Guest services, First Impressions, Greeter, they have different names but similar function. When visiting a church for the first time, we expect there to be someone there to greet us. What if our entire leadership team was part of the “Guest Services”? (It would be great if everyone in the gathering was involved but let’s start with our leadership.)
Here are three rules of engagement to consider when we gather for a worship service.
1. An alone person in our gathering is an emergency.
I love it when I see this played out in our local church. Someone come to church alone. It can be a scary/intimidating thing to go to a place where you don’t know anyone and may not know what to expect. Here is a thought: Show them around and then invite them to sit with you.
2. Friends can wait. Take some time in the beginning and the end of service to mingle.
I know someone who has implemented a “first 3” component after service ends. Since we have many people who are like ninjas – they come in late and hurry out after service, the first 3 minutes after their service is used to intentionally connecting with those they don’t know.
We all have friends at church. If they are kingdom minded, they will understand the need to make visitors feel welcome. They will understand it when you have to say to them, “excuse me for a sec, I’ll be right back… I want to say hello to our guests.”
3. Introduce a newcomer to someone else.
Don’t feel like it’s all on you! Look for commonalities and make some intros! A young couple with children may have more in common with other young couples with children, right?
Make the introduction and let relationships develop naturally.
Let’s all be missionaries at our local church!
Just for fun, here is a video about Guest services / Greeters: