He also recommends that people be assigned to each exit of the sanctuary to speak to newcomers as they leave. Whatever you do, don't ask guests to rise during a worship service and identify themselves, Clegg says. That may embarrass them to the point of never returning. Let them have anonymity unless they voluntarily relinquish it. Find a graceful way to find out who they are.
Every church has a different system.
Some churches put visitor information cards in their pews or bulletins, which they ask guests to sign. First Church of the Nazarene, Kansas City, Kansas, has registration pads in each pew, which it asks regular attenders as well as guests to sign. Clegg warns churches not to ask visitors to drop cards in offering plates, however. A better way is to have hosts in various parts of the church pass out and collect the cards. Or guests can put the cards in a box after the service.