Every now and then, we lift up an article on welcoming visitors. It’s not evangelism as we define evangelism here, but it is part of the responsibility of the church to welcome those that God draws to your church so that the gospel can be heard, seen, or felt. (See Avoiding First Time Visitor Nightmares, our hospitality to visitors series, Church Hospitality Assessment, or see the category of visitors) 
A few years ago attended a seminar dinner on How to Minister to Visitors at the local church and we learned some great ideas that are worth sharing here.
Perhaps these can help you minister to the people God brings to your church through your invitation or through His own sovereign means.
Miracles disguised as needs.
When unchurched visitors come to church, it is highly likely that they are looking for God to do something in their life.
Our speaker challenged us to look at our visitors as “miracles disguised as needs.”
A different meet and greet. Take the Risk and Pray.
After introducing ourselves with a simple “I’ve not met you yet, my name is . . . . .” and finding out a little about them, we can simply ask “Is there something we can pray for before you go?”
Or, they may have already shared some of their needs and you can say “Let’s pray about some of those needs right now,” and then plunge right in and pray with them, leaving it up to God to work sovereignly.
Your prayer doesn’t have to be elaborate or drawn out, but a simple lifting of the person’s needs to the Lord.
This communicates a few things: care and compassion for the visitor, demonstrates our reliance upon God, and possibly reflects the “culture” of your church.
If our visitor sees an answer to prayer in the course of time, God might use that to draw that person or family closer to him. This is really a process of listening evangelism, and trusting in the power of God for daily living. You’re not really “selling our church” or actively recruiting people.
We’re simply partnering with them and taking them before the Lord.
After a time of prayer, if its appropriate, spend some time introducing the visitor to other people, and then if they return in the following week or two, welcome them again and continue to communicate care and concern. See how God worked in response to prayer and see what happens.
Simply put, this idea is really simple to implement.
What does it take for you to participate?
- It takes a vision for seeing guests for who they are - people who might be in need.
- It takes a willingness to go beyond our natural awkwardness and introduce ourselves to strangers.
- It takes patience to listen to their story and to listen for their needs, and a risk to lift them before the Lord in prayer.
This is a form of outreach that uses hospitality and prayer to bless those who come to your for their first time.
Sounds simple, but I think you’ll find it an adventure.
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January 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
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