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Your Turn: How to Identify Church Visitors in a Large Church

Recently, a reader submitted a question via Ask Evangelismcoach about how to identify church visitors in a large church:

What are some ideas for identifying visitors?
We are a 2500 member church and many of us don’t know the difference between a visitor and someone who is a member who we just have never met?

I have heard of using name tags, colored coffee cups(ugh!), asking visitors to stand during worship…
I spend time talking with people I do not know/recognize but they end up being members, not visitors. Any suggestions?

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by EvangelismCoach 3 Comments

6 Goals of a Church Greeter

Every Sunday, I see commentary on Twitter about:

Joy at serving as a church greeter.
Complaints about experiences with rude church greeters.
Sarcasm aimed at unprepared greeters at church.
Nervous greeters announcing how nervous they are.
Comments that are generally inappropriate for church greeters to make.

by EvangelismCoach 34 Comments

How to Say the Welcome Greeting at a church

Imagine that you are a lay person in your congregation (many of you are).

Your pastor calls you on Thursday and says

We are preparing the church bulletin.

Would you like to be our liturgist and give the welcome speech on Sunday?

Would you like to be person who says “Welcome to our church?”

Your heart races, the mouth goes dry.

You think:

Me? I have to say something in front of all those people?

by EvangelismCoach 5 Comments

Six hints for welcoming visitors to your church

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Welcome Church Visitors

Many church members, pastors and greeters have forgotten what it is like to be a church visitor.

When our family moved in 2014, I got to experience first hand being a first time visitor.

I used those church shopping experiences to grow empathy for their plight and to develop a quick list to help you improve your welcome.

[Read more…]

by EvangelismCoach 1 Comment

Guest Assimilation: A Roadmap to success

Bud Brown, of Turnaround Pastor, has helped pastors improve their process for guest assimilation. He brings us a core concept here that you can apply.

In my hospitality coaching, guest assimilation is one area of focus that often brings some great insight into why your guests are not getting involved in your church.

Guest assimilation is like helping someone out for a stroll in a strange neighborhood.

Imagine it is you walking through the neighborhood after sunset. On the homeward leg a young woman approaches and asks,