It is very important for church leaders to realize that your focus should be to connect families, not just individuals. Of course, you will try to connect each person who attends a ministry event, but I am talking about looking past the obvious. Simply put, if little Johnny is in church on Sunday morning, he did not get there on his own. And if Johnny stops attending... you know the rest!
You must respond to his visit to pave the way for a second opportunity
with the family. Realize though, that Johnny's opinion is already formed at this point. He either had fun, or he did not. Assuming it went well, the parents will want to know how their whole family might fit in at the church. Churches with effective connection processes will use a child's visit as a
starting point for family connection and not an end unto itself. No church ever intends to ignore the family's connection, it just happens in the absence of a strategic plan.
Churches with effective connection processes will use a child's visit as a starting point for family connection and not an end unto itself.
The second aspect to family connection is to make sure that your Sunday schedule is workable for families with kids of varying ages.
