Does Your Church Greet Visitors Well? If Not, Here’s How
Research says that the preaching and music have very little to do with visitors returning. Instead, how well visitors are greeted makes the biggest impact on retention.
It seems easy though. Every pastor feels like their church is welcoming, but are they? Does your church know how to welcome folks?
Just in case they don’t, or in case you need a refresher, here are few tips for welcoming visitors.
In our coaching, we always recommend these 3 approaches.
Make your greeting personal – Share your name, and ask their name. Repeat their name back to them at the beginning and the end of the conversation. Most people are not coming to look for a pastor or talented music team. They are coming to meet friends for either themselves or their families. Visitors will stay if they believe that these PEOPLE at this church can walk them towards the meeting of their needs.
Make your greeting geared toward the meeting of needs – Just as the Gospel meets our needs, the essence of ministry must meet needs. Without that at the forefront, all the church would be doing is delivering information. Greeting is looking for a way to talk about how the Gospel can meet those needs. Ask them questions that speak to what appears to be their needs. If they have kids, ask about them and tell them about what you have in terms of ministry. Same for men’s and women’s ministries, etc.
Make your greeting relational – In relational ministry, you help visitors connect to the church and other people. Through that, they can find avenues for their spiritual, practical, academic, etc. needs to be met at your church. Introduce them to the people around you. Ask them out to lunch. Be personable.
None of these things guarantee that visitors will feel welcomed and will return, but they will go a long way toward helping you connect and retain the brave people who visited your church.
If we can encourage you or help your church in any way, please let us know. We are here for you.
We’ve created a Training Partners Program that will not only help alleviate this problem, it will also help you train leaders and organize all of your church’s programs.
Debuting in May, our Training Partners Program will be a combination of videos, manuals, and training materials.
Once it debuts, we will let you know, and if you have any questions, just email us at gordon@churchtrainingpartners.com or call us at 919-412-8161.
Hang in there. We totally understand what you are going through. We’re praying for you.
Gordon Duncan
919-412-8161