Church Greeter Archive

Don’t forget to say hello to your church visitors

In my ebook on church hospitality sold on this website, I tell this story, told to me first hand from a friend.

I had only been a Christian for six months. Six years ago, we moved from Texas to Richmond and began to look for a Spanish language church. I didn’t find any for a few weeks, so my wife and I decided to attend an English language congregation.

We arrived and sat down in the pews, clearly the stranger.

We didn’t speak English at the time, so we really had no clue as to what was happening.

However, after church, all the people left.

We stood around, and guess what?

No one talked to us.

This church hospitality failure still hurt

Six years later, my friend tells me this story.

Tears form in the corner of his eyes as he recalled the pain.

Even though he didn’t speak English, he did know the word “Hello.”

I’m sure the church didn’t mean to cause harm.

I’m sure the church would be aghast that this story was even true.

But reality is, after a while, the church loses it’sÂ sensitivityÂ to the church visitor.

For this man, the pain still lingered.

A good welcome is the responsibility of the church

Part of the responsibility of every church is to welcome the church visitor in their midst.

Most churches say they do it.

Every church thinks it is friendly.

But my friend’s story above reminds me that we are friendly with each other, rather than reaching out to our church visitors.

My friend remembers that church six years later. Â Not the message that was preached, not the songs that were sung.

He only remembers no one said hello.

I wasn’t surprised, because I’ve had similar experiences when I visited churches.

Learn more:

Check out How To Welcome Church Visitors, my downloadable ebook for purchase.

This story, plus several others, are included to help you improve your 1st impressions for first time visitors.

Let me ask you this?

When you notice a stranger in your congregation, do you take theÂ imitativeÂ to welcome them?

Do you go beyond a handshake and “God bless you” and engage in conversation?

10 Awesome Tips for New Church Greeters

Are you a first time church greeter?

Check out this brief video that gives you ten awesome tips to start your greeter ministry.

I start with giving a few examples of why church greeters need training.

If you like it, give it a share.

Resources mentioned:

Coaching Corner:

If you were to add another important tip to this list of 10, what would it be? Â Share in the comments.

What does a church greeter do?

I regularly review my Twitter feed for real time observations and commentary about church greeters.

The experiences that people comment on range fromÂ embarrassingÂ to awesome.

Listen in as I’m interviewed on

I’m a first time church greeter: What do I do?
What is the most important thing for a church greeter?
What 4 actions are important for a church greeter to remember?
What should I say to a first time church visitor?
What can I do after the service?
Does my role as a greeter really matter?

For more greeter videos, look for the free church greeter videos link at

Church Greeter Training Videos at ChurchGreeterTraining.com

In the ebook How to welcome Church Visitors, I spend one small chapter on church greeters and the role they play in the hospitality experience of your church.

Order your copy here via the ORDER NOW tab across the top of your screen.

What to Say to Greet Church Visitors

In my churchÂ hospitalityÂ coaching practice, I often hear:

Greeting church visitors is every one’s responsibility.

However, I think we all know that such a welcome does not Â get done.

New Church Greeters are Nervous

New volunteers who are recruited as greeters may not be sure exactly

what to say while at the door or
how to give a greeting.

It can be a little awkward to say “I don’t know how to do this.”

For example, a personal friend of mine was asked to serve as a front door greeter at the 9am service the next day.

She had never served as a church greeter before.

Hear what she said to me:

I did not want toÂ say no. Â I
I wanted to serve and do good.
Instantly, I felt awkward and nervous.
Would I mess up?
Would I embarrass myself or my church, or the church visitor?
I couldn’t rest well that night.
I was nervous and wanted to do a good job.
What could I say to the group of 200 people walking in through this door?

What do I say to the visitors or members?

Thus, in the privacy of their own home, these new church greeters search the Internet for

“How to say a welcome to a church visitor”
“Greetings to 1st time visitors at church”
“A word of welcome for church visitors”
“What to say to welcome visitors in a church”
“How to say a welcome to visitors at church”
“Tips on welcoming First timers in Church”

Special thoughts for Ministry Leaders

You could develop this list more fully into a resource you can use at your church.

If you are the person responsible for church greeters ministry, consider giving this list of statements your new greeters.

Once your welcome volunteers say something a few times, they will relax and put their own flavor to it. Â Help them find a starting point.

Also, give your new greeter permission to mess up.

Finally, encourage the church greeters to pray before serving, asking God for wisdom at the moment.

Greeting Church Visitors at Entrances:

Use a few different ones — the same phrase spoken every weekend by every person is insincere.

Sample one line greetings for parking lot or entry greeters or for your members to say in a hallway:

Welcome to [church name] this morning!

God bless you.

We’re glad you are here this morning.

Good morning and welcome to our church

I’ve not met you yet!Â Welcome.

I don’t believe I’ve met you yet.Â Have I?

Greeting Church Visitors from the Front

During the worship service, the leader can say something like the following to welcome visitors.

We are glad that you are here with us this morning.

If this is your first or second Sunday with us, we are grateful that you have come to be with us this morning. It is our hope that you experience the love of Christ this morning and His presence during our worship.

If your church does the passing of the peace handshake ritual, the worship leader can go on to say this to help the church greet visitors (See #5 in this list of 10 practices to welcome church visitors).

Get up, turn and greet someone that youâ€™ve not met yet. Shake their hand, introduce yourself, and take a few moments to welcome them to Godâ€™s house.

Greeting Church Visitors After the Worship Service

During the fellowship reception time after the service, church members can be encouraged to look out for and intentionally greet people they haven’t met.

I have find it helpful to break the ice and initiate the conversation by saying:

“I’ve not met you yet. I’m Chris.”

With that, I offer my hand to shake and I continue with a conversation.

Your Turn:

Answer this question in the comments below. Â I want to hear from you.

What is a phrase you suggest your greeters might say to greet people to welcome visitors or members?

Note to the reader: If I haven’t answered the question you were looking for, leave that in the comment field below too. Â Let me know so I can help get an answer for you.

Duties for Church Greeters

How many of you have generated a checklist of greeter duties?

In greeter training, this list of duties can be very helpful.

Feel free to add your own or not include what may not apply to your context. These are geared toward entry greeters or staff of hospitality tables that many churches use.

Note: Some of this will seem common sense. The goal is not to develop “policy” that you enforce, but simply to raise issues to think about. Policies are no fun when the seem to regulate common sense.

Self-Preparation

Dress in what is appropriate for your church context.
Dress neatly in what is appropriate for your church. If people dress up for church, then greeters should do the same. If it’s business casual, so be it.
Don’t be too informal, as visitors will partly form their impression of the church.
Fresh Breath (mints are helpful or those sprays).
Deodorant — particularly if you like to hug those whom you know.
Prayer — Ask God to help you greet everyone and that all who visit may discover Him.

Before the Service

Check the entry area (foyer, narthex) for cleanliness and tidiness.
Fix what needs to be straightened up.
Locate bulletins or programs if you use them.
Make sure doors are unlocked and opened.
Be sure that you are familiar with answers to common questions like ‘where is the bathroom?’
Locate your information packets if greeters distribute them.

As people enter

Greet people in an appropriate fashion for your context.
Handshakes are typical, but be sensitive to closed postures of those who don’t like handshakes.
Greet everyone.
Greet people by name if you have met them.
Greet the children too!
Smile.
Depending on the pace of people entering, you might inquire, “How’s the family?” or “How are you doing?”

Noticing church visitors

Look for people you don’t recognize.
Offer your name and see if they offer theirs.
Handshakes are typical, but be sensitive to the closed posture of guests
Don’t lavish too much attention on first time visitors. Take your cue from the visitor.
Smile.
Offer to answer questions they may have.
If there are children with the visitor, offer information about what your church does, or point them to the one who can share that information in depth (like the hospitality center).

After the Service

Greet people by name as you can.
Thank visitors for coming.
Seek out those who don’t look connected
Offer to pray for needs that have been mentioned.

This list comes from ChurchGreeterTraining.com which has free training videos for church greeters.