Others say...

"Helpful but unremarkable..."
I'm on staff at our church in the area of First Impressions, and the subtitle of this book ("Connecting Guests to Your Church") is a major part of what I do. When I first saw this book, I knew that I needed to read it.

Quite frankly, I was disappointed on several fronts. First and foremost, this book felt like it was written for the church of the 1980s. I was taken aback by the almost complete failure to mention internet strategies. When it was discussed at the end of Chapter 5, it was almost as if the reader was supposed to be only vaguely aware that the "World Wide Web" even exists.

I was also frustrated by the rather hokey feel of many of McIntosh's suggestions. The DWYPYWD principle (Do what you promised you would do)? Come on, that's a ridiculous and utterly useless acronym. The rule of three-thirty-three? The MOT (Moment of Truth)? I just think that this stuff is silly.

I was disappointed by one underlying message throughout the book, that the purpose of making good connections with guests is to convince them to attend your church rather than another church. But this totally misses the point of caring about guests. We don't need to be very concerned about the folks who are going to end up at a church somewhere. Our energies should be directed to the folks who are going to choose between attending our church and never attending church again. Those are the folks for whom first impressions and guesterizing strategies should be focused.

Finally, I could not see how Chapter 13 fit into this book. In the midst of all of his connection strategies, McIntosh spends this chapter providing a brief summary of the emergent church movement. Maybe this primer would be helpful for older pastors who have missed the entire emergent thing (and have only recently discovered the World Wide Web and really enjoy acronyms like DWYPYWD), but it seemed completely out of place in this book.

Having been rather critical and even somewhat sarcastic so far in my review, "Beyond the First Visit" was not a complete loss. The strength of this book is that it is relatively comprehensive. McIntosh speaks into a host of topics and goes to great lengths to explain why each of these seemingly insignificant details is actually quite important. His attention to the little things is commendable and should help the reader be aware of the myriad of things that churches need to consider as folks outside the church investigate what we do every week when we come together for corporate worship.

Ultimately, I'm glad that I read this book. There is much good content that can help church leaders to think through the impression that they leave with guests. However, it was far from what it could have been. If you're looking to think about these things in a totally new and refreshing way, I'd recommend Mark Waltz's "First Impressions" instead.

"Beyond Helpful"
Great - practical book. Helps you see your church from a "guest's" (not visitor) point of view. Practical questions to ask for all teams within the church from worship to nursery to building and grounds. Easy to implement in your own setting, not a cookie cutter approach to church. Very helpful

"Guesterize Your Church!"
Inviting guests to your church is easy. Getting them to stay is not. Gary McIntosh's new book offers concrete suggestions for getting guests to stay "beyond the first visit."

I began reading Beyond the First Visit in January 2007 when my wife and I moved to California's central coast to pastor a church. We didn't know anyone in the area or the church, so for a while we felt like guests in our own congregation. I grew up in a pastor's home and was associate pastor to a long-time friend, so this was a new feeling for me. But it was a very valuable feeling, for it gave me an important insight into how guests at our church feel all the time. (And I have a very friendly church!)

According to McIntosh, we need to "guesterize" our churches. That is, we need "to make a church more responsive to its guests and better able to attract new ones." From the moment guests step foot on our campuses, they need to feel a welcome invitation to be there as well as opportunities to connect with others and get involved in the life of the church.

Each chapter of Beyond the First Visit includes numerous suggestions for making your church guest-friendly, real-life examples of what works and what doesn't, and discussion questions that can be used individually or among leadership groups.

If your church has many guests, but few who stay, read Beyond the First Visit. It will open your eyes to your guests' point of view.

"A Book the Motivates"
This is an excellent, practical, and insightful book on how growing a church to the next level can be done. The author has writen it from the biblical, psychological and sociological perspectives which therefore makes it a wholistic and comprehensive treatise on how to boost the attendance of a declined or declining church. Read it and put it into a action. The growth of your church will surprise you.

"Worth the read"
He has several, practical steps for making your church more hospitable. From the 10 foot rule, to the 5 minute rule, to such advice as "Recruit for attitude, Train for people for skills," it was worth the purchase.