Toolbox For Faith

This weekend, I had the opportunity to meet with members of six different congregations to discuss “Invitation and Hospitality.” We had a wonderful discussion focused on ways that we can strength our ability to invite and welcome people into God’s family of faith.

Here are a few of the helpful ideas we shared in both areas.

Invitation
1. People want to be a part of God’s mission and ministry in the world. When a congregation identifies its mission and celebrates its ministry, people are more willing to extend an invitation to others.
2. Congregations can encourage invitation by creating “opportunities for invitation.” These opportunities, such as Vacation Bible School, choir concerts, or a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, create a specific reason for someone to issue an invitation to a friend.
3. Creative Communications has a helpful resource entitled “Big Ways, Little Ways: 30 Ways - Big and Small - to Tell Others about Jesus” which offers some specific ideas for how you can extend an invitation.

Hospitality
1. Congregations need to make facilities and worship services accessible by clearly labeling entrances and restrooms, by avoiding coded language and by designing worship services and accompanying bulletins that are easy to follow.
2. Practice the “Three Minute Rule.” For the first three minutes after a service ends, talk to someone you don’t know or someone you don’t know well. When a fellow worshiper offers a sincere word of welcome that makes an extremely positive impression.
3. Extend the welcome after the service by following up with new worshipers through a hand written note or some other form of personal contact.

If you have some helpful ideas that have worked in your congregation to encourage invitation or share hospitality, please let me know.

Sandy Birch, who is a member of the St. Michael staff, put together the following article  on hospitality ministry.  We are running it in the January newsletter.

Hospitality Ministry

A new worshipper walks into St. Michael. The new worshipper has taken the first step – a giant step toward connecting with God through the ministry of St. Michael. They have overcome every barrier that might keep them away; fear, intimidation, social inertia, weekend distractions, preconceived notions and a million other reasons that might have kept them away until that moment.

Many people have said, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” When it comes to churches, you might get two opportunities: the first three minutes after someone arrives at St. Michael and the first three minutes after the worship service is over. During those first three minutes, you have the opportunity to make someone feel welcome and connected to the people of God at St. Michael. You don’t have to be an official greeter. You don’t have to say something clever or scripted. Simply reaching out in Christian love, to say a word of welcome is a powerful ministry of hospitality. The next time you see someone you don’t recognize at worship, remember the words of the angels, “Be not afraid,” and take a moment in the first three minutes to welcome them to God’s family of faith at St. Michael.

As most of us know, the research says that there is very little chance that a long-term inactive member will ever become active again.  With that in mind, consider exchanging your inactive list with another local congregation for Christmas.  Perhaps an invitation to a Christmas Eve Service from a different worshiping community will be just what is needed to help someone reconnect with God.

A conversation with a former member and a question from a colleague inspired me to give some thought to the way in which we welcome new worshipers into the life of the congregation.  Coming out of seminary, I adopted the fairly standard model of new member classes.  I found good models to copy and did them because “that was what I was supposed to do.”  Through the years, I have had limited success with the new member class.  This week, I came to the conclusion that what you do for new worshipers should be a direct reflection of who you are as a congregation.

If you are a high challenge, high commitment congregation with a heavy emphasis on formal membership, then by all means have several classes with specific topics to be covered and introductions to make.  If however, you are a congregation focused around community and compassion, for example,  feel free to try another path.  At St. Michael, we got rid of the classes and moved to a meal.  We have an individual from the congregation who hosts the meal (usually groups of 10 or less).  I attend and we simply talk with people and eat together.  Individuals make connections and tell stories.    As the meal is drawing to a close, we give the new worshipers a “Welcome to St. Michael” folder that has general information on our ministries.  I say a word or two about the information and then open it up to questions.  Over the last three years, we have had 30 to 40 people at meals like and most of them are actively involved in the congregation today.