This Weekend, Be There. Be All There.
While the rest of the world limps along with one Super Bowl per year, church people get two. And one of them is coming up this weekend. I’m referring, of course, to the weekend before...
Category: Guest Services
Get in the Zone.
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...
Specialist or Generalist?
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...
Choosing Inconvenience
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...
4 Alternatives To The “Turn-And-Greet” Time
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...
7 Reasons Not To “Turn And Greet Your Neighbor”
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...
Visible vs. Invisible
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...
The Gift of Time
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...
Are You Prepared?
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...
Don’t Mishandle The Handoff
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...
