The Only Question to Ever Ask a Church Visitor

by William Cowles

You can spot her right away. She’s new here. She’s trying to act like she knows the scene, but you can tell she’s searching for where to go and what to do. You’ve never seen her before today, even though you’re at the front door every Sunday.

This is tricky space for greeters, ushers, and welcome center hosts who want to be welcoming, inviting, and hospitable to strangers. One of the biggest risks is being over-the-top friendly and smothering the visitor with so much attention that you drive them away! So, where do you draw the line? What’s acceptable to ask first-time visitors to show that you’re interested in them, but are not trying to pry into their personal lives?

It’s not that hard. Start with a genuine smile and a warm personal greeting, of course – “Good morning. I’m William, and we’re all glad you’re here today.” Then, follow with a neutral, open-ended, all-powerful question – the only question you need to ask:

“How may I help you?”

You have just put them in charge. You have given them power. You have said that their needs and interests are greater than yours.

Typically, they’ll respond in one of four ways, and here’s your follow-up in each case:

• “I’d like some more information about the church.”  Take them to your Welcome Center and point out the different kinds of literature you have for them. They will find what they want; you don’t have to spoon feed them with your favorite programs. Let them find the Children’s literature, or the Mission folder, or the Music flyer.

• “I’m interested in…. (small groups, prayer, baptism, children’s programs, etc.)” Perfect. Now you have a target. Find your resident expert and introduce them. Each of your volunteer hosts (greeters, hospitality team, or whatever you call them) should be equipped to know this information, but take advantage of the opportunity to make a connection with another of your church’s leadership team whenever you can.

• “I’m looking for… (the Worship Center, children’s area, coffee, restrooms, library, a pastor). Also good because now you can be their hero and walk them to their goal. There’s nothing more impressive than a personal escort to make a stranger feel valued.

• “No thank you.” That’s a perfectly acceptable answer, and your perfectly acceptable response is, “Great. I’ll be here if you need anything. Enjoy the service.” You’ve made the appropriate offer and now you have to respect their interest in going it on their own. They haven’t rejected you; just expressed the need for a bit more time and space. Give it to them.

Front door greeters, ushers, and welcome center hosts form the front line in creating the critical first impressions of a church’s hospitable environment. The most important thing for all church hosts to realize is that visitors, guests, and church searchers will be nervous the first time they venture into your community. They are in a strange place with strange people, so do everything you can to make them feel comfortable. Put them at ease. Ask how you can best serve them. Then play it safe and listen carefully to their responses because you don’t know why they’re there, what they’re looking for, or what baggage they’ve brought with them.

When you take the initiative to create a great first-time guest experience, those visitors will know that you are most interested in knowing what you want FOR them; then they will be much more receptive to learning what you want FROM them.

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Next Week – No More Awkward Silence in the Sanctuary!
 

Church searchers expect churches to be full of friendly people. Not only a nice front door greeter or a few helpful volunteers. They expect the people in the pews to be friendly and personable, too. So how can you guarantee that your visitors’ pew pals will be equally hospitable?

Next week’s blog offers an engaging approach that helps your members remove the awkwardness from their first encounter with a visitor.