It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The sun was bright, not a cloud in the sky, and our family makes a Sunday visit to a local church for the second time.
But a church greeter changed my attitude with an attempt at friendliness that went wrong. [Read more…]
Several months ago, a church greeter kissed my wife.
Other church greeters failed to make eye contact.
We startled a church greeter by asking her a simple question
“Where is the middle school Sunday school class meeting?”
She didn’t know the answer and we created an awkward moment. [Read more…]
It was our third visit to a local church in the last 102 weeks.
We love visiting that church when we are in that city. In fact, whenever we go, we try to invite a friend to that church.
Even through we have not ever experienced followup from filling out their visitor contact card, we haven’t let that stop us from visiting.
But this visit produced a moment of social awkwardness with an overly enthusiastic greeter. [Read more…]
Over the next several weeks, I’ll put out a few prayers for church greeters.
You are free to print, share, forward by email any of these church greeter prayers in this new series with your greeter team.
Jesus,
You are the Good Shepherd. You are kind. You welcome those who seek you with a kindness and gentleness that wins souls. You welcomed conversation with the Samaritan woman. You welcomed the lame, the blind, the broken. You were a friend of sinners that the religious people rejected. You displayed the greatest love of all, that you laid down your life for your friends.
As people come to my church, help me to be kind to them. Help me to give them a welcome that is worthy of your Name. Help me to display kindness in a way that will prepare the way for them to hear God’s word proclaimed in our church gathering. Help me to set aside my preoccupations and worries and focus on them, so that my reward my be great.
Allow kindness to show forth in me, blocking all negative judgment because of what a guest wears, apparent social status, or ethnic background. Allow kindness to show forth in as I greet each and every person who walks in the door. Allow kindness to help me see an unspoken need and meet it today.
Let my ways as a church greeter be pleasing in your sight. May the kindness I share help a person calm down from a stressful morning, a nervous first time visitor to feel safe, and share a tangible expression of Your love for someone who needs it today. May the kindness I show help everyone who enters today be at peace.
I clothe myself in kindness today, as chosen child of God. I want to see each person who enters our church through the filter of kindness. I will not dishonor a guest by ignoring them. I will not be angry at a guest for wearing inappropriate clothing. I will not judge the length of hair or the placement of piercings. I will protect their integrity and show them hope. I will not judge them by the color of their skin.
As I walk in kindness today, I will bless each guest and member who walks into our church. I want to help them to experience your presence.
In Your Name,
Amen.
Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Proverbs 16:7
When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
All Scriptures from the NIV.
I would love for you to have success in church greeter recruiting and for you to have more volunteers for church greeters ministry than spaces you could fill.
However, I’m not sure there are churches where people fight to be volunteer church greeters.
If you find yourself struggling to recruit volunteers for your greeting ministry, here are 3 barriers you might face, followed by 4 ways to overcome those barriers. [Read more…]
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