Free printable church visitor cards

Church visitor cards are short forms that first-time guests fill in during or after the service, so the church knows who came and how to welcome them back. Ours print four to a page in US Letter and A4, and the prayer request on each card lets the visitor choose who may read it. The download also has a guest book page for the entrance and a “First time here?” sign.

What is in the download

Four visitor cards on one page, with dashed lines to cut along. Each card asks for a name, address, phone, email and the ages of any children, whether this is a first visit, a second one or a regular one, and what the visitor would like next: to learn more about the church, a call or a visit from a pastor, or news about children’s and youth groups. At the bottom is a prayer request with two boxes: “Pastors only” or “The prayer team may pray for this.”
A guest book page for a table by the door, with the date, the visitor’s name, where they are from and a short note. A line at the bottom reminds people that the book is open to everyone, so phone numbers and prayer requests belong on a card.
A “First time here?” sign, 8 by 10 inches with crop marks, asking visitors to fill in a card or sign the book.

The cards leave the church’s name off, so they work for any congregation. Add yours with a stamp, or write it on the guest book page and the sign.

Why so many churches use visitor cards

Most churches use cards to learn who visited. In a Lifeway Research survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, conducted by phone in August and September 2017, 83 percent said their church asks guests to complete cards. The same survey found that 17 percent ask guests to stand during worship. A card lets a visitor say hello without being singled out.

A card also gives you what a handshake at the door cannot: a name spelled right, a way to get in touch, and a sense of what the visitor is looking for.

What to ask on a visitor card

Keep it short enough to fill in during the closing song. Ask for what you will actually use:

A name and a way to reach them. An address lets you send a welcome letter, and a phone number or email covers everything else.
How often they have come. A first-time visitor and someone on their fourth Sunday need different follow-up.
Children and their ages, if you want to tell families about children’s and youth groups.
A few boxes to tick for what comes next. Boxes are quicker than open questions, and they tell you whether someone would welcome a call or a visit.
A prayer request, with a choice of who reads it. Some requests are meant for the whole prayer team and some for a pastor alone. Asking the visitor settles it, and keeps a private request private.

Visitor cards or a church guest book?

The two do different jobs, and many churches use both.

Visitor cards are private. A visitor fills one in, folds it and drops it in the offering plate or hands it to a greeter, and only the people who follow up ever see it.

A guest book is public. It sits open by the door, and every visitor can read the entries above their own, so it suits a name, a hometown and a few kind words, not a phone number. Churches that welcome tourists or visitors passing through can keep one, much like the visitors’ book in a museum guest book. Our guest book page gives you a printable version you can collect in a binder. Real estate agents meet the same choice at an open house, and our open house sign-in sheet comes with private cards too.

Handing out and collecting the cards

Put a few cards and pencils in each pew rack, or on a welcome table near the entrance with the framed sign.
Mention the cards once during the welcome, so visitors know where to leave them.
Collect them with the offering or at the welcome table, and give them to whoever does the follow-up on the same day.
Follow up while the visit is fresh, with a note or a call, and only in the ways the visitor ticked.
Keep filled-in cards somewhere private, and pass “Pastors only” requests to the pastors alone.

For anniversaries, farewells and memorials

Some church moments call for messages that everyone can read: a church anniversary, a pastor’s retirement or a funeral. For those, a guestbook that people can sign on paper or online works well, and our guides cover retirement guest book ideas and what to write in a funeral guest book. Keep contact details and prayer requests on the cards either way.

Quick answers

What size are the cards? Each card is 3.7 by 4.6 inches, four to a Letter or A4 page. Print on card stock if you have it, then cut along the dashed lines.

Is the template free? Yes. Print and copy as many as your church needs.

What should a church guest book include? The date, the visitor’s name, where they are from and room for a short note. Leave out phone numbers and email addresses, since everyone who signs can read the page.

Can visitors fill in a card online instead? They can if your church has an online form, but a paper card in the pew still reaches the visitors who never open one.