Do Visitors Feel Welcome in Your Church?

I don't want to always sound like I'm chewing church people out, I'll preface this post by saying I'm equally guilty of everything I'm going to be talking about in this post. So let's just shoot straight for a minute, which is easier; talking to a person you know and like, or a complete and total stranger? Obviously for most people that answer is the person they already know. Talking to strangers is awkward at best for most people, mix it up and make the setting a church and you've got a whole new bunch of obstacles to make the encounter even more uncomfortable... but it doesn't have to be, and it shouldn't.

A saying from my dad, "You only get one chance at a first impression," this statement is never more true than inside a church. You only get one shot to show people who you are, as a church when they visit. If they don't like it, they are moving to the next church on their list. So the first impression they get of you starts early, with the people you have greeting them when the enter the doors of your church, or as they drive their cars onto your parking lot (I'm a big fan of having parking lot attendants directing visitors to the "easy to find and close to an entrance" visitor parking). 

We talked about it today in an impromptu staff meeting, what do you say to someone if you aren't sure they are a visitor? You don't want to offend someone who's been coming for years, and don't want to ignore a possible visitor... what to do? Get creative, here is an example of an easy and friendly question, "Good morning, how are you doing etc," followed up by a, "Now, how long have you been coming here?" Either they are a visitor, or you've just connected to someone in your church you haven't connected with before. It is a Win-Win.

As a church, we cannot afford to not be friendly, especially to visitors, what kind of Jesus Christ does that convey? "We are only friendly to people we know..." ? That's not the way Jesus rolled. I encourage you to extend a warm welcome to unfamiliar faces in your church this week, whether you are on the "Greeting Team" or not. As Christians we are called to be Christ-Like, He wouldn't ignore someone, so you don't either (myself included).