Church hospitality

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a half-day workshop on "Opening the Front Door and Closing the Back Door" led by New Church Specialties.  It was a good workshop that focused on attracting new guests to the church and assimilating them into the life of the church.  The workshop had decent attendance with many of the participants from churches of 50 or less.  One man said his church averaged under 20 people each week.

Much of what was shared would fall under the category of church hospitality.  It dealt with removing the barriers that make people uncomfortable and would keep them from returning.  The presenter referred to Nelson Searcy's book Fusion, and it was obvious that much of the workshop comes out of that book.  I had previously read that book and consider it the best book available today on the subject of church hospitality.  It should be on every pastor's "Must Read Now" list and used to train congregations on how to make guests feel welcomed on their first visit and the steps that will encourage those guests to return.

What most excited me about this workshop is that similar ones are being conducted by various groups.  When I returned home and checked my mail I found a newsletter from a church.  In the newsletter the pastor mentioned he had taken a similar workshop online, and explained that some of the changes they church was experiencing came from ideas he learned in that workshop.  People are starting to realize that how we plan for guests, how we treat them when they do come to our churches, and how we connect with them after they are there are all key as to whether or not they return.  This is important because it is when they return on a regular basis that they will have the opportunity to hear the gospel in a way that can transform their lives.  This isn't just a church growth principle; it is a Kingdom growth principle, and that is much more important than how many warm bodies we get into our church buildings.

As a judicatory minister I am in different churches nearly every week.  Believe me, some of them have major hospitality issues.  My wife was recently asked to change seats because she was sitting in someone's pew!  I would have probably left but had been invited there to preach that morning.  I've been in too many churches that completely ignored us even though it was obvious we had not been there before.  I went into one church with "greeters" who asked me to try to find the "Visitor's Book" that was located somewhere in the foyer (she wasn't sure where) to sign in.  She later became visibly angry when I refused to fill out a name badge for visitors and walked away.  The list goes on and on and on....

Buy Searcy's book.  Attend a workshop on church hospitality.  Learn the best principles for attracting people to your church and keeping them when they do come and teach them to your congregation.  Help your first time guests feel comfortable attending your church, make the appropriate follow-up contact when they do attend, and you'll begin to find more and more of them returning.