Did you know 70% of first-time visitors to your church don’t return for a second visit?

If you’re committed to seeing your church grow, it’s time to make a change.

Your church greeting team are the face of your congregation and play a pivotal role in shaping visitors’ perceptions.

A strong hospitality team not only encourages your members to confidently invite friends but ensures that every guest receives a warm welcome.

The hospitality your church greeting team provides offers a crucial first impression, and remember, you only get one chance at it.

If you don’t have a church welcome team yet then check out How to Recruit More Church Volunteers to find out how to get more people to step up and serve.

Here are 5 common sense tips for church welcome teams:

1. Be Happy, But Not Too Happy 

When you greet visitors coming into the church make eye contact and smile, shake people’s hands, smile and be friendly – but don’t overdo it.

For one, I’m not really a people person until after my third cup of tea in the morning and secondly, nobody likes too much cheese on their pizza.

Just tone it down a bit, you’re in Church, not Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!

Generally speaking, it’s better to be overly enthusiastic than rude or not interested.

Just be natural and let your personal warmth shine through 🙂

2. Avoid The Breath Of Death

The Word of life should not be met with the breath of death. This is a massive no-no.

If you’re the welcoming team leader maybe have some chewing gum or mints on hand in case of emergency.

Seriously, there’s nothing worse. Enough said!

3. Introduce Yourself

Keep a keen eye out for newbies as your handing out the bulletins at the door. Be bold and introduce yourself.

It’s better to say “I don’t believe we’ve met, I’m Simon, nice to meet you” than to ask them if it’s their first time.

If it is their first time it put the spotlight on them (how many people are going to ask me today if it’s my first time?!).

If it is not their first time then that’s just… awkward 😳

4. Make Yourself Available

For all you know, this is the first time in that person’s life they’ve ever stepped in a church and who can guess what crazy expectations are rolling around in his head.

Be friendly and helpful and assure the nervous first-timer that everything is alright.

This takes getting the balance right, you don’t want to hound a person because that can be detrimental too.

5. Point Them In The Right Direction

If a visitor has never been to your church before, offer directions to the bathrooms, show them where the Kids Church program is and tell them where they can get a coffee before the service.

When you’re new, and especially if you’re alone, having a point of contact can be really helpful and reassuring.

If you want to increase the effectiveness of your hospitality team I highly recommend you take a look at How to Wow Your Church Guests, a really useful book about making a meaningful first impression with church guests.

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What Tips Would You Give Church Welcome Teams?

What bad experiences have you had with church greeters?

Do you some tips of your own you’d like to share?

Scroll down and let us know, we’d love to hear from you! 😊🙏