Example of a Good Welcome to a Church Visitor

I visited a church that I hadn’t been to in a while.

It was packed full of people, many of whom I had never seen before during prior visits.

To many people that morning, I was a first time church visitor.

When the service was over, I was speaking to a church member, whom I knew.  He is a personal friend of mine.

Interrupted

While we spoke, a young couple with a small child graciously interrupted our conversation so that they could conduct some matter of business with my friend.

I found myself thinking, “How rude?”

They

• sheepishly smiled,
• asked permission to talk with my friend,
• finished their conversation in about 2-3 minutes.
• started walking away.

My friend then said

Have either of you met my friend Chris?  He’s visiting with us today.

Relief

My friend had a deep value of making the visitor feel welcome and included.

He took the initiative to introduce me to his friends.

In so doing, he resolved the awkwardness his friends had created by excluding me.

Maybe my friend was simply being polite, but his action is a good one.

Take away

1.  How can you cultivate this awareness of visitors in your hospitality team volunteers?

2.  What keeps you from taking the initiative to greet an unknown person?