Undercover Visitor
By Joanie A. Faust
Over the past month, I’ve taken on an assignment that was a combination of investigative journalism and shameless personal curiosity. My task was to attend several church services in an effort to analyze each one’s hospitality practices. It was partly done in order to test how each church handles being infiltrated by an anonymous visitor, but also to get myself acquainted with the way United Methodists operate. Make no mistake; while I was secretly writing an article, I was an honest visitor who didn’t know a whole lot about the church, didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, and have (for years) needed someone to reach out and make me feel like being at church was a good thing. Here are my discoveries at five different United Methodist Churches.
Home Page
As a first time visitor (and a twenty-something whose life revolves around the computer) my first instinct was to search for service schedules online. Two out of the five churches surveyed did not have a clear indication of service times on their websites. Immediately there was a negative connotation with the churches whose schedules I had to dig around to find. One site in particular was so unclear and impersonal that I had to ask if the church still existed. Let’s face it: many people looking for a church service to attend are going to go to the internet first. The very first usher that a potential visitor will meet is going to be your landing page. If you want your congregation to be more welcoming, that’s the first door that needs to be wide open.
But it’s not enough to publicize your service schedules; the rest of your website must be current. If it’s the middle of April and your events page still advertises your Christmas canned food drive, potential visitors will have shaky confidence that your service schedule is up-to-date. They’ll click to another church’s page before they’ll pick up the phone to clarify the time.
Visitor Parking
Even though mapquest.com and onboard GPS systems have made it easier to find your way around your own city, once you get to the little yellow star on the map, you’re on your own. GPS can’t tell you what entrance to take or where to park or where to go once you’ve turned off your ignition. Only one out of the five churches surveyed had a clear indication of where to park and where to go. If you belong to a congregation considered to be a “large church,” directional signage is of the upmost importance.
As a first-time visitor, the biggest fear that hits you once you lock your car door is the thought of walking into the wrong hall or being noticed as the person who has navigated past the same corner twice while feigning a look of confidence. Do your visitors a favor and have a map of the church grounds in an easy to read, large enough to notice display. Or better yet, have a greeter introduce themselves to potential visitors before they start to wander off in search of your service.
Greeters
Having someone welcome you when you are visiting a religious sanctuary for the first time is the biggest bridge to making someone feel more comfortable. This is the area where most of the churches surveyed excelled. There was always someone with a name tag who stopped to say hello and welcome me to the service. Extra points go to greeters who didn’t stop there—two out of the five churches surveyed had greeters who not just said hello, but also asked me what brought me to the church and seemed genuinely interested in my presence. There was one church in particular that had so many people welcome me that I gave up counting after the tenth person.
Overall Atmosphere
Each church has a different “feel” when you enter it. Each pastor is different. Each congregation is different. Some churches I went to catered to families. Some to older adults. Some to children. Some seemed to have a general inclusion of all types of members. I will admit that the service that seemed to cater to children and families didn’t suit me the best. There was nothing wrong with the service, the greeters were extremely welcoming, but the message in the service didn’t apply to where I am in my life. Maybe it was just that one day, but I found myself feeling more comfortable and spiritually welcome elsewhere.
I later found out that the church I felt drawn to the most took great care in catering to the Millennial Generation, of which I’m a card-carrying member. This led me to understand that there’s a science behind the art to hospitality, and that not everyone is going to fall into your target demographic. There may not be a spark with every visitor you encounter, but everyone that walks in the door should feel like you’d be thrilled to have them return if they so choose. And if you do have a certain demographic that you’re looking to draw to your services, try to keep the message something that everyone can relate to. I may not be able to relate to being a parent yet, but I can understand sermons about how to combat stress, anxiety, giving of one’s self to another, etc.
Follow Through
A large part of the United Methodist’s quest for extravagant hospitality is in the follow up with new visitors. Every church would like to see their inquisitive visitors eventually become members. Out of the five churches surveyed, none of them encouraged me to come back or made it clear that I could benefit from giving someone my information. Granted, I chose not to stay for coffee and socializing after the services, but most visitors travelling alone will also want to get out as soon as possible.
As a spiritually-hungry Millennial, I can say with confidence that a person from my generation, who walks into church for the first time, alone, would be encouraged by someone reaching out to them and getting their information for follow up. We wouldn’t find it pushy or intrusive. That’s why we’re there. We’ll give any marketer our name and e-mail if we thought there was a benefit to us, so why shouldn’t the church try to get us talking before we go out the door and forget why we were there in the first place?
Results
I’m pleased to report that, although there are areas that desperately need improvement, the United Methodist Churches of Arizona are making an effort to be more welcoming to visitors. Not once did I ever feel like I was intruding. Not once did I feel as though my lack of Methodist knowledge prevented me from joining in the celebration. Not once did I feel like I stood out in the crowd. Anyone that greeted me, whether official greeters or members of the congregation, made me feel as though they were delightfully curious about my presence and happy that I had shared the morning with them. I was happy to share the morning with them as well.
An inviting visitor parking section and new member cards placed in pews are steps in the right direction for Churches wishing to be more welcoming. (Photos by Joanie A. Faust.)