Helping Newcomers Feel at Home in Worship

The Lewis Center has collected a list of best practices for welcoming newcomers to your church. Some of the suggestions include:

• Review your church bulletin and other printed material to make sure information is not “insider oriented.” Avoid church jargon and assuming that people understand the context.
• Make sure your order of worship is easy for a visitor to follow. Include written or verbal explanations of what is going on and why. Print the words to all prayers, songs, and responses.
• Provide nametags for the whole congregation and develop the habit of wearing them. Form a “tag team” to organize and promote nametag use.
• Do not ask visitors to stand and identify themselves. Seventy percent of new attendees feel negatively about being recognized. However, they do expect people to be friendly and welcoming.
• Accept and encourage casual attire.
• Sing at least one hymn each Sunday that is well known outside the church, such as “Amazing Grace,” “Joyful, Joyful,” or “Morning Has Broken.”
• Include a welcome to visitors in the opening words before the service. Make sure the person speaking identifies himself or herself. It is best for the pastor to issue this welcome.
• Remember that visitors sometimes arrive a few minutes late. Don’t front load all the information directed at them.
• Place information about your church’s ministries where a visitor can easily find it – preferably in the pew, or a clearly marked location near the entry points used by visitors. Don’t expect them to go someplace else to find it.
• Prepare Visitors Packets to be handed out by greeters with information about your church programs.
• Give visitors with small children a small activity packet (with crayons, pipe cleaners, stickers, etc.) as they enter worship.
• Avoid all talk about money with visitors.
• Keep the discussion of “family business” to a minimum in the services. Limit announcements.

These practices are from 50 Ways to Build Strength in Welcoming New People, part of the Lewis Center’s popular "50 Ways to Build Strength" series that provides practical, actionable strategies for improving ministries that are vital to church growth. These resources are available at www.churchleadership.com.

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