Churches must go where the people are: Interview with VisitorReach CEO Marc Estes

There are people in every town, right this very second, searching for spiritual guidance and hoping to connect with a new church—and platforms like Pushpay offer a myriad of industry-leading tools to aid churches better connect with the surrounding community.

But ministries still need a tailored approach to reaching those potential guests in their area. After all, the vast majority of people will find, research, and interact with a church through digital devices several times before attending a Sunday service.

Which raises the critical question: how visible is your church to potential new members online?

Helping ministries optimize their digital footprint is the mission of VisitorReach™. Their platform—built by pastors, for pastors—takes a holistic approach to online visibility and engagement, with the ultimate goal of connecting ministries with those individuals already looking for a church to call home.

VisitorReach’s CEO and President Marc Estes sat down with us to explain their company’s inspiration, full-circle processes for clients, and their vision for impacting the future of the Church.

Tell us a little about your own background before VisitorReach.

I’ve spent most of my life serving the local church—almost 40 years, to be exact. It all started back in 1982 in a little church in South Lake Tahoe, California. I was a newly saved kid who somehow went from sitting in the pews to becoming the youth pastor. It was a wild ride, reaching the youth in our region and trying to figure out how to grow a mustache at the same time (spoiler: still can’t).

Fast forward to 1995, and I landed in Portland, Oregon, serving in a legacy church that’s now called Mannahouse. Over three decades, I wore many hats, from pastor to president of Portland Bible College. Eventually, I had the privilege of leading the church as its Senior Pastor. Let me tell you, those were some of the best years of my life.

Then, just this past October, we celebrated a major milestone. We successfully transitioned the church to an amazing couple who are taking it to the next level. Talk about a proud moment! And with that, my wife and I packed up and made the move to Hermosa Beach, California. Why? Well, because grandkids. (I mean, who wouldn’t move closer to their grandkids, right?) So here we are, soaking up the sun and embracing this new chapter with our four kids and their families.

What brought you and your fellow co-founders together to start VisitorReach?

Leading churches over the last five years have been a challenge. There has been so much societal tension and cultural wars that have really affected not just the Church, but the people we are trying to reach. And so, like the men of Issachar, our role was to understand the times and seasons in which we live before choosing what to do.

As we gathered together, we had to start by discerning the times and seasons before we developed any plans. We had to answer the what question before we started digging into the how. 

Several research-based trends stood out, but they all pointed to an obvious challenge: People are 44% more open to God than just a few years ago*, but they remain reluctant to attend church and instead spend more time digesting digital content than ever before.

And yet, research suggests that less than 2% of all church budgets are dedicated to outreach, and only a sliver of that sliver is directed toward digital evangelism. Even though online spaces are the new Roman Road!

Those realizations drove us to pool our experience and resources to start VisitorReach™—a platform to help churches go where the people are.

What patterns do you often see in other churches’ approach to engaging new people in their area, and what alternative perspectives and strategies would you encourage them to adopt?

First, let’s get real: what people are craving is relationships. They want to feel loved, accepted, and significant. They want to know they matter.

But while people are looking for relationships, much of what we do as churches is centered around programs and events. Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m all about a great Easter service (with fog machines, even!) or a Christmas production that rivals Broadway. But we can’t just focus on big events for the masses while neglecting the power of personal connection with the one.

This is such a crucial principle for today’s culture, and here’s the good news: Jesus modeled this perfectly. Think about it. Every time Jesus was with His disciples in a crowd, the disciples were all about the masses. But Jesus? He zoomed in on the one. The woman at the well, Zacchaeus in the tree, the blind man on the roadside, and even the thief on the cross—He always took the time to focus on the individual.

So let’s keep hosting those amazing events, but let’s also equip our teams to prioritize relational connections. Let’s train our people to notice the one who’s sitting alone, the one who’s quietly hurting, or the one who’s asking big questions about life and faith. 

That’s where the magic happens, and is the real key strategy behind VisitorReach™. Our first point of connection is with the one. We know their name, they know our name, and we begin by praying for their needs. It happens on the spot, which is why we see such high engagement levels with communities today. 

Walk us through how VistorReach works in practice, and how it helps churches reach more people

We begin with digital optimization. Unlike traditional social media approaches, we leverage over 70 digital platforms focusing on local listing management, voice recognition, and maps to engage with the most open prospective churchgoers, and begin a meaningful nurturing relationship with them from the first time they connect with the church. To help this process, we’ve developed a cutting-edge resource that takes a snapshot of your online activity and assesses your overall digital health and ability to reach your community digitally. 

VistorReach then develops personalized, world-class ad campaigns. We use your church’s own pictures and language to target those who are new to the area, looking for a church or are already on a spiritual journey. QR codes, custom website widgets, and even tap technology are leveraged to increase opportunities for connection with your church.

Everyone who interacts is directed to a one-on-one text conversation from your church, kicking off a relationship founded on trust by using the latest digital tools like AI. VistorReach’s platform is designed to eventually encourage a church visit, and nurtures them further by encouraging group participation, classes, and more to bring them into a life-giving community. 

Given recent digital and cultural trends, how is VisitorReach uniquely positioned to aid today’s churches?

Technology is changing faster than most of us can keep up, and most churches don’t have the time, resources, or tech expertise to keep pace with all these rapid changes.

That’s where we come in. If the digital world is where the harvest is gathering, then let us help you go there! 

What makes VisitorReach unique is that we’re not just a bunch of tech nerds sitting in a room trying to invent the next “cool” thing (okay, maybe we are a little nerdy, but that’s beside the point). VisitorReach was created by pastors, for pastors. We get you. We understand the unique challenges you’re facing, and we’re passionate about equipping you to meet those hurdles head-on.

We’ve assembled an all-star team to back you up—think of us as your secret weapon. We’ve got top-notch developers, campaign strategists, AI wizards and client service pros working together to make sure you have the tools and support you need.

Our mission is simple: To help you leverage today’s technology to build thriving local churches. Let us handle the tech so you can focus on transforming lives.

*Figure from 2022 Barna study

Connect with the Pushpay team today to see how VisitorReach’s platform—in conjunction with Pushpay’s software solutions—can amplify your ability to connect with new members of your community.