I have a twitter feed that watches for information on church greeters.
Every Sunday, I see
- Joy at serving as a church greeter
- Complaints about experiences with rude church greeters
- Sarcasm aimed at unprepared greeters at church
- Nervous greeters announcing how nervous they are.
- Comments that are generally inappropriate for church greeters to make.
For example, some recent church greeter comments
- Being a greeter is the best job in church
- So I’m hung over and I’m supposed to be the greeter at church today đ this will be fun
- First thing the male greeter at church says to me “Sorry, all the cute guys were at the first service.”
- Walked into a church I’ve never been to and the greeter said “Oh, you didn’t bring a boyfriend?”
- The greeter at church asked me how old I was and I told him I was 21.
- Tomorrow I’m a greeter at my church for the first time ever. YIKES.
Your greeters may need some practical tips on making a great first impression, and some skills on how to welcome people.
The following article by Brandon Cox appeared at Faith Village and is re-posted with author’s permission.
No matter what your philosophy of Sundays in the life of your church looks like, itâs always biblical and beneficial to show love to people who are walking through the doors for the first or second time. In fact, itâs crucial. Itâs very easy to come across as either disingenuous with an âin your faceâ approach, but itâs equally easy to seem uncaring by our silence.
As you help believers learn how to show love to new guests, here are some important principles to communicate:
- You are the first loving touch every guest will meet, which sets the stage for people to be open to life change. People will be more or less receptive to the teaching depending on how they were made to feel on the way in.
- Most guests will decide in the first few minutes if they will return, even before the music starts. Itâs easy to walk into church if youâre there every week, but do you remember what it was like walking in for the first time, when you didnât think youâd know anyone and wondered if anyone would want to know you?
- Your biggest goals are to 1.) eliminate awkwardness and 2.) encourage people. We worship together in a movie theater, so we have the advantage of knowing that people already know what itâs like to walk into a theater, but theyâre still asking themselves questions like: Am I following their rules? Am I dressed appropriately? Will I be able to find the bathroom without asking?
- You are a tour guide who takes people to their destination, not a travel agent who sends them there. Walking parents and kids all the way to the next volunteer in the kidsâ worship room is far better than pointing a finger and saying, âitâs down there on the right.â Walk with people and ask them questions on the way. Be genuinely interested in their lives.
- You can have a ministry of encouragement and even offer to have a brief prayer with people. Obviously, some first time guests may not be comfortable with such forwardness, but sometimes it may be highly appropriate to pray with guests before they enter the auditorium, especially if youâve sensed a spiritual need in them. Keep it brief and donât make things awkward, but communicate that you care.
- Everybody ought to receive a smile, a word of welcome, a loving touch (such as a handshake), and a bulletin on their way in. A smile disarms people and boosts their confidence. A word of welcome is common courtesy. A loving touch, such as a handshake or a brief hug, might be the only loving touch that guest receives this week. And a bulletin, at least in our case, is like a map for whatâs going on and allows the guest to respond to the message and request more information.
Last Sunday, my wife noticed a new kid in kidsâ worship. Two other boys belonging to one of our core families walked up to him and asked him if he liked video games. Upon hearing his enthusiastic âyesâ they replied, âGood, you can be in our group then.â The kid belonged already, evidenced by his smile.
God showed His love for people by sending His Son to die for our sins. Are we willing to love people enough to intentionally show it with our actions?
And by the way, if youâre a believer, youâre a greeter at your church whether youâre signed up or not.
Brandon Cox is Lead Pastor of Grace Hills Church, a new plant in northwest Arkansas. He is also Editor of Pastors.com and Rick Warrenâs Pastorâs Toolbox. Catch him on Twitter@brandonacox.
CC Image â˘Â Kevin Dooley on Flickr
Originally Published:Â June 6, 2012
Maurice says
I’m enjoyed your comments in the outline of a Greeter. Thank you.
Beth says
Thanks for the informative blog post. Church greeters play an important role in welcoming guests, making it important to outline their goals and what is expected of them.
Theresa Craigg says
Is this training suitable for Ushers, if not can you give me a video on training my Ushers?
Church Administrator
ashley says
i enjoyed reading this material. it was very helpful. This is the way I would want to be greeted.
EvangelismCoach.org says
Ashley
Thanks for dropping by. Every now and then, church greeters need a vision refresher. This article could help with that.
Chris