Greeting visitors at church is such an important part of the hospitality ministry of the church.
Church Greeters are part of the ministry team and form part of the first impression that a visitor receives.
Here are 10 tips for greeters.
10 Tips for Church Greeters
Remember, the duties of a church greeter are more than a handshake. Feel free to share this list as long as you link back to this page.
- Smile.
- Fresh breath.
- Make eye contact
- Take initiative and greet.
- Don’t ask “Are you new?”
- Don’t ask “Is this your first time?”
- Offer a bulletin if your church uses them.
- Personal warmth — look like you enjoy welcoming people.
- Say “I don’t think I’ve met you yet, I’m {insert your name here}”
- If they are new, offer to show them where the restrooms are and offer information about childcare if necessary.
Failures of Church Greeter
I know of a couple that quit going to church 40 years ago because no one said hello.
Another man told me his own story here: “No One Said Hello.”
Check out some of these Church Greeter Fail Tweets:
- Just remembered a greeter at church slipped me a note with his number in it. I guess I have to be polite…call & let him down easy.
- You’re a greeter at church, but you don’t like people? Why?
- Nothing like being a church greeter then having shaken hands w/someone who tells you about their hospitalization for an intestinal bug.
The Impact of Church Greeters
However, my tutor told me her story of welcome in a church — the welcome that she received changed her life. She found Christ because people accepted her.
Greeting people as they enter the facility is more than a handshake and a smile.
It is an opportunity to express God’s love through Christ and help set the tone of the upcoming worship service.
Church Greeters have more impact than they think.
Video Version
EvangelismCoach Resources for Church Greeters:
I’ve written a book for leaders of church greeter ministry. Click on these links to read more (at Amazon).
- Church Greeters 101 in Paperback or Kindle
- 2 DVD Combo Set of Greeter Training DVDs from the store.
- Also, see this free tutorial on fixing your greeter ministry.
Let me ask you this?
What advice would you give those in your church to greet visitors?
What do your greeters do that make a visit special?
Evangelism Quotes and Quotations
Those are good points for greeters.
Russ:)
Do you also have any good pictures of greeters at the entrance to a church, especially a Presbyterian Church (USA)?
I do not have a website. Sorry.
As i started to read he articles ,i must say i have learnt so many things that i never thought about,in our church we don’t have greeters,but i can see the point of having them and this points are great
Thank you dear Chris for having put the effort to bless us and encourage us to do this hospitality ministry to those who visit the churches we are pasturing. The only problem that I got with video # 1, the sound wasn’t clear it had waves
in it and it was off and on. It was very hard to comprehend Otherwise thank you so much. Looking forward and remembering you in prayer. God bless you. Hope to use those materials to train church greeters. Pastor Christopher B. Kl’a Ug
This upcoming year I will be a greeter for my church. This is my first time ever be a greeter. I know I should be on the outside of the church open the the door and give the a bullent and welcome them but any other suggestions? I want to be the best I can be for The Lord inviting people into His House. Thanks for you help. Lorraine and may God Bless you.
How do you know if it’s someone’s first time, if you don’t ask?
The video with Chris Walker regarding church greeters has closed captioning.
Please review the spelling and grammar ASAP. Many times the words are not what the speaker said and give the wrong message.
Other than that, I found this site informative and helpful.
Thank you for presenting this review for church greeters.
May God bless you in His service
aw
Thanks.
Those captions were autogenerated by Youtube, so I’ll have to make a note to dig into that and see if I can fix. Those must be new. Or at least new to me.
It was interesting to learn that some people stop going to church because people did not say hello. I had no clue that church acceptance and greeting was so important. Thank you for sharing these awesome tips and facts to help my church greeting and help people feel more welcome!
I loved your tip to show new people around the church so they feel comfortable. If they know where to look for the bathrooms or the childcare rooms like you said, they will feel better about staying. It may also help to introduce them to someone so they don’t feel so alone.
Having the greeters offer to show new people around the building is a great idea. The more the know where to find things the more comfortable they will feel during services. Having another member be their guide and sit with them may also help them to feel more comfortable.
Great Tips Kendall.
Greeters is a very important position in chruch. Hello or smile, hug or just a firm hand shake will likely make members or new comers feel welcome with warmth, caring, and most importantant critical component Love of God, saints. A greeter for Christ. Enrique
Thanks Enrique. . Greeters serve that vital role. In my current church, a friendly smile and “welcome” goes a long way. . It’s a large church so it’s hard to get personal. But that welcome helps a feeling of ease.
I appreciate this page and know it will be helpful in our church forming a Greeter ministry.
Robbie1102@bellsouth.net
Your lessons to both ministries are very inspiring and useful, such topics are needed at my local church. Please share with me so my church could be taught,
If a person does not attend church for 40 years because no one said hello to them, there is great problem then the greeter ministry, and the problem is not with the greeters.
The persistent failure of greeters in multiple churches to welcome the family contributed to their habit change of never going back to church. They eventually gave up going.
I hope that every Sunday that I serve as a greeter, I’m welcoming every family and every person that walks through our doors. I want to be a small part of what God is doing in their life as they come to church, and will be small part of the entire team of people aiming to help that family come to know God through Jesus, or to grow deeper in their faith.
I wish there was a phone number listed so I could talk to a person. I’m not interested in CD’s or DVD’s, I want a book to read and have I my files. I’m interest in several books – Do you lead your greeter ministry and one or two others. Just want to improve my greeters and greeter ministry.
You can find my book, Church Greeters 101, available on Amazon.
I think my biggest issue is: how to tell church members from first timers, like how would we know if we don’t ask?
But I loved every other tip, they’ll be super helpful for the greeters at my church
I’ve learned that body language of first-time visitors is a great clue – hesitation in walking, scanning for signs, asking questions – all of those might suggest a first time visit.