New People

Even over these quieter New Year Sundays we are finding that every service at our Corps is being attended by new people or visitors. God continues to bless us with new and fresh faces to welcome. We need to be alert and invite them to join us on the discipleship journey.

It is timely also, to take the chance to remind everyone about some of the simple things that we can do to make visitors welcome.

We can make sure that the parking spaces closest to the building are left for visitors. You will notice that on Sundays, in particular, Angela and I park on the gravel. We can walk across the car park, where many others can't - and many visitors won't want to.

We can make sure that the aisle seats and back seats are free for visitors. Noone wants to sit front and centre when the first visit. Visitors need to be able to slip in and slip out if they wish. They certainly don't want to be embarrassed if they arrive a bit late and have to move down to the front in front of everyone.

We can make sure that we each take responsibility for personally welcoming visitors. This is not someone else's job. It is also good to make sure they have been introduced to a few other people. Judith will look to get their details so that we can send them a welcome letter, too.

We can make sure that families know where the children's activities will be taking place and introduce them to our CSM, Wendy, or one of the children's workers so that they can start to build a relationship with the children prior to KidsChurch beginning.

We can make sure that the visitors get the first pickings at morning tea - and even offer to fetch them a coffee or tea.

We can make sure that any rubbish or other unsightly things are removed from the car park, entranceway or foyer.

We cannot make a second first impression. In fact, research suggests that within the first 15 minutes of arriving, people will decide whether they will ever come back to our church. God expects our communities to be ones of faith, unity, grace and love and people that are visiting need to experience each of these.

We do well. Our church would not have grown in recent years, as it has, if we weren't. But we can always improve.