What’s your church’s hospitality grade?

Many churches do poorly in welcoming even those who show up at their doorstep

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. —Hebrews 13:2

The most unusual church welcome I ever received came in the 1980s. Before the Internet, when in a city where we didn’t know anyone, we would use the phone book and a city map to find a church.

One Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio, we located a Christian and Missionary Alliance church not far from our motel. Upon arriving, we discovered that we had joined an all-black congregation of about 60 adults. After the worship service ended, every single adult lined up to greet us and thank us for coming.

Admittedly, it was easy to identify us as visitors. But if we had been moving to Cleveland, we would have gone back to that church!

Most churches do a poor job of welcoming visitors to their worship services—which I call mission opportunities on a silver platter. We pray and strategize for ways to reach the world, and then when members of that world show up on our doorstep, we fail to notice or show interest in them.

Two friends who specialize in church renewal work told me that they instruct members of small churches, “When visitors come in, you have to drop your other conversations and make them feel like the most important people there.” Church members often object to that instruction, saying that the minutes before worship are their fellowship time. My friends reply, “There are six other days in the week for that.”

The tension between getting one’s own needs met and reaching out to others characterizes every aspect of ministry. But making church the most endearing place in the world requires very little from each of us.

It’s also rewarding. Some of our most memorable fellowship experiences have come from either being invited to lunch when we visited other churches or extending similar invitations to visitors at our own church.

In my culture, traditional welcoming practices like “Please raise your hand if you’re here for the first time” feel too high-pressure and counterproductive. Therefore, larger churches have to encourage visitors to take the first step by proceeding to the guest welcoming area after the service and identifying themselves. Brief “turn around and greet each other” interludes during worship are seldom an effective welcome method, because they rarely enable anything more than a perfunctory greeting.

To me, the best approach to church hospitality is not to teach a set of steps but to cultivate a pervasive attitude of enthusiasm and caring. In our current congregation, we’ve marveled at how often someone sitting nearby takes the initiative to start talking with us before or after worship. For them, the motivation to build an authentic community outweighs the fear of stepping out.

If you’re in church leadership, consider recruiting a friend to attend your church anonymously and report on his or her experiences. Here’s one guide to doing this.

Recognizing that many first-time visitors determine their impression of a church within a few minutes of arrival, I’ve consented to become one of the greeters who open the church door to everyone with a smile. I’m not particularly skilled at this role, but I can use the smiling practice. 😊