Necessary or Not: Connection Cards
Churches are not exactly known for keeping with the times or consciously evaluating what does or doesn’t work. It’s all too easy to get stuck on what has worked in the past, which has inspired us to explore some current media-related staples in ministries today. Last week we began with deconstructing the weekly church bulletin, which included a look at improvements and alternatives. So, today we’ll be looking at the frequently used connection card.
Different types of connection cards are utilized in churches every week. Sometimes they are geared toward first-time visitors, and others are geared toward volunteer opportunities. We’re going to break down the different functions of the card, whether they are still needed today, and ways to improve them.
Different Uses:
The Welcome
The one that you might see the most often in different congregations is a welcome and connect card rolled into one. This tool welcomes visitors and allows them to share the most basic information for church staff to use for follow ups. There’s no pressure to actually fill one out, but if people are new and looking for a church home, then this little card is pretty helpful. Some versions even allow for people to check a box if they would like to receive the church’s digital newsletter or email updates, but this is not a mandatory inclusion.
Volunteer Central
While the welcome card above might be geared toward visitors, this card is geared more toward those already involved. Most churches have more than a few areas that constantly need volunteers, so a volunteer connection card can help. These allow people to fill in basic information and mark which areas of ministry they would be interested in helping.
These might not be out all the time; some churches might prefer to put them out at strategic times of the year. Either way, this can be a helpful tool in recruiting new volunteers to all of your different ministries.
Prayer Requests
This type of connection card is available and helpful to all, and if you use them, I suggest placing them every week in the backs of your pews or chairs. With these cards, people can fill in prayer requests as anonymously as they would like and ask for prayer from different staff members. Most churches have a specific place for them to be turned in like the offering box/plate.
Potential Downsides:
More Paper
Connection cards serve a distinct purpose, but at the end of the day, it is another item that you have to print. If you settle on a design and information that can stay relevant, then you can luckily order these in bulk to save on costs. However, the connection card is still one more thing to print and another piece of paper to keep. If you’re anything like us, then you might scoff at the idea of more items of paper to potentially lose.
Overlooked
Since these cards usually reside in the backs of pews or chairs, the cards can be easily overlooked. If you don’t let people know they are there, then they will not be utilized. Now, luckily, there is a pretty easy solution to this. Include a small blip of information about the cards, where they can be found, and where they can be returned either during your announcements on stage or during video announcements. This thirty to forty second reminder can make sure you’re not wasting time and money on cards that people aren’t using.
Follow Up
One of the biggest potential downsides of connection cards is that they are not useful if you don’t have a system in place to retrieve and utilize them. If visitors give you their contact information, they want you to follow up with them. If congregants are interested in volunteering with the youth ministry, they expect to hear from someone in that area with next steps. All too often, though, these cards can fall through the cracks.
My greatest piece of advice is to make sure you have the people and time to follow up; otherwise, these cards don’t actually connect anyone or serve a purpose.
Potential Alternatives:
Online Forms- One of the most tech savvy ways to replace the connection card is by using online submission forms. You can implement them on your website or app and have people submit information through these means. However, it should be said that this may or may not be effective based on your congregation and what technology they actually utilize. You can also utilize online forms as a supplement to connection cards if you don’t want to totally replace them just yet.
Text Initiatives- I think it’s pretty safe to say that most people use a cellular or mobile device of some kind. Text initiatives are pretty convenient for this reason. You can have congregants text a word or two to a specific number to request information for a specific volunteer opportunity. While I’m not sure I would recommend this totally replacing your connection system, it can also be a suitable supplement on different occasions.
In conclusion, the connection card has become a staple for a lot of churches for a reason. Information is returned in a quick manner from Sunday to Sunday, and it helps church staff have a pulse on things such as visitors, prayer needs, and which ministries are gaining interested volunteers. While there are online and digital solutions that can replace the connection card, it is hard to beat the quickness and accessibility of this current system. The question of whether the connection card is still necessary today is always based on what works best for your congregation, but I would argue that when the connection card is intentionally designed and placed, then it still has a fairly vital role to play.
So, how can you make your connection card more effective?
Minimal Requirements- Barna has done a lot of research on topics that greatly impact the church, and to sum up this particular subject, millennials in particular don’t like giving away a lot of information. I would argue that most people don’t like having to fill in too many boxes, but nevertheless, we’ll focus on the actual research results. Overall, visitors don’t want to give away their home address and feel like they’re signing their lives away to find out more about your church. This is especially important on your welcome/visitor connection card. Keep it simple by only having two or three boxes. Just ask for their first name and email address, and it should make a difference on how many of these cards are actually completed and returned.
Multiple Cards- Now, this is not an invitation to go crazy, but it is alright to have multiple cards for different purposes. You don’t need to squeeze volunteer opportunities on a connection card aimed toward visitors. Break up this information onto two or three different cards but be reasonable. No one wants to see 10 different connection cards in their chair pocket.
Utilize Color- If you decide to have a couple of different cards, then utilize a color system. This is not mandatory, but it will make your life a lot easier. It’s nice in announcements to point out easy identifiers like the welcome card being the blue card and the prayer request card being the yellow one. It makes organizing them a lot easier later, and it is honestly just a nice visual cue for your congregants.
Next week we’ll be discussing another church media tool and its usefulness today. Until then, if you have any questions about how we can help with your church media, you can find more information here.
