1.  Preprint church name tags for your regular attendees

One church set up two large registration areas.

One has preprinted tags for regular attendees and blank name tags for first-time guests.   To get a name tag, each guest completes a registration information card. The next week, those guests have preprinted name tags waiting for them.

Another area has preprinted name tags for staff and core volunteers such as the prayer team or ushers.

First time guests are somewhat easy to identify because their name tags are handwritten.  This can help your ushers and greeters connect them with more information and resources about the church.

Yet, this “obvious” distinction may have an unintended consequence of showing a visitor that they are yet “different” as the nametag is not like the others.  You know your local culture to be able to discern how people might feel about this.

2. Handwritten name tags every Sunday

Another church has a stack of labels every Sunday.

All members and visitors fill one out as part of their “culture.”

All are handwritten, avoiding some of the concerns of the pre-printed ones

This takes administrative burden off the staff, but requires that your regular members understand the reason for doing this every week.

One church shared with me they preprint a theme logo, plus the branding of the church with its phone number, name, and website.  Sometimes they will use an image for a special event that week, like a Baptism, or communion.

3.  Distribution of name tags

Churches need to design a system that works for them.

Some will have a board of some kind near entrances where members can obtain their name badge and return it when the service is over.

Visitor centers or guest information booths will have greeters staffed to provide name tags for visitors.

4.  Recollecting name tags

Some may have one central area near the entrance, and make announcements in the bulletin about how to return the nametag.

Inevitably, some will get ripped, accidentally taken home and put through the wash, or just somehow lost.

Part of your ongoing maintenance of a name tag initiative is replacing lost ones, torn ones, or overly doodled nametags.

I’m familiar with churches where about every quarter, leadership reminds people of the reason behind the name tags and that begins a new wave of organizing, using, and distributing.

Let me ask you this?

• What style of nametag do you use that you have found effective?
• How do you distribute them?
• How do you recollect them?
• How do you maintain them?

Share your thoughts in the comment field below (Feed or email readers: click through to find the comment field).

See also

• Using Name Tags in Church
• Why Use Name Tags in Church

For more church hospitality tips on welcoming church visitors, buy your copy of How To Welcome Church Visitors.

You, my readers, are faithfully recommending this site to others, emailing articles to your friends, and encouraging people to signup for events.

January saw us in 3 different countries for three different conferences (one of which was canceled after our arrival).

For the website, January 2009 had the most visitors and page views.

Most of you may not be interested in such things like stats and sales, but part of how Evangelism coach is supported is by traffic growth and affiliate book and Adsense.

It’s not quite a living wage, but it covers some of the cost of  writing and maintaining this resource for you.

Here are the top selling books off this website.  You might be interested in what other people are buying and reading from this site.

The top seller in terms of volume is my own ebook from this site: How to Welcome church Visitors.  It sold 6x more than the nearest seller in terms of quantity in January.  I really think people want the free coaching that comes with it.

	How to Welcome Church Visitors (Instant Download, No Shipping)
	Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups
	Beyond the First Visit: The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church
	Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church (Assimilation)
	Greeting 101: Easy Steps to Greeting in the Local Church
	Just Walk Across the Room Video Curriculum for Churches
	Serving as a Church Greeter
	The Big Idea: Focus the Message, Multiply the Impact

There were other books and tapes sold while people were shopping, but not relevant to our readership.

These books indicate to me there is a desire for more training resources for greeters and ushers to help improve your first impressions ministry.  I have a chapter or two related to that in How To Welcome Church Visitors book that you can download instantly after purchase from the book’s website.

You can read 10 Practices to Welcome Church Visitors Part 1 by following that link.  Here are Common Practices 6-10.

6. “Secret Greeters”

Some churches will go beyond simply training greeters for points of entry at the church, such as the front door.  A good idea is to encourage others to be “secret greeters.”  These folks are part of the greeting team but are not in the obvious places like the front door or as an usher.

I had a fellow in my congregation who never served on a greeting team.  However, he was always in the sanctuary, taking the initiative to greet people personally and visit with them for a little bit.  He functioned as a “secret greeter.”  This someone beyond the “professional greeter” at the door or the welcome center.

If for some reason a visitor gets to the sanctuary with a greeting from someone, this person is there to continue that greeting.

7. Pulpit recognition

Most churches that I have experienced will have the worship leader give some kind of welcome to the greeter.  Here, the advice from McIntosh is best (source: Beyond the First Visit: The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church, Gary McIntosh, Review)

Whatever you do, take great pains not to embarrass the newcomer.  Among other things this means you should not identify new people by placing a ribbon, flower, or nametag on them.  Do not ask visitors to stand and speak before the entire congregation.  A survey of one thousand adults 18 years of age or older reported that “making a speech” was the number one event causing adults to be nervous.  It ranked first, ahead of, in order, getting married, interviewing for a job, going to the dentist, a first date, and getting a divorce. (p 110).

My wife and I recently visited a church where this wasn’t done at all.  She commented that it simply feels nice and warm when the worship leader acknowledges the presence of visitors and encourages the church to say hello.

8. Friendship Pads, Fellowship Books.

These are books that gather attendance information and provide a place for visitors to identify themselves by checking a box on the form.

The idea is that other people in the row would see check in the visitor box and take the initiative to greet.  Church multi-purpose this form for attendance tracking.

However, I have been in churches where I check the box, and still no one greets our family.  This practice seems to be falling out of favor because the pads become a doodle bin, the pencils are hard to keep sharp and it’s becoming an administrative nightmare.

There are other ways of getting visitor contact information, particularly the response card system mentioned in Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church (which I think is the best Assimilation book available right now).  They use a Connection card that is distributed with the bulletin and every one (members, attenders, and visitors) fill it out as part of the service.  This information is used in their assimilation process, described in detail in their book.

9. Quality Snacks and Beverages.

The basic idea is a informal reception area where people can gather after the service.  For some, this is the lobby area (some call that a narthex).  For others, it could be in the fellowship hall or auditorium.

As our evangelism training ministry takes us to churches throughout the Americas, many American congregations provide some kind of coffee hour after the service, to allow for a social setting where people can talk one on one. (Observation: In my travels in 10 different Spanish speaking countries and countless churches, only one church practiced this idea).

Beverages:

Make the coffee fresh and of appropriate strength. It shouldn’t be reheated from last night’s fellowship event nor should it be so weak as to taste like colored water. While it doesn’t take a lot of skill to make coffee, making it right is the challenge.  Coffee drinkers know a good cup of coffee, and a bad cup will leave a bad taste.  Don’t forget to make enough – sometimes the pot gets drained before visitors have had a chance to get to the urn.

Offer alternatives such as teas, juice, ice cold water. If you choose to use bottled water, offer a recycle container for empty bottles.

Food:

Whatever snack items are offered, make sure they are fresh. Stale sweets, or frozen items (poke a little fun)  that had been thawed simply taste cheap and do not make a great first impression. Consider common food allergies and either avoid those (like nuts) or provide an appropriate sign.

In our health conscious time, provide healthy options for those that don’t want sugary cookies or sticky sweets.

Connecting:

Church members should be on the lookout for visitors again in this time. Some visitors are obvious – standing around, reading the news items on the bulletin board, and generally being overlooked. Members ought to take the initiative and start a conversation.

This can be a time to help make connections and perhaps introduce people to the pastor. Pastors should make themselves available during this time to meet and greet people, not rush off to the study and prepare for the following service.

In the international church I served, we stressed the importance of introducing our visitors to the pastors. We had been told that many people from non-American cultures consider it an honor to be introduced to the pastor.

10. Sunday School Greeters and Hosts

Some visitors will partake of the Sunday School offerings.  Many have a strong program here that attracts visitors who come for the first time.

I experienced a warm welcome in a 14,000 member mega church because of my experience in Sunday School.  I arrived early enough to pick a class.  Once I found it (a kind person in the hall pointed out where I needed to go) I was welcomed by a person and invited to a beverage and ushered to a place to sit.  The small talk was not intrusive but just enough to help me feel at ease in a strange place with total strangers (I was by myself).  When the Class was over, this person showed me to the sanctuary and took me to a usable seat.  After asking if there was anything else I might need, they left.

I learned later that this church was very intentional in their Sunday School program to welcome class visitors.  Each class had a person in charge of the beverage, the teaching, and the greeting.  I felt welcome, overcome the sense of being lost on their campus.

Next Steps

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

Let me ask you this?

What did I miss?  I’m sure your church might do things a little different.

What practices do you do in your church that you’d like to share?

Feel free to share with us in the comments.

If you would like more information about evaluating your hospitality, check out our articles on hospitality and feel free to give me a call at 804-335-1445.