First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church

by Mark L. Waltz

Book Overview

Before a service even begins, first-time guests usually decide whether they'll return to your church. This means church leaders need to create no-fail; practical ways to ensure a visitor's first... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764427571
• ISBN13: 9780764427572
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Group Publishing (CO)
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

WOW

I am currently working through this book with our first impressions person at Parkway. For us it is helping us see the church in a new light. It really isn't brain surgeon ideas...but it allows our teams to expand their sight with the church. Sometimes people get comfortable or can't see the church larger than it currently is...this book is a great tool to open the eyes of your teams... Also Mark is great and doing this stuff at one of the greatest churches to date...

A wonderful addition to the church leadership library...

Mark Waltz has done church leaders a favor by writing this engaging and insightful book. There are a number of good books written for businesses and marketplace leaders about how to deal with customers. However, most church leaders are uneasy when using words like "consumer" to speak about new church attenders. Waltz does a fantastic job of drawing out key customer satisfaction principles without losing the appropriate heart of the gospel. This book remains biblical to the core, yet manages to shake some of the old churchy ideas that have kept people from trying or returning to the church for many years. I plan on using this book as a basic resource to guide my leadership of our First Impressions ministry teams. There are sections on print communications that will speak directly to some questions that our communications team is considering. There are a number of sections that will speak to our ushers and greeters. The biggest asset of Waltz's work is that it is both inspirational and practical. It gives me more motivation to know that the small choices that we make from weekend to weekend have huge implications, while giving me a number of tools to help us do a better job of allowing people to worship in a comfortable, distraction-free environment. If we get this right, the outcome for the Kingdom will be awesome!!

Great Resource

This book gave me numerous ideas on how to improve, strengthen, and streamline the hospitality ministries at my church. The book has also inspired me to strive for the "WOW" for every new face that come to my church.

Wow!

I would highly recommend this book. It provides great ideas and advice for creating a great experience for guests. After reading this book and attending a workshop at Granger Community Church, my church has started its own First Impressions ministry. It's off to a great start and there are plans to expand this ministry in the future.

A Landmark Book for Churches

Mark Waltz takes common sense "customer service" principles and applies them seamlessly to the church. This book will serve as a great "aha" for many churches as they discover what it means to really value the new people who come through their doors. And, by doing so, the number of new people will multiply. Mark's experience both in the business world, and in one of the fastest growing churches in the country, shines through each chapter. It is full of illustrations and is easy to read. Highly recommended.