This article originally appeared on Lifeway Research. Last month, Lifeway Research released the results of a study on how Protestant churches welcome first-time guests. The results, as they say, speak for themselves. Lifeway polled respondents on...
Q: We’re having a debate on our Guest Services Team as to whether or not it is “creepy” to approach someone already seated in the auditorium with an extra “Hello, welcome!” So my question is:...
We’ve talked before about our First-Time Guest surveys: the four questions that go out to every guest who gives us their contact information. Those surveys are a way to keep our finger on the pulse...
Too often, we view a Guest Services team as a “nice to have” ministry: if we have the personnel or the budget or the attention to give to it, great. But if hospitality should be...
Q: Do you have any tips on helping our lead pastors eliminate the use of the word “visitors”? [Submitted in a recent session of Confab] A: (Yes, I know. That’s an intentionally misleading title. No...
in the world of guest services, our goal is to be proactive, not reactive. That means that we never want a guest to feel the need to ask a question, look for a volunteer, or...
Not long ago I read Dave Browning’s book Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less. In it, he tells the story of his church paving the parking lot. It was the early...
Q: How much is too much when it comes to introducing guests to people, showing them around, and giving them information? (question submitted during a recent One-Day Workshop) A: The “How much is too much”...
When you start getting serious about creating a welcoming environment for the outsider, you’re going to stir up a range of emotions for the insider. Some will be excited (“Finally…I can invite my unchurched friend...
You’re likely familiar with the Invisible Gorilla Test, a 1999 study where researchers asked participants to watch a brief video of people passing a basketball. Subjects were told to count the number of times that...
