Welcoming visitors is a long Journey
By Kevin Kloster, Journey UMF
“We’re a friendly church!” Those words are probably spoken by every church. What church is going to consider themselves “The Unfriendly Church”? We all want to be friendly. We want the people who come to worship with us to experience the love of Christ in our midst. We want them to feel included and accepted. So what can we do to improve upon the important ministry of offering hospitality to everyone?
Journey UMF is the newest fellowship in The Desert Southwest Conference. It’s located just south of Phoenix in Maricopa. They know how important first impressions are because in a community of over 30 new churches you only get one chance to make that first impression. At Journey, hospitality starts long before you arrive at the front door. It starts with signs on major roads that help lead guests to the worship space. Once you park your car someone in the parking lot is likely to greet you with a huge smile. These people are Journey’s parking lot greeters. They are the most out-going, friendly, joy-filled people Journey has to offer. Your very first contact with a person at Journey is meant to leave you with the impression that these people are glad you’re here.
Once inside you’re greeted at the door and invited to find your way to the info table where you can pick up your name badge or make a new one if it’s your first time here. All guests are provided with a professional name badge the following week. If it’s your first time at Journey the volunteer servants working the info table will help you find a classroom, restroom, coffee pot, or answer any questions you have about Journey. Information about Journey’s ministries are on the table as well as free Bibles and a take home, do-it-yourself guide to the Christian faith.
One of the difficulties that Journey struggles with as well as many other churches is the “I want to talk with my friends” syndrome. After a week of not seeing some people from church it’s easy to want to spend time talking with them instead of taking a moment to meet and greet a new person. Often when people say their church is friendly they’re talking about this aspect of the church. Friendly means I talk with my friends and let them know I care about them, just as they do for me. This is surely an important part of the church but if we’re not keeping an eye out for new faces and taking the time to meet and greet, we’re not showing genuine hospitality to all people.
To get around this natural phenomenon Journey has a few people who intentionally walk around looking for new people. The Pastor also keeps an eye open for new guests while at the same time walking through the sanctuary personally greeting each person before worship even begins. When a new guest has been identified and greeted the people at Journey have been trained to practice what is called “The Handoff.” “The Handoff” involves the person greeting a new guest to hand that person off to another person who is similar in age or life situation. Last week, one new guest was a 10th grader who within minutes of walking through the doors had already been handed off to another 10th grader! It’s great when it works! Hospitality goes deeper than simply first impressions and offering a good welcome. Hospitality also means good follow-up with first-time guests. At Journey, a gift bag is delivered to the home of all first-time guests within an hour of worship. An e-mail is sent out from the pastor as a letter of thanks and gives the visitor the opportunity to share their experience of worship at Journey. Later in the week the Pastor follows up with a phone call or a personal visit to simply say thanks and answer any questions they may have about Journey. A personal invitation is also offered to return the following Sunday.
Many of us aren’t sure what good hospitality looks like, but we know when we haven’t felt it. We haven’t felt it when we walk into a church and people avoid making eye-contact with us. We haven’t felt it when people walk right by us as if we didn’t exist; we haven’t felt it when someone says, “Excuse me, you’re sitting in my place.” We haven’t felt it when people are laughing and talking together but won’t include us in the conversation. We haven’t felt it when we leave and no one even calls to say thank you. Unfortunately, too many churches think they are friendly but they ignore the guests among them.
So what can your church do to step up its ministry of hospitality? Here’s a simple and sweet idea from the folks at Igniting Ministries: invite a person who doesn’t attend your church to come once and rate your church on hospitality. Igniting Ministries has a form on their website called The Mystery Guest Audit (you can find it at umcom.org by clicking on “welcoming” and then “Mystery Guest Audit”) which provides a scoring sheet for how welcoming this person perceives your church. It’s a great tool for starting the conversation of how your church can become an even more friendly church!
Editor’s note: Hospitality training is available to local churches from the Conference Board of Laity and Communications Commission. If you are interested in receiving Hospitality training, contact the Communications department at 602-266-6956 or Communications(at)desertsw.org.
Left: Once inside, you’re greeted at the door and invited to find your way to the info table. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Kloster.) Center: If it’s your first time at Journey, the volunteer servants will answer any questions you may have. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Kloster.) Right: “Many of us aren’t sure what good hospitality looks like, but we know when we haven’t felt it.” (Photo by Stephen J. Hustedt.)