worked to break the whole journey down for you into actionable steps and have provided tools to help along the way in our latest ebook, “The Guide to Nurturing Visitors into Engaged Church Members.”
To hit the highlights, take a look at the three primary phases of the journey below.
1. The Visitor
Put simply, visitors are people attending your church for the first few times. It’s important to remember that each visitor comes in with unique perspectives, hopes, backgrounds, and beliefs.
Key Traits:
- Might be exploring faith or looking for a new church home
- Likely unfamiliar with your church, and may be unfamiliar with churches in general
- Observing more than participating
- Their experience is highly influenced by first impressions
Primary Goal: Help visitors feel welcome, seen, and encouraged to return.
How to Help:
- First Impressions Matter: Warm greetings, helpful signage, and approachable volunteers go a long way.
- Engage Well: Smile, ask questions, and show genuine interest.
- Follow Up: A simple message or call can make someone feel valued.
2. The Passive Attender
A passive attender is someone who comes to church services consistently but hasn’t taken deeper steps toward community, serving, or formal membership. They aren’t visitors in the sense that they don’t know what is going on at your church, but they’re not members either formally or in their level of commitment.
Key Traits:
- Attends some Sundays (e.g. 1-2x/mo) and may feel somewhat emotionally connected to the church.
- Probably not involved in a small group.
- May give occasionally or attend events, but engagement is surface-level.
- Might still see themselves as a guest or spectator.
- Hasn’t stepped into a service role yet.
Primary Goal:
Help passive attenders build consistent habits and find their next step toward deeper engagement.
How to Help:
- Build Consistency: Encourage regular attendance through relational touchpoints.
- Strengthen Connections: Promote small groups and personal invitations.
- Personalize Engagement: Help them find ways to use their unique gifts.
3. The Engaged Member
Engaged members are the heartbeat of a thriving church. They attend regularly, serve faithfully, give generously, and help carry the church’s mission forward. These individuals not only contribute, but they also help bring others along on the journey.
Key Traits:
- Attends most (or all) Sundays.
- Actively participates in the life of the church through serving, giving, community, and/or leadership.
- Is well connected within the church.
- Embraces the church's mission, values, and direction.
- Contributes regularly and views the church as their spiritual home.
- Invites, teaches, and trains others to join in the mission of the church, too.
Primary Goal:
Encourage continued growth, leadership development, and a mission-minded lifestyle.
How to Help:
- Celebrate Their Involvement: Acknowledge and appreciate their contributions.
- Provide Development Opportunities: Offer training and leadership tracks.
- Invite Them to Mentor Others: Encourage them to disciple and welcome newcomers.
Next Steps
Ultimately, church growth isn’t just about numbers, it’s about nurturing spiritual maturity and belonging. When people feel connected and called into purpose, they stay, serve, grow, and invite others to do the same.
By intentionally walking with people from their first visit to full engagement, churches can build a culture where everyone feels seen, valued, and empowered to be the church.
This blog post is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve created The Guide to Nurturing Visitors into Engaged Church Members ebook which goes much deeper. It doesn’t just identify who people are, but it provides practical tips, tools and best practices to reach people at every stage and help them take next steps.
