6 Ways to Make Your Guests Feel Welcome

Hours are spent in prayer for the lost to be saved. Hours are spent in door to door soulwinning throughout the week. Many times, years are spent cultivating a relationship at work to eventually have an opportunity to lead a coworker to Christ. Through these and many other avenues, people show up at our churches as first-time guests every week. How you welcome your guests will often determine whether your church will become their church. Your goal should not be to simply have a lot of visitors every Sunday. Your goal should be to effectively welcome every guest God has entrusted to your church.

God has given us several passages that teach us why we should welcome guests. Romans 12 provides us a list of important do’s and don’ts in the Christian life, and verse 13 specifically teaches, “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.” 1 Peter 4:9 reads simply, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” Hebrews 13:1-2 declares, “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Here are some practical tips to effectively welcome guests:

1. Realize the value of the first impression. What guests initially think about your church will forever be in their minds. If their first impression is negative, it will be very difficult to overcome.

2. Understand the why, not just the what. How-to lists are wonderful, but not as important as the “why am I doing this” list.

3. Think like a first-time guest. On purpose, view your church campus, facilities, and people through the eyes of a first-time guest. Many times familiarity breeds complacency. See your church through the lens of the guest.

4. Honor the guest with excellence. “Good enough” so often isn’t good enough. Be a first-class representative of your church, but more importantly, be a first-class representative of Christ.

5. Go the extra mile. Instead of pointing guests in the direction of the nursery, escort them to the nursery. Offer to save them a seat with your family in the main service. Don’t merely be a friendly “hello,” go the extra mile.

6. Exercise patience. Like any relationship, the guest-local church relationship may take some time. Be willing to take small, baby steps with guests that may go a long way in encouraging them to be returning guests and eventually active members.

Hospitality is not suggested in Scripture—it is commanded. Let’s do our best to effectively welcome the guests God will send our way this weekend.