River Ridge Church (Hurricane, West Virginia)
Each month, we revisit a series of posts called Guest Services Road Trip. We’ll travel the country from the comforts of our couches, interviewing leaders who are in the trenches of ministry. Do you have an idea for GSRT destination? Have a leader I need to talk to? Want the inside scoop on churches that seem to be doing this hospitality thing really well? Let’s talk.
Tim Minturn is the Connections Pastor at River Ridge Church, a church of 1,200 people in Hurricane, West Virginia. River Ridge is a growing church focused on helping people take the next step in their journey with God.
Tim has been a part of the River Ridge team for two years and leads their Guest services team on a weekly basis. You can contact him via email.
What are the top three books you’ve read on the topic of guest services and/or volunteerism?
Be Our Guest (Kinni), Unwelcome (Malm), and Fusion (Searcy)
How is your Guest Services team structured (org chart, leadership pipeline, etc.)? Do you ever release Guest Services volunteers to lead in other ministries?
We have a guest services coordinator who leads the teams on Sunday in conjunction with the connections pastor. Our guest services team consists of the greeting team, parking team, coffee team, ushers, and registration team (for new families). We definitely release our guest services team members to other ministry teams when there is a desire to serve in another area or when they are asked by a ministry leader.
Is guest services a “silo ministry” in your church/ In other words, does your discipleship team, kids team, worship team, missions team, etc. view it as an essential part of their mission?
Our guest services team is an integral part of the experience for all of our guests. They will serve in a variety of ways when there is a need to assist in other areas to create a smooth flow for all ministry areas.
What is one of your best practices / ministry hacks that you’re especially happy with?
We have started a ministry huddle that lasts five minutes to focus on one particular value for the week. It ensures that we are all on the same page and know what is going on for the week. It also means that people are still on time to serve even if they are late for the huddle.
What is an idea you’d like to experiment with or implement over the next six months?
I want to enhance our follow up with first-time guests. There is plenty of room to improve how we minister to our guests from their first visit to connecting them and helping them to become fully engaged. We are going to experiment with 3 Next Steps Sessions to try to connect our guests.
See all posts in the Guest Services Road Trip series.
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