Welcoming Guests
The following resources might give differing advice. What is God calling you to do in your context? What works in one culture might not work in a different culture. How well do you understand the people who might visit your church, what they need and would appreciate?
Connecting Guests Into The Life Of Your Church - (Outreach.com)
Assimilation: Turning Guests Into Family - Joshua Huffman (Tony Cooke Ministries)
Critical Steps In Assimilating New Friends Into Your Church - (Nelson.edu)
How I Do Church Assimilation And Follow-up - Greg Atkinson
Church Guest Assimilation Tips - (The Malphurs Group)
The Church Assimilation Plan To Grow Membership - (Vanco Payments)
Guest Assimilation: A Roadmap To Success - (Evangelism Coact.org)
There's A Better Word Than "Assimilation" To Describe Your Guests Services - Bob Whitecell (Biblical Leadership)
Closing The Back Door - Church Assimilation Checklist - (Church Answers)
Some Questions
Have you visited a church where you were unknown? What stood out (good or bad) about the way you were welcomed ?
As a welcoming team, what is your objective?
Does the objective change depending on whether the visitor is:
from another local church?
from out of town?
not yet a Christian?
a past member of your church who hasn't been for a long time?
is still new but this is not his/her first visit?
What practices would visitors to your church find cringe?
What practices would visitors to your church find threatening?
What practices would visitors to your church find really thoughtful and nice?
Try to look at your church building or facilities, through the eyes of someone not familiar with church. What impressions (positive or negative) does the church give?
Try to view the behaviour of your regular members through the eyes of a stranger arriving for the first time. What would he/she notice?
Would a stranger coming into the church feel threatened, lonely, confused, lost, comfortable, relaxed, "at home"?
Is there enough signage, information, and enough friendly people for the visitor to quickly know how things work here?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of you taking the initiative to make contact after the visit?
What is the most acceptable way of getting people's information so that you can make contact?
What information do you need at this point?
If you sense that the visitor is looking for something, how can you discern what it is and how can you help him/her take the next step?
What do you understand by "assimilation"?
List ways that might encourage, or help, people get to the point of feeling they are part of the church family?
It's More Than Just The Greeting
Whether or not visitors return to your church depends on more than just the greeting they get at the door.
3 Not-So-Obvious Reasons Visitors Do Not Return TO Your Church - Geoff Surratt (Church Leaders)