Welcome Church Visitors

How Good Hospitality Grows Your Church

What is Hospitality in the Church?

A recent question brought by a reader is

What is hospitality in the church?

Answering this question can take the discussion in 100 different directions.

I want to share with you how I teach on hospitality at church.

Specifically, I focus on hospitality centered around the worship service experience.

What is church hospitality?

I teach that church hospitality has a two fold meaning

  • Taking the initiative to welcome the visitor
  • Inviting the visitor to participate in the mission of the church

Taking the initiative

On the one hand, church hospitality is organized friendliness on a Sunday morning.

On the other hand, hospitality ministry should be part of the DNA of your congregation, not just the volunteers who participate in welcoming church visitors.

Being intentional in creating a good welcome is part of the organized friendliness

  • Remove the barriers that cause unnecessary awkwardness
  • Create lasting impressions that helps church visitors decide to come back
  • Make clear pathways for repeat visitors to start building new relationships and friendships.

All of this involves your greeters, welcome center volunteers, and other hospitality ministry servants.

Taking the initiative involves vision casting for hospitality ministries throughout the congregation – so that all members value and show honor to invited guests at the church.

Inviting the Church Visitor

The second part of my working definition of church hospitality involves the intentional inviting of that guest to return and participate in the mission of the church.

That’s not to say “recruit them for empty volunteer positions in the nursery” after the first Sunday.

Rather, I speak of an intentional thinking about helping your church visitor who comes back repeatedly to start making new friends in the congregation.

This is all the role of visitor assimilation or visitor follow-up.

  • What is the low commitment next step that your repeat church visitor can take to start building those relationships
  • How do your visitors learn about the opportunity?

Coaching Corner

If you are

  • relaunching your hospitality committee,
  • restarting your church welcome ministries
  • trying to figure out where to start with church hospitality

you should consider the ebook, How To Welcome Church Visitors.  Read about the book here.

I do offer various telephone coaching services for your church hospitality team.   I spend time on the phone with your committee, up to 90 minutes, where I help you trouble shoot and develop some action plans.

Read more about church hospitality coaching here.

About EvangelismCoach

Chris Walker writes for EvangelismCoach.org and often teaches on areas of Church Hospitality and Welcome

Recent Posts

  • How to A Lose First Time Guest to your Church
  • Follow-up Calls with Church Guests: What to Do and What Not to Do
  • The shortcut to a great welcome
  • Where do you start?
  • Can’t Get Enough Volunteers for Your Hospitality Ministry?

RSS Church Hospitality

  • 7 Ways to Prepare Your Church for Mothers Day
  • Prepare Your Church for Christmas Visitors – Hospitality Review
  • 3 Traits of Church Hospitality Ministry Leader
  • Training On Demand: Step up! First Steps to Running or Restarting Your Welcome Ministries
  • 4 Ways to Pray for Your Church’s Hospitality Ministry
  • 10 Things Every First Time Church Greeter Should Know
  • Quick Survey to Evaluate Your Church Guest Services
  • How to Lead the Introduction of First-timers in Church
  • Your church visitor has a list
  • Church Hospitality Survey Assessment or Audit

RSS Church Greeters

  • 10 Things Every First Time Church Greeter Should Know
  • How to Give Constructive Feedback to Your Church Greeters
  • 6 Goals of a Church Greeter
  • Different Greetings to Welcome Church Visitors
  • Video Discussion Starter for Church Greeters
  • Memo to Church Greeter: Don’t hug a guest!
  • Church Greeter Tips: Show Respect for your Guests
  • We will not forget THAT church greeter
  • 10 Free Church Greeter Training Videos
  • Top 21 Posts on Church Greeter Ministry

My name is Chris Walker and I've conducted training on evangelism and church growth internationally … Read More

Recent Posts

  • How to A Lose First Time Guest to your Church
  • Follow-up Calls with Church Guests: What to Do and What Not to Do
  • The shortcut to a great welcome
  • Where do you start?
  • Can’t Get Enough Volunteers for Your Hospitality Ministry?

Ebook Information

  • What Others Are Saying
  • The Ebook
  • Contents of the Ebook
  • Order Your Copy
  • Privacy Policy

Related Products

  • How to Welcome Visitors Ebook
  • Hospitality Coaching Call
  • MP3: Create A Vision for Church Hospitality
  • Break the Barriers DVD Set