Red Carpet Hospitality

Hospitality, or welcoming visitors, is only a part church based evangelism, but it’s not evangelism as we define evangelism.

Rather, hospitality helps create a context for evangelism to happen in a church context.

What does red carpet hospitality start with?

It starts with a good welcome.

Who takes the initiative to greet?

When visitors show up at your church for the first time, how quick are your members to take the initiative to greet?

Do your members approach people they haven’t met with

• “I don’t think I’ve met you yet, I’m . . . .”
• “This church has so many services, I’ve not met you yet.  I’m. . . .”

An important part of helping people connect to the church and assimilating visitors into your midst is the quality of welcome they receive upon their first visit.  It often starts with that conversational small talk.

Take the initiative and make the greeting, particularly during the 10 most important minutes to a church visitor.

See also: 10 Tips for Greeters

A cultural note about hospitality

Since the ministry of Evangelismcoach.org is to the Americas, we see many churches in Latin America that do their hospitality very different than what is expected in North American churches.

In the Hispanic churches that I have visited or coached, I’ve not been to the coffee section after a service, because there usually isn’t one.

If there is some snack, it is often for sale, with all the proceeds going towards the building.

Some practices that I’ve not seen in Latin America:

• Coffee and snacks after the worship services
• Teams that make home visits Sunday afternoon with cookies or bread and more information about the church
• Take home materials that explain the church and its programs
• Ushers that serve as additional greeters and campus guides
• Parking lot attendants to steer visitors to available spaces
• Videos on church website with testimonials about how people connected to a church.

Let me ask you this?

What are some things that your church does to welcome visitors and help connect them to your church?

Please comment here.  I’d love to have you share.