Warming Up Your Welcome Seminar

This was a seminar designed by Mike and Jan Davis and was presented during our church conference on Tuesday evening, December 18.

Have you ever thought about what it was like the first time you visited a church? Have you visited another church recently and felt uncomfortable not knowing anyone or not knowing where to find the bathroom or not understanding a part of the worship service? How much more so for someone who has never gone to church before -- we learned that 50-70% of residents in New England have no previous church connection.

People do visit though - at Peoples, we have at least one visitor almost every week. A few stay, but most do not. We need to ask why. The title of the seminar was "how warm is your welcome?" One of the quotes was: "Almost all churches say they are friendly, but few make friends." What would it mean to make friends with visitors at Peoples?

One suggestion was to think of visitors as guests. This puts the responsibility on us to ensure our guests are well cared for. Other suggestions, to get us thinking, were putting cones out on the nearest street parking spaces that say "Reserved for Visitors." The nursery space is also very important for visiting families, which is why we are in progress on this right now. How about finding your way around the building as a visitor? How many signs do we have to help folks find their way? Visitors make up their minds about a church within the first 10 minutes of arriving - that includes finding parking and finding the correct door to enter through. We need to make sure these first 10 minutes are as welcoming as possible.

It also very important that visitors be greeted by folks not paid to be there - in other words someone in addition to the pastor! It was also suggested that the ushers reserve the best seats (on the isles, toward the back) for visitors. Several folks shared experiences (within Peoples and while visiting other churches) of visitors being told to move out of someone's seat. If we are to be a warm and welcoming church, we need to be willing to give up our seat preference for our guest. On the other hand, we also need to be sensitive to visitors. It can be overwhelming with ten people trying to talk to them at once, and hugging is generally not a good idea with newcomers -- much better to offer a friendly hand and warm smile.

We were given a list of types of folks who might visit the church who are different than the majority that makes up the church today, whether we would want to worship with them, and whether our church would welcome them. How warm would we welcome an interracial or gay couple, a man wearing multiple piercings, or a parent with crying children?

We also discussed the difficult transition when visitors begin getting involved in the life of the church and begin bringing ideas and change that may seem threatening. It is difficult to let go of control and allow new folks the freedom to bring change.

So, whose role is it to welcome visitors? We learned that welcoming visitors is the responsibility of EVERYONE of us in the church! Mike left us with three challenges:
1. Welcoming our guests begins with me - every single person
2. During coffee fellowship or before worship, greet everyone within 10 feet of us. Ask visitors their names and show Christian hospitality.
3. Within the first 3 minutes after church, do not converse with other members until speaking with all of the visitors first.