Friends, Members and Wannabees
Welcoming Visitors to Hollywood Lutheran Church
The most important --- and easiest!! --- thing you can do to welcome visitors to our congregation is to be here for them. In fact, our mission as believers and members is to be here for other people, the way Jesus was here for us.
Here are some easy pointers to keep in mind:
- Visitors often come early because they're looking for a place they aren't familiar with. If you want to be effective in welcoming visitors, don't be late.
- Leave visitors a parking space. How about parking to the back of the lot to leave space for others? On busy Sundays such as Easter, park on the street somewhere to leave more spaces for visitors. the walk with do you good!
- Don't hover but don't abandon visitors. Say hello before the service begins. Learn their first names! Bring them a service folder, and offer to help, them take your cues from the visitor. Give them space and time to take it all in!
- Introduce a visitor to at least one other person as well as Pastor Dan. When you introduce someone, it puts you on the familiar side, not the stranger's side. Without saying it out loud, you play the role of brother/sister or friend or sponsor. Your purpose: to make sure a visitor makes one or two new friends on their first visit.
- Offer hospitality at the end. "Coffee?" Call the visitor by name. You do remember his/her name, don't you?
This may seem harder, but do something this week to remember the visitor you met and introduced to others by name: write them a quick note (did you remember to get an e-mail address or a street address on the blue visitor card?); pray for each one by name this week.
Come next Sunday, be prepared to look for the visitor you met and greet him/her again by name.