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The last two posts (part I and part II) shared common practices on welcoming visitors to church.  Here I simply want to give 20 blunders I’ve seen churches make in greeting visitors to church.

Feel free to add your own in the mix (use the comments below).aud

1.  No One Said Hello.

2.  Bad breath.

3.  20 question doctrinal exam to make sure you are acceptable.

4.  Survey family history and marital status and background check.

5.  No follow-up contact.

6.  Stale snacks / donuts / cookies.

7.  Bad coffee.

8.  Too friendly – smothering and not respecting boundaries.

9.  Body odor.

10.  No eye contact.  Or eye contact and weak smile, but no hello.

11.  Apathy in making a greeting.  Whatever.

12.  Limp handshake and a weak hello.

13.  Too much enthusiasm.

14. “Is this your first time here?”

15.  Hugs to strangers.

16.  Swarming on visitors all at once, like flies on fresh meat.

17.  Unclean bathrooms.

18.  Unsafe Nursery.

19.  Thinking hospitality is evangelism.

20.  Rude staring at hairstyle, body piercings, or choice of clothes (See How Not to Welcome A Visitor about the Secret Dress Code).

Let me ask you this?

What would you add to this list?

Think about times when you were a visitor once and what shaped a bad impression of a congregation.

Add your thoughts in the comments below — simply keep church names out of your post.

If you would like more information about evaluating your hospitality, check out our articles on hospitality and feel free to give us a call at 804-335-1445.  Send an email via the contact us page and I will send you a church hospitality survey form.

Want to learn about avoiding visitor nightmares?  Subscribe to our newsletter and a receive a link to download:

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