Category: Guest Services

Our guest services teams get a lot of compliments on their organization and efficiency. Each week they show up to welcome our guests, and each week our guests take notice. Here are just a few of the comments the team has received lately: “I …

There’s a bit of a debate in guest services nerd circles about whether our team members should serve as specialists or generalists. Put another way, should volunteers have one role where they serve, or should they be able to serve in multiple different areas? How you …

Imagine two scenarios. In the first, a couple arrives at your church. They’re on time…early, even. They’ve been a part of the church for years. They serve in various roles. They’re leaders, they’re givers, they’re faithful. And they’re on time…early, even…because they structured their …

In a recent post I set off a firestorm about the dreaded “turn-and-greet-your-neighbor” time that we unleash on introverts, germaphobes, and outsiders. The truth is, there are valid opinions on both sides of the aisle (#DidYouSeeWhatIDidThere). The pro turn-and-greet crowd views it as a …

There are a lot of church worship traditions that I don’t particularly love: responsive readings (I tend to speed-read and then get tired of waiting around because #efficiency). When a pastor makes you “Look at the person next to you and say ____” (my …

In guest services, there is a fine line between being visible and staying invisible. As a guest services volunteer, it’s not always easy to know how to strike that balance. But as a guest, whenever that balance gets a little off-balance, it can be …

Do Sunday mornings stress you? Does it seem like there’s always a last-minute runaround in order to be ready to welcome guests? Are you constantly worried about your team’s ability to get everything set up in time? There’s a very simple solution that we …

As I type, we are smack in the middle of hurricane preparations. If you’re not enrolled in the Jim Cantore School of Freak Out, you may not know that Florence is on her way to the Carolinas. Admittedly, I am a little slow to …

Sunday morning: you’ve navigated a half a hundred conversations anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes long. You’ve fielded questions, given counsel, and suggested next steps. And somewhere in the middle was a question or seven that you didn’t know the answer to, …

Welcome to the How To series here on the blog, where I occasionally tackle mind-numbingly boring topics that make the hidden nerds among us geek out. The rest of you that don’t care about these things, well…you need to learn to live a little. Read …