A refresher on being a visitor-friendly church.

We have a responsibility to be hospitable as a church body. 1 Peter 4:7

King James Version (WordSearch Edition) (Chapter 4)

7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

We have absolutely no idea when Jesus is going to come back.

We trick ourselves into thinking we have all the time in the world.

But, we don’t know when Jesus might return and our chance to reach people will be over.

How different would we act when a visitor walks in, if we were of the mindset that this may be their first and last visit to our church?

We might not be as quick to tell ourselves, “I’ll get to know them eventually.”

What if this is your only chance?

None of us should want to have an inwardly focused church.

Colossians 4:5 says “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”

We are not commanded to stay we are told to Go!

It’s easy to think that the development of an outwardly focused church is the responsibility of the pastor and the staff.

However, it must become the focus of every member.

It manifests in the way we respond to a guest in our service.

This is the easiest way to be outwardly focused.

You don’t have to go find a visitor, they are already there.

All you have to do is make them feel welcome.

How can we do this?

Some people are more comfortable talking to visitors than others.

Does this mean that introverts have no part in helping become a visitor friendly church?

Not at all.

Here are some things that all of us can do for the sake of our guests.

Park further away if you are able.

There are only so many spots in front of the door.

If you are able to walk across the parking lot, then consider leaving that close spot for a guest or a senior adult.

Sit closer to the front.

I promise that I will not spontaneously recruit you to sing a solo.

We are going to talk about this more on Sunday, but Sunday mornings we are getting close to having a space issue.

Once an auditorium gets to 80%, people start to feel like it is full.

We aren’t there yet, at least not on a consistent basis, but we are consistently at 75%.

The spots that are open are at the front middle.

A guest is not going to want to sit there.

I am not being sarcastic when I say this, but, for the sake of the gospel move forward.

Leave the back rows for two different types of people, visitors and families with small children.

In a similar vein...

Move to the middle.

Our longest pews are 33’ long.

If someone sits on each end, that leaves a lot of space available in between.

This space is either awkwardly accessed or it sits empty.

If you are one of the ones that feels comfortable talking to others, there are many ways that you can help a guest get acclimated.

Start with their name.

When I taught martial arts we were required to say each person’s name at least 3x.

For most people, hearing their name said aloud creates an instant chemical reaction wherein the brain releases varying levels of dopamine and serotonin.

It activates much of the brain.

And, it sends signals of empathy, trust, and compassion to the subconscious.

In other words, it is a big deal to remember someone’s name.

The best way to remember is to begin using it immediately.

Another great thing that you can do for a visitor, especially one with kids is to help them find their way.

If someone hasn’t been in our church before, they don’t intuitively know where they are supposed to go.

The natural thing that most people will do is point and say “the kids are down there.”

The better thing to do is to offer and say “can I walk with you and SHOW you where the kids classes are?”

Helping a visitor find their way is a great way to leading into our next tip.

Offer to sit with someone.

You can either invite someone to sit with you (if they haven’t sat down yet).

Or, you can ask permission to sit with someone that is alone.

This opens up a great opportunity to find out more about them and their background.

If you are on security, you are an usher, or you are a greeter, you have a big job.

Your job goes beyond opening the door, watching the door, or passing a plate.

You help people make their way into the service.

You keep them safe when they get there.

You help prevent distractions once they are there.

If someone comes in late, security becomes the greeter.

If the service has already started, the ushers help seat people (which shouldn’t be hard since the back rows are less occupied).

We don’t just do all of this so that we have more positions for people to fill.

We do it because there are people who have been hurt by churches in the past and we want this church to be place of safety and love.

We do this because coming to a new church is intimidating and we want to help tear down that barrier for the people that come here.

Most importantly, we do this because we believe that the gospel can make a difference in the lives that walk through those doors.

Romans 1:16 KJV 1900

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

People are not waiting for the sermon to make a judgment about what we believe.

Their reception of the message will be based on a thousand impressions that are made beginning the moment they drive into the parking lot.

If the message is on grace, did they receive any?

If it’s on love, did they see it in us?

If it’s on the changing power of God, was it evident in our conversations?

Remember what Paul said to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

There are so many bad examples of what a believer is like.

When somebody comes to the Baptist Tabernacle it ought to be a refreshing experience of, “wow, so that’s what Christians act like.”

This can happen as we observe Romans 12:10 “10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;”

That is the key.

If we are to become a visitor-friendly church it will require us to prefer visitors over ourselves.

Seating, parking, comfort zones, a little of our time...

These are small sacrifices for the sake of someone hearing and responding to the gospel.