Podcast Episode #152
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We discuss a recent post on guest friendliness and seven steps churches are taking to increase their friendliness toward guests. Whether your church has a dedicated greeting time in the service or not, these principles will increase the friendliness in your church and help you retain guests better.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- When you conclude services on time, your members have more time to greet other members and guests.
- Signage eliminates barriers for church guests because they will more easily know where to go.
The seven ideas for increased guest friendliness in the church are:
- Conclude the services on time.
- Use the most outgoing members in critical places.
- Ask your most extroverted members to sit by guests and converse with them.
- Ask your most extroverted members to mingle intentionally before and after the service.
- Have clear signage that lets guest know where to go.
- Encourage people to speak to each other at the end of the service.
- Have people wear shirts or badges that clearly indicate they are available to help others.
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Feedback
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I agree with every answer except number one. How do you guarantee you will end services by the scheduled time? I consider on time when the Holy Spirit is finished. If the Holy Spirit isn’t finished working then you didn’t conclude the services on time. I believe guests will be more impressed by a church that follows the leadership of the Holy Spirit than be a bunch of clock-eyed Baptists. Other than that, all of the rest of the ideas sound great.
We are pentecostal/charismatic, but we also end the service on time. A lot of ministry among believers happens after the service – people praying for each other, interacting, encouraging one another, catching up on life together. The Holy Spirit is very actively involved in each one of these activities. Also, we have two services and so are constrained by that schedule and must end on time in order to give people (and the Holy Spirit) enough time between services to interact.
Just because the Holy Spirit is working in the worship service doesn’t mean He is working in the preschool. Yes services can run long at times, but if if they run over Sunday after Sunday you are surely to lose volunteers. No teachers no Word being taught. No Word being taught, no movement of the Spirit.
Absolutely – babies and toddlers/preschoolers don’t understand time, but their tummies know when they are hungry. Services that run late can really be hard on kids’ meal times and naptimes…and hence can make church services challenging for the workers and for the parents. Keep services to a reasonable length – God can still work in people’s hearts and minds after the service is over…
When and how did the “stand and greet” thing ever get started?
It is the evangelical version of “passing the peace” which is found in the Catholic and Anglican churches.
… or as Baptists in the south call it … “pass the peas” …..